Bosch and Daimler reached a milestone on the way to automated driving when they obtained approval from the transport
ministry in Baden-Württemberg to implement their automated parking system at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

The automated valet parking service is accessed via a smartphone app and requires no safety driver, making it the world’s first fully automated driverless SAE Level 4 parking function to be officially approved for everyday use.

Markus Heyn, a board member of Robert Bosch GmbH, said: “This decision by the authorities shows that innovations like automated valet parking are possible.

“Driverless driving and parking are important building blocks for tomorrow’s mobility, and the automated parking system shows just how far we have already progressed along this development path.”

Since there is no official approval process as yet for automated driving functions that do not require a driver, the local authorities — the Stuttgart regional administrative authority and the state of Baden-Württemberg’s transport ministry — oversaw the project, along with experts from the German technical inspection service TÜV Rheinland, their aim being to assess the operating safety of the automotive and parking-garage technology.

The result is a comprehensive safety concept with appropriate testing and approval criteria that can be applied beyond this pilot project.

In the concept, the developers defined how the driverless vehicle detects pedestrians and other cars in its path and reliably comes to a halt when it encounters an obstacle.

They also set up secure communications between all system components and took steps to ensure the reliable activation of the parking manoeuvre.