TECH NEWS – At Bosch’s Budapest Development Center, numerous forward-looking automotive developments are underway to enhance driving safety and comfort. One of the most practical innovations is parking assistance systems. Bosch engineers in Budapest are already developing vehicles capable of parking autonomously, without human intervention. Achieving this requires extensive testing and rigorous “training” of the cars. The latest episode of the Bosch Hungary Podcast delves into the secrets of future automobiles, focusing on the most exciting and current questions surrounding parking solutions.
Parking is one of the biggest challenges of driving, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced driver. Our cars are getting larger, urban environments more crowded and unpredictable, and a poorly executed maneuver can lead to significant material damage or even personal injury. The latest, unique episode of the Bosch Hungary Podcast comes directly from Bosch’s Budapest Development Center, where more than 200 engineers focus exclusively on developing parking systems to make parking as safe and stress-free as possible. Their efforts are supported by a fleet of about 100 test vehicles and a fully equipped 10,000-square-meter vehicle verification area at the company’s Budapest site. Is fully autonomous parking just a distant dream? How are parking systems developed? How extensively are cars modified for these tests? Tóth Márk, the team leader responsible for test vehicle developments at Bosch, and Montvai Dániel, development group leader, discuss these topics with Tóth Edit, Bosch Hungary’s digital media manager, who also tests the company’s latest parking solution.
Stress-Free Parking? Spoiler: Yes!
In the latest episode of the Bosch Hungary Podcast, we get a glimpse into the work at Bosch’s Budapest Development Center, one of Europe’s most advanced automotive complexes, where a significant portion of Hungary’s automotive developments take place. Learn how the most modern parking solutions are created. “According to EU statistics, nearly half of accidents resulting in material damage occur during parking or slow maneuvering,” reveals Montvai Dániel, explaining the reasons behind Bosch’s focus on these developments. The company’s goal is to ensure that, with their newest self-driving solutions, parking is safe in any environment, blind spots are eliminated, and other road users, such as pedestrians, are also protected.
Safety Will No Longer Be a Luxury
Since 2022, parking assistance systems have been mandatory in all newly registered cars in the European Union. These solutions range from basic rear ultrasonic sensors to rearview cameras and fully automated parking systems found in premium vehicles, which Bosch is currently working to simplify and make even more user-friendly. With a fully automated solution, parking requires just the push of a button for the driver, as the car locates the parking space and performs the necessary maneuvers using 12 ultrasonic sensors and 4 cameras. Montvai Dániel estimates that within five years, this system will no longer be exclusive to luxury vehicles, aligning with Bosch’s goal to make these developments widely accessible. While fully autonomous cars may still be a long way off, self-driving parking systems are already on the rise as the first step in this direction.
Camouflaged Cars, Kilometer-Long Cables, and Specially Trained Drivers – A Tour of Bosch’s “Test Vehicle Empire”
The operation of an advanced parking system can be divided into three stages. The first step involves mapping the environment using sensors, whether through camera images or maps generated by ultrasonic reflections. In the second stage, the software interprets and contextualizes this data, and finally, based on the available information, the vehicle executes the necessary reaction, such as braking or steering. Thorough testing is crucial for developing parking systems, ensuring that the vehicle can perceive its surroundings as accurately as possible. This is supported by Bosch’s 10,000-square-meter vehicle verification area at the Budapest Innovation Campus, featuring various road surfaces such as asphalt, cobblestones, potholes, and even simulated railway tracks.
Bosch’s Hungarian test fleet of about 100 vehicles—including standard cars and camouflaged prototypes covered in zebra-patterned wraps—is managed by a dedicated team. Tóth Márk and his colleagues ensure that vehicles are modified to meet the requirements of testing professionals. This involves installing various cameras, special sensors, and even lidar detectors. These sensors capture and process an enormous amount of data, approximately one gigabyte per second, utilizing AI-based solutions. Márk also reveals in the podcast that a more complex, months-long modification required over 3 kilometers of cabling to be “magically” integrated into one test vehicle to meet specific specifications.
The team leader for test vehicles emphasizes that vehicle modifications must be carried out meticulously to ensure that real-world urban tests do not pose any safety risks. Equally important is the ongoing training of test drivers through specialized driving techniques, preparing them to handle any unexpected situation.
Source: Bosch
