a self-parking car outside Ford's demonstration garage
Image: Ford Media Center

A partnership between automaker Ford and two tech companies has opened an automated, valet garage demonstration site in Detroit, in the same corridor where 40 miles of AV-only highway lanes are planned.

Bosch, Bedrock Technologies, and Ford worked together to build the site, which is available for visits by appointment. A Ford Escape outfitted with sensors and other systems finds and maneuvers itself into empty parking spaces without a driver behind the wheel. The car can sense and react to obstacles, including people, in its way. And the companies say the garage could accommodate 20 percent more cars than traditional structures, which could be outfitted with the technology to convert to automated valet. Garages built this way could also offer charging, refueling, or car wash services.

The demonstration site will be open through September. Read more about it on Ford’s website.