Living in the city has its perks and its pains–like parking. Audi drivers now have an advantage to help them locate available parking thanks to a new Audi parking feature. The feature links its built-in navigation system to the information made available from participating parking garages to inform drivers of open spots. Genius!
The amount of information being made available from public parking structures continues to rise, making it ideal to link the technology directly to vehicles. This technology will reduce the overall stress of wasting time, money and fuel searching for parking in crowded areas, and will likely be incorporated in other brands to meet public expectations.
How it works:
Audi’s Director of connected vehicles, Pom Malhorta, explained that the new parking service will integrate seamlessly into the navigation system of existing Audi Connect. It is available through a simple download. When the driver enters a destination, they can then select the parking feature from the online services menu. A list of available parking garages and lots will then appear, showing the hourly rates and garage hours. In some instances, it will also show how many spaces remain available in the garage—depending on how advanced the garage.
The address of the parking garage will then be auto-entered into the navigation system, and directions will be provided. Gone are the days of frustratingly searching for a garage entrance, as Audi’s parking feature will guide them directly to it, not just the actual physical address of the garage! Google street view provides a peek of how the entrance will look, making it impossible to miss.
As our cars continue to merge with their routes and destinations seamlessly, drivers will continue to demand the best features. We can’t wait to see what is next!
The new parking feature is part of a budding partnership between Audi and Inrix, a company specializing in real-time data traffic. Inrix has logged data for over 18,000 parking garages in the United States and 42,000 in Europe so far.
Post by Imagine Lifestyles Luxury Rentals