In recent years, as traffic accidents caused by operational mistakes during parking are becoming a social problem, anticipation is increasing for the early adoption of safe autonomous parking technology that does not rely on human operation. Thus, as a technological response to this issue, the two companies have developed Park-by-Memory, which can be used to automatically park vehicles in frequently used parking spaces such as at home or at work.

This technology was achieved by combining Clarion’s external recognition technology with steering and brake actuators and integrated vehicle control technology provided by Hitachi Automotive Systems.

In order to memorize parking environments and parking patterns, Park-by-Memory integrates bird’s-eye footage provided by SurroundEye, an original camera system by Clarion that is fitted to the left and right sides of the front and back of the vehicle, with detection data on surrounding structures obtained using sonar signals as well as GPS positional information.

This enables vehicles equipped with Park-by-Memory to notify drivers that it is possible to park when the vehicle approaches memorized parking spaces. Drivers can initiate autonomous parking by simply pressing a button in the vehicle, or by using their smartphone app.

Park-by-Memory uses high-precision image recognition data from SurroundEye® so that it can autonomously park in parking spaces of various shapes, including parking spaces only designated by white lines. In addition, the use of existing general vehicle navigation GPS information, rather than using a specialized positional information system, has facilitated the technology’s early introduction.

Hitachi Automotive Systems and Clarion will continue to enhance the development of driving support technology through advanced external recognition and integrated vehicle control technology, support autonomous driving vehicles and autonomous parking technology that is being rapidly developed by automotive manufacturers, and contribute to initial practical application.