"Chuck Gould" wrote in message
oups.com...
Took one of the vehicles in for service this morning, and our
salesperson (clever enough to check the service department appointment
sheet each day and "happen to be" in the shop to greet his sales
customers as they arrive) collared me to show me a new 2007 model.

I was impressed by the stylish lines, the comfortable seats, and even
the leaded crystal glass headlight bezels- but what got my attention
was the salesman's description of the new "automatic parallel parking"
feature on the long wheel base version of the same car.

His description:

"You pull up alongside an empty parking space, and a system of sensors
will measure the spot to be sure that it is long enough to accommoate
your car. The factory wants you to have no less than 3-feet of
clearance between the cars in front and in back, so that's how the
measurement is set."

"Once it has been determined that the car will fit into the space, you
pull ahead until you are alongside of the car in front of the available
spot. The system then determines the distance between the side of your
car and the car parked at the curb, notes where the left rear corner of
the parked car car is at, and then automatically steers and shifts the
car to fit into the space the sensors defined. All you do is sort of
ride the brake until your car is sitting perfectly centered and against
the curb."

I had to wonder: Will something of this nature be helping us dock out
boats in a generation or so?
There are obviously a lot more variables when docking a boat than when
parking a car; but even so
I wouldn't be surprised to see some enterprising young engineer figure
out how to automate at least some docking functions with a similar
system.


Wind, current, waves, prop efficiency, slack in the lines of the boats
docked in front/behind or along side of..........yaddayaddayadda.......

Interesting thought Chuck but as you know it will never happen.