Reverse parking: The system is activated where the car is stopped in line with the parking line.
The view when the indication on the door lining is aligned with the parking line.
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has developed "Honda Smart Parking Assist System," a system to help drivers park their car with assistance in steering maneuver and voice guidance. It will be deployed as an option on the partially revamped version of "Life" slated for launch on October 5, 2006.
According to Honda's survey, a particular situation that makes female drivers, especially female novices, feel insecure is when they reverse their car into a parking lot. Asked what they think most difficult in parking, the largest number of driving school students and general drivers answered it was to decide where to start reversing. The second largest group of respondents cited the steering maneuvering as difficult. As a result of this questionnaire, Honda has concluded that "if the drivers can precisely decide where to start reversing their car, reverse parking can be easier," and developed the latest system based on this concept.
When a driver stops his car in front of the lot where he wishes to park and activates the system, the system makes the car to automatically operate the steering wheel so that the vehicle is guided to an appropriate point to start reversing. From there, the driver starts reversing the car while holding the steering wheel in that position, and turns the steering wheel back into the center position when instructed by the voice guidance. Thus, reverse parking as well as parallel parking complete without troublesome steering maneuvers. The operating procedure is as follows:
(1) The driver stops the vehicle on the spot where an indication provided on the front door lining and a parking line (nose of the vehicle parked behind, in the case of parallel parking) are aligned, and then turns on the operation switch.
(2) The driver lets up on the brakes and makes the car creep forward until the assist system automatically operates the steering wheel to guide the vehicle to the appropriate point to start reversing. The driver stops the vehicle by following the voice guidance.
(3) The driver backs the car with the steering wheel maintained in the position where he stopped the car until the voice guidance gives an instruction. The driver stops the car once again upon the voice guidance, and turns the steering wheel into the center position to back the car into the parking lot.
The guideline published by Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport states that a monitor to capture images behind the vehicle should be provided when the steering maneuver for reversing the vehicle is automated. This makes the system too expensive to be deployed on a minivan. Since the steering operation when baking the car is carried out by the driver, the latest system eliminates the need for an expensive rear monitor. The simplicity of the system realized the reasonable option pricing of ¥52,500 which can be affordable for a minivan.
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