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BMW’s innovative park assistant system is now available for the first time on new BMW 5 Series, an official of the local distributors said  yesterday.
 

BMW’s park assistant system automatically identifies a parking space and even parks the car for motorists, after an in-built application scans for a suitable space, measures it and then parks it.
“Thanks to this new self-steering system, the new BMW 5 Series is the only car in its segment that can parallel-park itself, with the driver only needing to operate the accelerator and brake,” the official said.
Once activated, the system works by accurately measuring where neighbouring cars are located through ultrasonic sensors. Once a suitable parking spot is found, the driver is prompted via the control display to stop the vehicle in order to start the parking manoeuvre. Park assistant then turns the wheels automatically, with the driver controlling the accelerator and brake. Using the ‘Park Distance Control’ to assess the distance to other parked cars, the driver is in control at all times and can abort the manoeuvre by turning the wheel. The control display indicates once parking is complete, the official explained.

For example, while travelling at a speed of up to 35km, in a lane next to a parking space, a sensor in the indicator will automatically scan parked cars for an available space. The system looks for a space exceeding the length of the car by approximately 1.2m longer than the BMW 5 Series. When the driver comes to a standstill and shifts the gear into reverse, the system uses its memory to scan and confirm whether the space is large enough. The electric power steering unit system then steers the 5 Series into the spot hands free, the official explained.

“BMW parking assist is just one system from BMW ‘ConnectedDrive’ that offers a range of driver assistance systems in areas such as emergency call functions, vehicle, enquiry and office services, travel and leisure time planning, Internet services, and driver assistance systems. All of these functions focus consistently on three targets: to enhance personal comfort, to optimise the safety of all the car’s occupants, and to offer the most modern infotainment standards in the vehicle,” the official said.