Bosch, along with Volkswagen subsidiary Cariad, is working on an automated valet parking service that includes driverless charging of EVs.

The new solution tackles the twin bugbears of parking and charging for drivers

Showcased at this year’s CES event in Las Vegas, the technology could prove a game-changer when it comes to smoothing the way to electromobility.

Bosch’s solution, which is based on its existing automated valet parking system, guides electric vehicles driverlessly to an unoccupied parking space equipped with a charge spot, where a charging robot recharges them automatically. Once recharging is complete, the vehicles then manoeuvre themselves to another parking space, freeing up the charge spots for the next electric vehicles with a low battery.

It’s already being tested in two in-house parking garages in Germany. These include Cariad’s staff parking garage in Ingolstadt, where the two companies are testing driverless parking with automated valet parking.

Meanwhile, driverless charging with automated valet charging is being tested in Bosch’s development parking garage in Ludwigsburg.

The new solution tackles the twin bugbears of parking and charging for drivers. And the firm says it offers a range of advantages for automakers, charge spot operators, parking garage operators and energy suppliers.

It could also cut carbon emissions from road traffic in a win for the environment.

Manuel Maier, vice president of the cross-domain Level 4 parking product area at Bosch, said: “Our two services – automated valet parking and automated valet charging – make the mobility experience much smoother for users. Making it straightforward to recharge electric vehicles allays people’s misgivings about range, and is essential if electromobility is to find widespread acceptance. With this in mind, Bosch and Cariad can make parking and charging even more efficient and convenient.”

Bosch’s existing automated valet parking technology is said to be the world’s first driverless SAE Level 4 parking service. It’s been in operation in the P6 parking garage at Stuttgart airport for about a year now and Bosch is also starting to roll out the infrastructure technology to other parking garages throughout Germany.

Other Bosch debuts at CES include a new processor that combines infotainment and driver assistance functions on a single system on chip (SoC), replacing the need for separate electronic control units.

Markus Heyn, chairman of Bosch Mobility, said: “We want to reduce the complexity of the electronics systems in cars and make them as secure as possible at the same time. With this demonstration of our new vehicle computer platform at CES, we are taking an important step in exactly this direction. Our goal in the medium term is to bring even more automated driving functions to the road, including to the compact and midsized car segments.”