KBA Approved: Mercedes can park without a driver

The fully automated driverless parking lot developed by Mercedes-Benz and Bosch can enter series production. The Federal Automated Transportation Authority issued the first global approval for this. But the field of application is limited.

The Federal Automated Transportation Authority (KBA) has issued its first driverless parking vehicle permit. The manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz, has obtained the permit, the authority announced today in Flensburg. This is the first release of the worldwide serial operation.

The second highest level of autonomous driving

It is about a parking system in which the car can be parked in a parking garage – without a driver. This corresponds to a job with driver assistance systems according to Level 4, which is the second highest level for autonomous driving.

“With this system, we are achieving another brick on our path to autonomous driving,” explained the KBA. The Authority is both the engine of development and the guardian of the high security requirements associated with systems.

For new S-Class and EQS models only

Driverless parking will initially only be used in car park P6 at Stuttgart Airport with the new Mercedes S-Class and its electric counterpart, the EQS. Using a smartphone app, they should be able to send their car to a pre-booked parking spot and pick it up again when they return. The goal is to launch the app before the end of this year.

In the future, ordinary cars will also be on the road in the parking garage. So that self-driving cars don’t conflict with each other and everything else works, there are plenty of Bosch sensors in the garage. This monitors the driving lane and its surroundings and provides self-driving cars with the information needed for control. The in-car technology then translates this into driving maneuvers. Cars must be able to drive up and down ramps, change floors, and recognize obstacles.

Several hundred parking garages will be added

“Our goal is to equip more parking lots with appropriate infrastructure technology in the future – in the coming years there should already be several hundred worldwide,” said Marcus Heine, Managing Director of the Bosch Supplier Division. Everyday life in automated driving begins with parking the driverless car.

However, it was a long time before it was approved by the Federal Motor Transportation Authority: Mercedes-Benz has been working on the automated driving function since 2015. Starting in 2019, driverless parking was tested with development vehicles in the parking garage of the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart.