Skoda Slavia Owner Activates ‘Auto-Park’: Shows Car Parallel Parking Itself In Tight Spot [Video]
Skoda Slavia is a well-selling sedan in the Indian market. A product of the India 2.0 program, it comes equipped with ample tech and features. A geeky owner recently added and activated the ‘Auto Park’ feature on his Skoda Slavia. Very limited information is available yet on how he managed to get it done. A video posted on his channel shows the Auto Park in action.
It shows the White Slavia tightly parked between a scooter and an auto rickshaw. The visuals seem to be from somewhere in Karnataka. The owner first activates the Auto park and engages the right gear. The car uses information from its 360 camera feed to analyse and give the right steering inputs to come out of the bottleneck. We have previously seen this feature in many VW Skoda cars belonging to higher segments. Other brands like BMW too have Auto Park offered on many of their models.
It should be through a software update that the owner (the identity of whom is still unknown) unlocked these features. A previous video on the channel shows how the system was calibrated initially, to activate the feature.
How Did The Owner Unlock the Auto Park Feature On His Skoda Slavia?
The video shows the setup and calibration of the camera system and Auto Park feature. The system uses the 360 camera on the vehicle to measure and analyse the distance with the nearest obstacle and then give steering inputs using the electric power steering (EPS) to come out safe.
The software and code for these extra functions are installed using the ODIS (Offboard Diagnostic Information System)- Volkswagen’s programming and diagnosis software. To calibrate, a laser measuring tool or tape is used to manually measure the distance between the car and the simulated obstacle (calibration board) and enter into the system.
The calibration board is a printed piece of paper with special markings on it. First, the vehicle is properly parked, with proper (read equal) alignment. Then the height of the camera from the ground is measured. Following this, the calibration process is initiated and steps that the ODIC suggests, are to be followed carefully. Redo and repeat the process till you get the perfect calibration.
The new software update installed by this owner allows for extensive flexibility with the camera functions and unlocks functions like automatic obstacle detection and auto braking. Useful functions like the camera turning on whenever a potential obstacle is detected, are also included in the update. Upon completion, this Slavia aces parallel parking just like what the Kodiaq and Superb used to do. All you have to do is to change gears from Drive to Reverse and back whenever you are asked to. With the updated software, the digital instrument cluster gets a completely new look, colour theme and layout as well.
The Slavia is based on the heavily localized MQB A0 IN platform. It is one of the four (five with the Kylaq taken into account) vehicles to be underpinned by the same. The Virtus, Slavia, Kushaq and Taigun share almost all of their components. This means that if the auto parking is activated and perfected on the Slavia, it could be repeated on all the other vehicles with equal accuracy and precision. Kudos to the owner for sourcing the code and taking the pain to carefully install and calibrate it to such perfection as depicted in the video.