Are Parking Robots in the Future? Duesseldorf Airport Today.
 

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http://www.iml.fraunhofer.de/en/fields_of_activity/machines_and_facilities/automated_guidedvehicles/automatic_car_parking.html

That is brilliant.

No hunting for a spot and no forgetting where you parked.

Let's hope so.. Here's a company I've been working with in Salt Lake City..

Boomerang Systems' RoboticValet® - YouTube

Having just watched both videos my initial take is that Boomerang system appears to be a better design. The Parkroboter in Germany performs a rather risky lift technique and must be mindful of body damage.

The Germans seem to dig this stuff - here is one with Porsche content:

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The Boomerang system requires garages specially built for that system. The Parkroboter works with existing garages. The lifting systems seem similar.

That looks cool, right up until you have a software glitch and you have a vertical ice cube tray bricked with cars that can't go anywhere.

..and what happens if you lose your ticket or it can't be read... How long do you have to wait for your car then?

Why is this an advantage?

Sort of a giant PEZ dispenser for cars.

The big advantage for both systems is that you can park more cars in less space.

That's how VW does it:

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Probably less time than if you lose your ticket and have to wait for an apathetic attendant to get off the crapper to raise the parking gate for you.

If you noticed, he took a ticket, but "claimed" the car via a smartphone app.

Of course, Germans are all about efficiency, which is why they do this. :) And parking is limited.

Humans getting lazier and lazier! Soon we wont be able to drive anymore.

Our VW Touran has the park assist-system. I hate it. You wont be able to park the car if the system does not recognize the surrounding correctly becuase you "forget" how to do it (less trained).

Just because ONE place (or two, I think Munich also has such a system) has this it does not mean it is a trend!

Not saying it's a trend. ;) But most parking structures I have been in have some sort of info board telling what level has spaces. Not something that is common here, but is starting to catch on.

The above is just illustrates how to become that much more efficient.

Parking info boards aren't new... My company has been selling them for quite a while, most places are just too cheap to buy them. ;)

Do I really have to keep explaining myself? Jesus.

DFW is redoing terminals.

They are putting the finishing touches on terminal A.

The parking stack now has small LEDs hanging in every parking spot.

Shows red for used, green for open and blue for handicapped.

Makes finding a spot so much easier.