VIDEOS: Self-Driving Forklift, "Ray", Brings Automatic Parking to the Luxury Market

A Robotic Parking System Recently Debuted at the Dusseldorf Airport in Germany and while it’s Not the 1st Automated Parking System to See the Light of Day, it is Among the 1st to Prioritize Elegance and Design. Most Robot Parking Solutions Have Thus-Far been Rather Warehouse-Like, Made with Big Yellow and Blue Steel Girders and Large, Visible Mechanical Parts. Your Average BMW Owner would probably be Much More Likely to Trust Billy the Valet with his Brand New Paint Job, Whether or Not that’s a Justified View. Big, Moving Pneumatic Platforms Tend to Have a Dour, Steam-Ejection Aesthetic and People Don’t Generally like Watching their $100,000 Car Get Shunted around Like Boxes at an Amazon Factory — but, What about a Slick, Friendly Robot Named, "Ray" ? That’s a Solution that Could Capture the Lucrative Luxury Market.


The User Experience on "Ray" is Seamless — just Park your Car in "Ray’s" Little Area, Pay for Parking and Walk Away. The System Performs a 3D Scan of the Vehicle and "Ray" Adjusts its Tines and Tires to Perfectly Slide Beneath Each Car and Lift it by the Tires. When Holding a Car Aloft, "Ray" Doesn't Take Up Much More Space than the Car itself, Allowing the System to Pack Vehicles Densely without Blocking Anything Off. You Don’t Need to Remember Where you Parked, because you Won’t be Going there Anyway; "Ray" will Retrieve your Car and Bring it to the Pickup Area When you’re Ready to Leave. In Many Cases, this Means the System will Have your Car Waiting for you When you Walk Out of the Terminal, since your Flight Schedule is Logged with the Airport.




Check Out the Video below for Some Shots of "Ray" in Action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3E7OG1JSKU







The Creators at Serva Transport Systems, which Created the System, Say that, "Ray" Can Pack Up to 60% More Cars into the Same Parking Area. That’s an Impressive Claim and Not a Difficult One to Believe if you’ve Ever Tried to Navigate a Large, Chaotic Parking Garage. Not Only does "Ray" Pack Cars More Closely Together but, it Can Plan Elaborate and Efficient Layouts No Collection of Human Drivers, or Even Valets, would Put Up with. Of Course, there are Downsides to "Ray" — such as the Fact that, right now, Getting a Robot to Park your Car will Cost you almost $40. If you’re Choosing "Ray" Over a Human Valet Service though, that Might Not be such an Enormous Fee, as Tips and Valet Fees are Often Quite Hefty Themselves.


Many People are More Comfortable Ordering Machines Around than People and Getting More Drivers to Use Parking Services (Human or Robot) should Increase Efficiency. Additionally, "Ray" is Fully Insured Against Any Damage it Might Cause to a Car so, Drivers Needn’t Worry about Too Much about Hypothetical Hiccups in the Self-Driving Software. "Ray" Can also Only Lift Cars just High Enough to Move them, which Means it Can’t do Any Multi-Level Stacking of Automobiles. "Ray" Can Dramatically Increase Parking Density in a Given Area but, it Can’t Take Advantage of Any Vertical Space — though it Could Theoretically Drive Cars Up and Down Ramps between Floors of a Parking Garage.


The Incredible Volkswagen Autopark System at Autostadt Wolfsburg (which you Can See in the Video below) Certainly Marries the Aesthetic and Technological Sides of Robot Parking Quite Effectively, though the Costs are Prohibitive; One of "Ray’s" Biggest Advantages is that, it Can Go to Work in Virtually Any Parking Area with Minimal Need to Retrofit. Right Now, People are Paying for Novelty and to Subsidize a Nascent Industry but, Costs Should Come Down Soon Enough. When they do, High-Traffic Facilities All Over the World May Find that Buying a Few Automatic Parking Robots is Cheaper, Easier and More Readily Embraced by the Public than Building 60% More Parking Area.




"Wolkswagen Car Park", Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JguJpX7bS6k