It was reported on January 13 that Huawei had launched the world’s first commercial pilot of an autonomous parking system at an airport.  It is operating at Shenzhen’s Bao’an International Airport.

It uses Huawei’s Qiankun ADS 3.0 parking substitute (VPD) system. Once a driver has arrived at the airport’s autonomous parking pilot area, the driver can leave the vehicle and use the mobile phone app to select a parking space. The car can then start unmanned valet parking while the occupants can enter the airport.

Using the VPD system, the car drives autonomously to the selected parking space. It will intelligently yield to pedestrians and vehicles on the way. Furthermore, it will project an auto parking pattern on the ground if the vehicle has pixel headlights to alert nearby traffic.

If the target space is already occupied, the car will independently choose a vacant space and will power off after parking. The owner can override the car’s parking choice where if it has parked in an inconvenient spot.

When the owner returns to the airport, the car can be summoned with a click of a button using the app. The car will then proceed to drive to the parking lot pick-up area to meet the owner.

It is not clear from the information whether this feature is something currently available to all owners of cars equipped with Qiankun ADS 3.0 or whether it is merely something undergoing company testing.

In December last year, Huawei released ADS 3.2, which upgraded the VPD parking function. This supports autonomous parking and positioning with the summoning of the car to an owner’s set pick-up point. It is currently a beta version but suggests the Shenzhen Airport feature is available to owners of cars equipped with the Huawei system.

It should also be noted that from the picture, it appears that the pilot has dedicated parking spaces.

Sources: IT Home, Fast Technology