PAUL parking assistance
Tight squeeze?
A very narrow parking space? No problem for PAUL. That is the name of an intelligent parking assistance system that reverse parks vehicles into the tightest of spaces. PAUL automatically guides a vehicle with absolute precision into a perpendicular parking space and doesn’t even need a driver to help. In fact, the driver has already got out of the vehicle because the parking space is so tight he would hardly have been able to avoid damaging neighboring cars or getting his clothes dirty. Before exiting the vehicle he stopped the Passat in front of the parking space and set the selection lever of the dual clutch transmission DSG to “P”. Once the driver has alighted from the car he presses a button on the remote key and the car slowly begins to move as if by magic: first steering forward to the left, then turning its wheels right to slide backwards into the parking space. There’s still a bit of adjusting to do, so the vehicle again moves forward to the left and then reverses to slip perfectly into the gap between the two parked cars. PAUL is satisfied, cuts the engine and activates the door locks. When the occupants return from their shopping spree laden with parcels, PAUL drives the car out of the parking space at the touch of a button. Then it’s just a case of stowing the parcels in the trunk, getting in and driving off – easy as pie.
The technology
At the moment PAUL is still a research vehicle, and this intelligent parking assistance system calls on the series equipment and optional extras of the Passat as well as specially-built parts. Two small cameras located in the left and right exterior mirrors are responsible for gauging the dimensions of the parking space. Ultrasound sensors in the fenders, which are already available in series-produced vehicles, monitor for any obstacles or any obstructions at the sides. Wheel speed sensors provide data on speed and distance. PAUL’s brain, a computer specially programmed for this system, issues the commands for DSG, electro-mechanical steering and electrically actuated parking brake. Propulsion comes from the engine power produced by the idling mixture.