So, would you pay $1200 to never have to park ever again? If that sounds intriguing you may be just the person Steer is looking for. Steer makes aftermarket Level 4 autonomous parking and summoning devices. If you have a 2012 or newer vehicle, hate to park, or even to look for a parking spot, this is what you need. But there’s more to it than just doing your parking for you.

The Steer module also has a Valet Mode. What that promise is your car can drop you off, park itself while you are going about your business, and wait until summoned. This is especially significant for those who have to park a long way from the office. Time is money. If you can be dropped off at the office without driving to a parking structure and walking blocks to the office the price is worth time.

Sensors in the module can be programmed to map an area

There are a couple of downsides right now partially because Steer is just getting off of the ground. The ability to have the device park your car in a public lot or parking garage requires a subscription. Right now that’s $30 a month, but it only is good for the Baltimore and Washington DC areas. That is where Steer’s headquarters are located. However, it says sensors in the module can be programmed to map a lot or an area. 

Steer says most cars built in 2012 or later have driver assistance programming already in their computers. So Steer’s computing module and sensor box just wake up that portion of your car’s ECU. The Steer sensor box also contains a camera for imaging that ties into the car’s existing sensor capabilities. 

Without the subscription, there is still a gang of functions that the Steer system can provide. Steer’s system can park a vehicle in and out of perpendicular and slanted parking spaces. It can park your car in or out of the home garage including stopping and starting remotely. It can also open and close your garage door if a door opener is already installed. The Steer system has the ability to self-map to learn commonly used roads and where to park. For now, there is no parallel parking capability.

Besides self-parking, it also contains autonomous safety features

Steer’s units also contain autonomous safety features popular in new cars that can now be added to older models. Obstruction detection, pedestrian detection, vehicle detection, common object detection, intersection handling, stop sign, and ground sign detection. There’s also a parental monitoring mode. It also has the ability to track your vehicle through cloud hosting. So if you’ve always wanted that Nissan CrossCabriolet but wished it had autonomous safety features, now it can.

In the immediate future, Steer is working on having its product installed from the factory. It is also looking at having the system dealer-installed just like burglar alarms.