Audi, Somerville working on infra supporting self-parking cars in 'two to three years'

Audi and Somerville, Massachusetts are working together on a project that would let cars park autonomously.

According to Mashable, Somerville's up and coming Assembly Row is being designed to support self-parking vehicles. It will have the capability to accommodate self-parking cars, as well as cars that must be controlled by humans. An Audi representative said the technology is in production and it may be functional in two to three years. The companies are working on a location in the Boston area.

Tech Radar reported that government support and the needed infrastructure are the major challenges that Audi has to face. Audi expects that its new technology could help save as much as 60 percent of parking space compared to how unruly drivers use car parks at present.

In a report by the Automotive World mayor Josef A. Curtatone and Audi chairman of the executive board Rupert Stadler agreed in a Memorandum of Understanding to work closely in developing Somerville's mobility strategy. They aim to increase parking space and speed up the flow of traffic in the city.

Stadler said, "The intelligent car can unfold its enormous potential only in an intelligent city. Our joint work on urban innovations and the exchange and analysis of data are the key to beneficial swarm intelligence."

Meanwhile, Curtatone said, "The car will always be part of our mobility. At the same time, due to congestion and parking problems, today it shows us the limits to mobility. With technologies from Audi we expect to be able to use the available urban space more efficiently. This enhances the quality of urban life."

Somerville also has a project that could bring traffic-light data online, which helps Audi speed up traffic flow. This will allow Audi cars to adjust their pace depending on the traffic signal patterns. The car can calculate the speed it should run to adjust to the next traffic light. This could significantly improve traffic flow by 20 to 50 percent.