Korea’s top auto parts producer Hyundai Mobis will develop an automated valet parking system within this year, the company said Thursday while unveiling its latest technologies at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Automated valet parking is the process where a driver gets out of their vehicle by the entrance to a department store, hypermarket or restaurant and the car then parks itself in the buildings’ parking lot.
Hyundai Mobis said the development of auto-parking systems using high-end sensors, cameras and high-precision mapping technology will be possible by the end of the year, but added it doesn’t mean customers will immediately be able to add the feature to their vehicles.
“We still need basic infrastructure like mapped data of different parking lots and a seamless internet connection for the full commercialization of an auto-valet parking service,” a spokesperson from Hyundai Mobis said. “It will take some more time for the feature to be widely adopted.”
The auto parts company will first introduce a lighter version of the fully automated valet parking system called the remote smart parking assist, to be included in cars from early this year.
Remote smart parking assist is a type of advanced driver assist system that helps park cars in a small parking space.
When a driver selects a place to park and presses a button on the key from outside the vehicle, it will park automatically using ultrasonic wave sensors.
Unlike the automatic valet parking system, though, drivers need to take the car within about 5 to 10 meters (16 33 feet) of the parking spot, and the car needs to recognize the destination before the driver orders it to park.
Hyundai Mobis also unveiled a so-called e-Corner module designed for future electric and eco-friendly cars.
The module integrates a motor, damper, brake and steering system in a compact package that can be mounted in each wheel, doing away with the need for a traditional chassis and central engine, the company said in a statement.
Development of the module is scheduled to be completed by 2021.
As the auto industry is quickly reshaped by technological innovations, Hyundai Mobis will increase its budget for research and development over the next three years.
“We have been pouring seven percent of our revenue into R&D but by 2021, we plan to bring this portion up to 10 percent,” said Ko Young-suk, vice president of R&D strategy and planning at Hyundai Mobis.
“Among our total R&D budget, half will be spent on information communications technology including sensors for self-driving cars, voice recognition and biometrics.”
