BMW’s fully-automated valet assistant allows you to summon your car via smartwatch

Smartwatches are a relatively new arrival to the consumer electronics market so we’re still figuring our the best way to use these devices. The possible applications are limitless, so it’s not surprise to hear companies outside of the wearable industry are experimenting with how they can use these devices to improve their products.

BMW has announced that it will show off a 360-degree collision avoidance and fully-automated parking system at CES 2015. This technology will be baked into a BMW i3 and uses four laser scanners to record and identify objects surrounding the car. This data is combined with a digital site plan and enables the car to park itself without any outside input from the driver in places like multi-storey parking lots.

This isn’t all that unusual. Plenty of car manufacturers have vehicles with some sort of ‘self-parking’ technology in place. Where BMW’s system really shines is that it is fully-automatic (requires no input from the driver) and can use the digital site plan and laser sensors in tandem with a smartwatch to allow for remote parking jobs. BMW’s fully-automated Remote Valet Parking Assistant can actually navigate your car around the parkade, going from level to level, while you’re already out and on your way to the mall or your office. It will steer your car into an available spot, lock the car and then wait to be summoned (via smartwatch and voice command). Then, it will calculate how far away you are and drive to meet you at the exit at the correct time.

BMW didn’t talk too much about the reliability of its system (though it does claim that it can make adjustments for other cars that are parked incorrectly as well as other unexpected obstacles) nor did it talk about specific smartwatch compatibility. However, the watch pictured is Samsung’s Gear S, which is Tizen-based. We’ll be at CES 2015 to check out this technology in person. Hopefully BMW will share more then.

[source]BMW[/source]