The tech feature goes beyond typical parking assistance available in many modern vehicles, allowing the driver to completely exit the vehicle and walk away while the i3 maneuvers itself into a spot.
The company will use the parking demonstration to highlight its 360-degree collision-avoidance technology, utilizing four laser scanners to identify obstacles and map the surrounding environment.
Drivers who prefer to park themselves can still take advantage of the technology, which automatically brakes if the vehicle is going to hit a wall or column. The brakes are then released if the driver steers away from the obstacle or changes direction.
“The fully automated Remote Valet Parking Assistant recognises the structural features of the car park and equally reliably steers round any obstacles that appear unexpectedly – such as incorrectly parked vehicles,” BMW notes.
Drivers will be able to activate automated parking via a ‘smartwatch’ app, which also provides both a “park” and a “pick me up” button. The latter function instructs the vehicle to leave the parking space and head to the parking garage exit — by itself — to pick up the owner.
The system is said to partially rely on a digital site plan of the parking garage, suggesting it is not ready to take on parking tasks in locations that have not already been pre-mapped and loaded into a BMW database.
BMW has not yet announced plans to bring the fully-automated parking technology to a production vehicle. Audi is also working on similar features, but without any production confirmation. The German automakers will likely be racing to beat Tesla Motors, after Elon Musk hinted that it could bring fully-autonomous parking to the market sometime next year.
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