(Ford)
It comes when you call.
Ford has demonstrated a new technology that allows a car to perpendicularly park itself without anyone in it. The Fully Assisted Parking Aid uses sensors around the car to find a space, then allows a driver to get out of the car and activate the system remotely before it autonomously backs into the spot.
The system is being developed in Europe, where cars are getting larger but the 30 million off-street spaces haven't increased in size over the years. The idea is to relieve some of the stress of trying to fit in a small space, while also letting cars get packed together more closely since their doors no longer need to be opened after they are parked.
When you want to leave, you simply press a button on your key fob and the car pulls out of the space where you can get into it and take over.
Ford already offers a perpendicular parking system on many of its models, but it requires that the driver stay in the car to operate the brake and transmission. The company says the more advanced system could start showing up in production cars within a couple of years.