Mercedes EQS Sedan Valet Parks Itself in Los Angeles

Look – No Driver. No Hands. No Jobs?

In our for what it’s worth publicity stunt department, Mercedes-Benz and Bosch have demonstrated automated valet parking at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown hotel with an EQS sedan. It used Intelligent Park Pilot in the EQS, which is a combination with a smartphone app as a demonstration of the “future vehicle experience for consumers.” The demo works in conjunction with the 889-room property with a Bosch intelligent infrastructure installed in the parking garage. (AutoInformed: Automated Driving – Mercedes to Work with Luminar on Lidar; First Look: Mercedes EQS All-Electric Sedan)

“The demonstration… showcases how automated valet parking will operate in a working hotel environment where both automated and non-automated vehicles operate alongside pedestrian traffic,” said Dr. Kay Stepper, senior vice president of automated driving and driver assistance for Bosch in North America. “This allows us to dive into the dynamics of local deployments with the use of a highly-connected EQS from Mercedes-EQ to demonstrate how automated technology continues to move forward,” Stepper said. If all doesn’t go well? That’s the way the Mercedes Bends…

Sensors installed at the building communicate with the vehicle and guide its maneuvering through the garage. The demonstration also highlights possibilities for additional services such as automated EV charging, car wash and vehicle servicing or maintenance where vehicles move in and out of service areas guided by the intelligent infrastructure.

In conjunction with the “necessary” unspecified optional-equipment and the corresponding Connect service, both depending on country, the EQS has the onboard technology to enter and leave multi-story parking facilities equipped with the Bosch Automated Valet infrastructure in highly automated mode and without a driver, provided that the corresponding Connect service is available and booked for the respective vehicle variant of the EQS and national legislation permits such operation.

Here’s the ideal theoretically scenario: the driver securely parks the vehicle in a designated drop-off area of the parking facility, and after all passengers have exited they start the parking procedure using the smartphone App. The sensor system in the car park checks whether a suitable space is available or was already reserved for the vehicle. If so, the Automated Valet Parking infrastructure confirms the handover of the vehicle for the driver in the App, and they can leave the EQS and depart. The vehicle is then started automatically and moves driverless to its parking space with the help of the infrastructure installed in the parking facility. Upon return, the driver can let the EQS drive to a designated pick-up area by smartphone command. This means less time searching for parking spots and walking from the parking garage to their destination, according to Mercedes.