Driverless electric vehicle parking and charging tech to be tested

Testing of new technology that will autonomously park an electric vehicle (EV) and plug it into charge has been announced by Bosch and Volkswagen subsidiary Cariad.

Automated valet charging is based on Bosch’s automated valet parking system, which has been in operation at Stuttgart airport for about a year now.

Bosch has also started to equip other parking garages throughout Germany with the infrastructure technology.

Automated valet charging guides the driverless EV to an unoccupied parking space furnished with a charge point, where a charging robot recharges it automatically.

Once recharging is complete, the vehicle manoeuvres without the need for a driver to another parking space.

Manuel Maier, vice president of the cross-domain Level 4 parking product area at Bosch, said: “Automation plays a key role in the mobility revolution and the transition to electromobility.

“Our two services – automated valet parking and automated valet charging – make the mobility experience much smoother for users.

“Making it straightforward to recharge electric vehicles allays people’s misgivings about range and is essential if electromobility is to find widespread acceptance.

“With this in mind, Bosch and Cariad can make parking and charging even more efficient and convenient.”

Bosch and Cariad are now testing driverless parking with automated valet parking at Cariad’s staff car park in Ingolstadt, while driverless charging with automated valet charging is being tested in Bosch’s development parking garage in Ludwigsburg.

Rolf Dubitzky, head of parking at Cariad, said “We’re particularly pleased to be shaping the future of automated parking and charging together with Bosch.

“Our collaboration allows us to test the technologies at an early stage of vehicle development, so that the end product is reliable and offers customers the best possible user experience.”