While there are smartphones apps that take some of the hassle out of finding parking, Audi's bringing similar time- and frustration-saving features to a different screen in your ride, through its Audi Connect infotainment systems. Announced at the Telematics Detroit conference, Audi is tapping Inrix's parking spot data so you can find car-friendly floor space from within its dashboard navigation platform. After telling the car where you want to go, you'll have the option to see parking info at the journey's end, including the nearest locations, operating hours, prices and real-time space availability, depending on what data is available from each garage. The sat-nav will also direct you straight to the entrance of the lot, and should you want to know what that entrance looks like, Google Street View will show you. Audi's new parking feature should start hitting Connect-equipped cars from today via an OTA update, so the "finding a space was a nightmare" excuse won't fly next time you're late. But don't worry, we won't tell anyone.
Update: Turns out that Inrix gets its data from ParkMe, the makers of the app we link to in the first sentence, which explains why Audi's new feature is so similar.
Filed under: Transportation, Software
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Source: CNET, Seattle Times
