You’ve surely heard of self-driving and self-parking cars by now. Most premium cars are capable of parking themselves with little or no input from the driver. Nissan wants to make sure that this technology is experienced by as many people as possible, even those who may never have seen such a car. The company has developed self-parking slippers to showcase its ProPilot Park technology.
Nissan has made these self-parking slippers for a state-of-the-art hotel in Yokohama, the ProPILOT Park Ryokan, where traditional Japanese hospitality meets Nissan’s autonomous driving technology. The traditional Japanese inn is located in the resort town of Hakone which is 47 miles southwest of Tokyo and is famed for its view of Mount Fuji.
These slippers can “park” themselves at the entrance of this traditional inn at the push of a button thanks to the system made by Nissan. Thus they’re always ready for guests to use upon their arrival.
Each slipper has two small wheels, sensors, and a motor that enables it to “drive” across the wooden lobby floor using Nissan’s ProPilot Park technology. The full-fledged version of this technology is used by Nissan in its new Leaf electric car.
“The self-parking slippers are meant to raise awareness of automated driving technologies, and their potential, non-driving applications,” said Nissan spokesman Nick Maxfield.