Self-parking cars aren't really a new idea, but with the design the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Laboratory is working on, only minimal modifications are required a vehicle's stock options. The main sensor systems consist of a camera mounted on the rear view mirror, a front radar, and " couple little off the shelf LIDAR units mounted on the sides." They'll need to make a few more modification to take care of the system's inability to detect obstacles (be it people or terrain), but other than that tiny detail, this is the best autonomous parking prototype I've seen so far. [BotJunkie]

The structure generates 130 kilowatts of solar power, enough to offset 145,000 lbs of greenhouse gas emissions annually. There are even charging terminals available for electric cars, but only two can be charged at a time. Seems like a pretty smart way to keep drivers comfortable and harvest some spare energy on the side. [Dvice]

The retro-futuristic, glass-encased structure is actually a parking garage in Moscow, for regular, non-flying cars. Unlike VW's staggeringly large take on the same concept, this little piece of urban engineering takes up a mere 100 square meters, in which it can cram between 22 and 54 cars, depending on how many floors it's configured with—this one holds 34. The incredibly ornate rotating elevator mechanism is best explained in pictures.

There is definitely a Yakov Smirnoff joke in here somewhere, but I'm slightly too tired—and slightly too proud—to find it. [Zyalt via English Russia]

The two figured out how to do this by intercepting the types of signals that get transmitted on a working card, then programming a fake card to reproduce those same signals.

They found that the card has a stored maximum value and only writes how many times the value has been decremented.

In essence, they found a way to give themselves free parking for as long as this system is in place. They declined to detail how exactly you can reproduce this, because they don't want people ripping off the city of SF, so their sole purpose is to get SF to fix their meters to that this can't happen. [Hackaday]

The meters create magnetic fields capable of registering the metal mass of vehicles. They have a direct computer link to a police station.

Under a mechanism adopted by towns such as Issy-les-Moulineaux on the outskirts of Paris, cars are allowed 20 minutes of free parking. If they stay longer, the smart meter sends a message to a police control room, which alerts officers through their mobile telephones a quarter of an hour later.

To make matters worse, Claude Zandona, the man behind the manufacturer of these smart meters, envisions a system where users would pay using an identification number stored within their cellphone. The system would first send you a text message warning and then follow up with a notice that you have been fined. Tickets could be sent directly to your door—making the whole idea of meter maids obsolete. [Times Online via CNET]

The SFPark network is also adapable to parkers' habits. If a resident wants to add more time to the meter, they won't have to return to their car to do so, and spots can be calibrated for longer evening parking stays as well. The battery-powered sensors, manufactured by Streetline Industries, are good for 5-10 years before they need to be replaced.

San Fran joins two other North American cities in the smart parking movement. In both Niagara Falls and Vancouver, city officials installed new parking meters that accept payment via cell phone in 2007. So that's three out of hundreds of US (and worldwide) cities that have an answer for parking problems. If parking is an issue in your city, what's being done about it? [Streetline Networks via Gear Fuse]

Product Page [Via Outblush]

Well, these are "Muni-Meters," doing their stuff all electronic-like. Maybe that's important for the largest operator of street parking facilities in the United States, New York City, with its 110,000 parking spaces. We're just looking forward to the day when you can use credit cards with parking meters, something the city is currently evaluating with 200 machines in Manhattan. Solar credit-card-using parking meters? Bring it on, coast-to-coast. Either that or make parking free everywhere. – Charlie White

Seen In New York: Solar Powered Parking Meters [treehugger]

Both useful and not too expensive ($39.95). Hit the jump to see a family with a $50,000 car that wishes they had this system.

– Jason Chen

Product Page [Brookstone via Uber Gizmo]

But even the Tesla car can't park itself. Explanation of how the Advanced Parking Guidance System works, information on how this thing rips CDs, and other e-goodies, after the jump.

UPDATE: The video had some hiccups. Fixed.

Here's how it works.

1. You drive past a parking spot at 12mph or less. The four rear and six front sonar sensors detect the cars, and the gap between them.

2. Putting the car into reverse activates the wide-angle backup camera. There's a little button on the bottom of the screen that looks like a car parking. Hit it. If the spot is more than 6.5 feet longer than the car itself, the car enters Advanced Parking Guidance System mode. This is where the magic happens.

3. Crawl backwards, keeping your foot on the brake. If you touch the gas, or the wheel, the mode shuts itself off. Make sure to stay under 2.5mph, or it'll shut off, too. The wheel, as you can see from the video above, spins itself like its being ghost-driven. The sonar system is constantly measuring distance, beeping with more urgency as you get closer to obstacles.

4. When you're in the spot, the computer will announce that parking is complete.

Sonar Panels

Parking Mode buttons

Pretty sweet. Dan Neil, automotive journalist for the LA Times, and one of my favorite writers evar, sat next to me when I got the demo. He said he thought it was a pretty neat system. And that he could use it, since his better half was also the better parallel parker.

That's the best part of this car, but it's not the only awesome thing about it.

The car has adaptive cruise control, which uses millimeter-wave radar to slow you if a car in front of you hits the brakes. If the system detects a collision, it'll add pressure to the brakes to help stop time, and electronically tighten seatbelts.

It has the world's first 8-speed transmission, which uses fewer moving parts than the old 6-speed, in about the same space. I thought a car with 8 gears would flip through them like playing cards, but they were geared fairly tall to take advantage of the grunty 4.6-liter, 380-horsepower V8 engine. By the way, the pair gets the car up to 60mph in 5.4 seconds.

Like the Prius and other late-model Lexus cars, its key uses radio frequency to enable the door lock and starter buttons from a few feet away. Seems like a hack waiting to happen. But there's another drawback: One journalist took the car back to SF from Marin county, and left the key at the restaurant. The car keeps going, until you shut it off. Then, get ready to call AAA for a tow.

The headlights were inspired by crystal wine glasses. When they modeled a plastic assembly after the glasses, it didn't shine the way they wanted it to. So they took the headlamp, made it out of crystal, and studied the way it refracted light to get a similar look. The taillights are made from LEDs.

The car is so quiet, they had to redesign motors in the windows and locks because they were intrusive at first.

The backseat is not a bad place to be. The seats are adjustable in position, and feature heating, as well individual climate controls. There's a refrigerator big enough to hold a four cans of...soda. There are individual vanity mirrors, and a 9-inch motorized fold-down screen for the DVD player. The screen also can view and control (not sure if that's by remote or touch) the navigation, in case the driver is too busy speeding. There are rear sun shades that go down when the car is in reverse, and back up automatically when the car goes over 9mph.

The controls...for the back seat.

The tire pressure monitoring receiver sits on the roof, checking all 5 tires, yes, even the full-sized spare.

Finally, we reach the center console.
The nav system is the fifth generation of Toyota's system, centered around a 9-inch, 800x600 screen. The system uses XM to receive live traffic data, with icons for traffic jams, accidents, closed roads, construction, bad weather conditions, etc. But that data is only available in some areas. The system also has integrated Bluetooth for pairing with a cellphone, for speakerphone and addressbook access. The entire system can be controlled by voice commands.

The stereo's 7.1-channel surround, with some 19 speakers pushes 15 discreet channels. The total power? 450 watts. It sounded...okay. The optical drive in the dash plays back CDs, DVDs, and CDs burned with WMA and MP3s. What's cool is that the same HDD that the satellite nav system uses to store maps can also hold MP3s that the car rips from CDs. First car, to my knowledge, that can do this.

The Intuitive parking system is the more simple of the two parking aids. It uses the car's sonar to increase the tempo of beeps as you get closer to cars you're parking near.

How does it drive? It moves a bit like a hurricane-driven cloud, quickly running through its 8 gears to its electronically regulated 135MPH, or something close to that. The car moves, but without much confidence that the road won't fly out from under you in corners. – Brian Lam

Lexus LS 460L [Jalopnik]

Working with the Quixote Transportation Technologies and Standard Parking XM will roll out ParkingLink in Chicago, Detroit, LA and Washington D.C. The system uses GPS and communicates with wireless sensors that are built into parking garages to determine if parking garages are full. Time saving for the win! – Travis Hudson

XM ParkingLink Coming Later This Year [Orbitcast]

A bit lower tech than the VW automated parking garage, this Japanese parking garage stores and retrieves your car like a jukebox, spinning around until yours comes up.

Park your car on the rotating platform and it gets stored, awaiting your eventual return from Victoria's Secret, where you were buying negligees for your mistress. We hear larger apartment buildings around the world are getting systems like this. – Jason Chen

Japanese Parking Lot [Fresh Creation]

Street Sweepers To Ticket [The Newspaper]

How many times has the Parking Authority in your city nailed your ass for being five minutes later to your car after the meter runs out of time? Plenty, I'm sure, so between the fines and hefty cost of parking meters, we understand that you want to squeeze every last minute out of your parking time. That's why there's the Parking Timer, a little keychain you set as a timer to remind you of how much time you have left. Say you put in two hours of coins at the meter. Set the Parking Timer for 2 hours and when you have only five minutes left, the Parking Timer chirps away to let you know it's time to fill up the meter again. Not a bad little gadget for when you don't feel like swallowing a $25 ticket for an expired meter. It'll run you $8.80 and is worth every saved penny.

Parking Timer [Popgadget]

The little Parking meter that could [Phoneyworld]