In a further step towards autonomous cars on Israel's roads, the Ministry of Transport is expected to approve the use of automatic, driverless parking for vehicles that support this function. The function allows a driver to instruct his or her car to park itself, upon which the car independently locates a parking spot and maneuvers into it unaided, avoiding static and moving obstacles such as other vehicles and pedestrians, using an array of sensors.
The system also enables the driver to call the vehicle from the parking spot to the location of the driver, which it finds via the GPS on the driver's telephone. At present, the autonomous parking function is limited to a range in the tens of meters, and is mainly intended for use in parking lots and on private land rather than in public spaces; driveways to private houses, for example.
Up to now, Ministry of Transport regulations have forbidden letting a car be in motion without a human driver. Following field trials recently carried out of commercially available systems, and as part of preparations for fully autonomous driving in the future, it was decided to allow the operation of the automated parking function.
The automated parking function, termed "Smart Summon" by electric vehicle maker Tesla, represents an important part of the advanced driving package that Tesla offers as a paid option to purchasers of its 3 and Y models, but up to now the function has been neutralized by the car's software.
A similar function is available on Hyundai's Ioniq 5 electric vehicles sold in Israel, and on several models of luxury brands such as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on May 9, 2022.
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