Robots that park your car could be coming to a carpark near you soon, writes Patrick Logue
Back in the 1980s we thought that, by now, robots would be making our dinner, driving our buses and taxis or at the very least walking our dogs. And while the dawn of the emission-free SUV and the automated taxi driver has not arrived, technological developments have been kind to motorists; they have given us everything from rain-sensitive windscreen wipers and electric windows to stability control systems, air bags and anti-lock braking systems.
Where would we be without in-car MP3 and DVD players, central locking and reverse-parking sensors to mention just a few innovations? We have come a long way in the motoring world from the dark days of the 1980s when power-steering was a new fad, but a new technology may be about to make life a little easier for us again.
Automated parking uses robots to park your car while you go to the office or race up to your apartment to cook dinner. The system has been in operation in other countries, such as Sweden and the United States, for some time but one company that provides such systems has set up shop in Dublin.
"You drive into a parking module, lock the car, leave it and a door will come down," explains Tony Corcoran, managing director of Sky Parks Projects Ltd. "The driver will take a ticket or will have access by way of a swipe card, depending on whether it is a public or private facility.
"Once they exit the car, a robot then comes in on a trolley underneath the module and picks it up by various arms and pulls it onto a moving trolley. That then goes into a rack-and-stack system and is automatically allocated a parking space.
"If the space is on the same level, it moves it along horizontally and if it's at a higher level, it goes onto a lift and is assigned its specific space," Corcoran adds.
The system is designed to take vehicles that weigh up to three tonnes and will allot vehicles such as SUVs or people carriers larger spaces within the car park. It will deliver your car to you in under 2.5 minutes when you arrive back to the car park and away you go.
But why bother with such a system? Are car parks not already sufficient?
People like Corcoran, who are trying to make money selling these systems, will tell you with some justification that automated parking is the new "watchword" for urban planning.
Firstly they will cut down on wasted space associated with conventional car parks that require greater head-room as well as plenty of space for driveways and ramps. It is estimated that multi-story carparks with automated parking systems in place can accommodate twice the number of cars, or, of course, the same number of cars in half the space.
Secondly they do not need ventilation systems installed as the cars are switched off as they are slotted into their individual compartments in the multi-story cabinet, which also cuts down on the unwanted fumes escaping into the atmosphere.
Thirdly, automated parking provides a secure environment for both car and driver, virtually eliminating the chances of either being approached by unwanted individuals.
A spokesman for Park Rite, the largest operator of commerical car parks in the State, told The Irish Times: "We look at all new technologies from all over the world that may enhance our business. All is fine when they are working but when they break down you're stranded," he said.
Corcoran says the technology's "time has come" but also admits there are some limits. "The only area where we figure it is not suitable is a theatre or cinema where you have a rush of people looking for their cars at the same time," he says.
They will also not allow you to easily return to your car if you happen to accidentally leave your handbag in the front seat or allow you to pop back to the car to dump the first consignment of shopping. Problematic too, is returning to your car with a trolley full of shopping.
Then there is the small matter of cost. With a price tag of up to €25,000 per parking space, these kits don't come cheap.
Other countries have been using the systems for some time. One of the first schemes was for 124 spaces, built in Hallsberg, Sweden in 1991, and one of the most recent developments is at Cartier head office in Paris, which is due to open its underground automated parking shortly.
Corcoran and his fellow Irish manager, ex-general manager of AIB Capital Markets Tom Barry, recently set up office in Dublin and hope to stimulate interest in the coming months.
Strike issues for robot-run parking
Hundreds of cars were trapped in a robot-run carpark in Hoboken, New Jersey, last August after a row between local authorities and a software company.
The garage was owned by the city but the software was from a company called Robotic Parking of Clearwater, Florida.
After a dispute about a contract between the two sides, the city had police escort the robotic parking workers from the premises, who left along with the technical manuals and intellectual property rights. With the robots shut down there was no way of manually removing the cars from their allotted spaces.
After days of negotiations the two parties came to a settlement which eventually saw the carpark up and running again and its cars released.