Ipas
Intelligent Parking Assist System (IPAS)
Intelligent Parking Assist System, is a technology developed by Toyota to assist drivers in parking their vehicle. It was first deployed on the Prius Hybrid in 2003.
Driver intervention is not required as the system would approximate the size of the lot and maneuver the vehicle appropiately. This is done by an onboard computer which uses a camera build into the foward and rear of the car to approximate the size of the lot. Sensors located at similar location detects the proximity of vehicles which the car is to slot between.
The dashboard will display an image of the lot, the driver will determine the exact position that the vehicle in the lot via the arrows which will appear on the screen. Using the arrows, the user sets the location of the vehicle in the lot. When satisfied, the user press the "Set" button, which will activate the IPAS.
Presently in infant stages, system has difficulty detecting object, this would include cats, baby prams and pedestrians. Secondly when driver activate the system in a too small a lot, the system would constantly flash warning signals to inform the user of the danger of hitting the vehicle. User assistance is required in such situations.