French automotive supplier Valeo and German automaker BMW strengthened their partnership by adding another item to the shared work list. The duo said on February 14 that they will jointly develop automated parking technologies to meet up to level 4 autonomous driving standards.
The two companies have been working together on advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) domain controllers, sensors and software for parking and maneuvering dedicated to BMW's upcoming modular platform, Neue Klasse.
According to an announcement, Valeo and BMW signed a strategic agreement to co-develop automated parking focusing on private grounds and parking facilities scenarios. They said the technologies will include automated maneuver assistance and L4 automated valet parking (AVP). All the functions will be based on technology and sensors in the car and be enhanced from the current software stack launched with BMW iX in 2021.
According to the companies, with AVP technology, a driver can leave the vehicle at a drop-off zone to let it find a parking spot and park. The car will also drive back to a pick-up zone itself to return the vehicle to the driver.
Valeo and BMW also plan to develop infrastructure-based services combining automated parking and charging in enabled public parking facilities and sites.
Marc Vrecko, president of Valeo's comfort and driving assistance systems business group, said the collaboration with BMW will enable the deployment of L4 driverless operation in the carmaker's upcoming production vehicles.
He added that the co-development of automated parking will leverage Valeo's expertise and technologies like advanced AI-based computer vision algorithms. It will also extend the company's portfolio to L4 functions and cloud services.
Valeo boasts its ADAS sensors and related detection algorithms. At CES 2023, the company announced the establishment of a consortium, VEN.AI, with Japan-based NTT DATA and Switzerland-based autonomous driving systems software provider Embotech.
VEN.AI is poised to be the go-to solution provider for production-ready parking automation, according to an announcement. In the initial phase, the consortium will focus on manufacturing-specific use cases, including car assembly lines. Its technology can automatically guide vehicles from one production station to another, driving them to the dedicated spot in the launch areas. The solution aims to help save time and costs on the assembly line.
