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It is clear that one thing is ringing true in the automotive industry; The Future Is Now. With futuristic technology like lane change assist, forward collision alert, backup cameras, 180 degree cameras, and trucks that can backup their own trailers, it seems that we are seeing technology in automobiles grow by leaps and bounds. Things we thought we may not ever see in our lifetimes are in our cars today.
Ford is an innovator in technology. The new Ford Taurus sports new technology that will allow it to park itself. For many, parallel parking can be a hassle and time consuming, not to mention unnerving for those who don’t do it very frequently. Ford has created a solution for these drivers; Active Park Assist. The nice thing for those of us that may be a little bit of a control freak in our cars, is that you do still have some control over the system.
The car steers itself as it attempts to parallel park, but it is up to the driver to control the acceleration and braking of the vehicle as the parking takes place. Active Park Assist uses ultrasonic sensors that begin working when you start to look for a place to park. When you pull up to a spot, you hit the Active Park Assist Button which will scan the empty parking spot to let you know if it is big enough for the car to fit.
Once the vehicle senses the spot, it asks you to pull up far enough for it to begin parallel parking. The driver then puts the vehicle in reverse and the parking system will take it over from there. When you give the car a little gas, the steering wheel begins to turn, and the vehicle starts to slide into the parking spot. The rearview camera will show the driver how close they are to the vehicle behind them. The closer you get, the lines on the camera will change red to indicate you should stop, then beep loudly at you if you don’t.
This technology should be a huge selling point in large cities like New York and Portland, OR where parking is scarce at times and parallel parking can be almost impossible because of driver skill level, or not really being sure if the vehicle can fit. With small evolutions in technology in vehicles, Ford is keeping ahead of the competition and continue to innovate and surprise.
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