Ford Tests New Vehicles That Can Park Themselves

Oct. 16, 2013 - PRLog -- Arlington Heights Ford, a local Ford dealership serving Schaumburg (http://www.ahford.com/custom/ford-dealer-schaumburg) and the Naperville area, will soon be able to offer vehicles that will park themselves. Further down the road Ford vehicles may even be able to automatically steer around obstacles on the road if a driver fails to pay attention or falls asleep at the wheel. Ford debuted some new technology at their testing ground in Belgium recently that promises to take some of the pressure off those drivers out there that aren’t particularly skilled at parallel parking.

The Ford safety and convenience systems are part of the general trend in the auto industry toward greater automation of cars and preventative safety technology. The Ford Focus (http://www.ahford.com/inventory/view/Model/Focus/New/SortBy0/) that was equipped with the prototype system is capable of automatically detecting stopped or slowing vehicles and pedestrians in the roadway and take appropriate actions to avoid a collision. The system uses a combination of sensors: radar, ultrasonic sensors, and a front mounted camera, which all help the vehicle detect potential hazards and obstacles.

Initially, the accident avoidance system will simply warn the driver that a hazard has been detected. If no action is taken, the Ford Obstacle Avoidance technology will step in and apply the brakes and even take over steering duties in order to dodge a potential catastrophe. So far, Ford has tested the system at speeds up to 38 mph—that number is higher than some other similar systems from luxury makers like Mercedes-Benz and Infiniti that rely solely on brakes to avoid accidents.

The Ford Obstacle Detection System might be a few years off, but the Active Park Assist is probably closer on the horizon. This system takes parking assistance to another level—in fact it’s not parking assistance, since the car can just handle parking all together. The auto park feature consistently slides safely into spots only 20 percent longer than the vehicle—much smaller than the space most drivers can squeeze into.

To find out more about the latest technology from Ford, interested drivers can visit Arlington Heights Ford at 801 W. Dundee Rd. in Arlington Heights, IL (http://www.ahford.com/page/locationhours2-masterpage/mast...) or contact the dealership at 847-481-0427.