The swiftest tow companies can snatch a car like a spatula lifting a burger patty to a bun. A similar premise, along with lots of lasers and considerably more attention to detail, is what’s behind a new robotized parking system at the Düsseldorf Airport in Germany.
Travelers who prefer to snub the airport’s human valets can pay €29 (roughly $40) per day to have an autonomous forklift—they’re each nicknamed “Ray”—gently pick up their cars and carry them to one of 249 robot-park-only spaces. The driver need only to pull under a laser-scanning bay that sizes up their car, grab a ticket, and walk out. Ray pulls alongside the car, extending or shortening the distance between the wheel lifts (they touch only the tires), and then gently carries the vehicle it to an open spot. Ray can re-park it later depending on how many other cars come and go in sizes ranging from Smarts to SUVs.
According to the robots’ maker, Serva Transport Systems, this arrangement can allow a garage to increase capacity by 60 percent. “He is patented and he doesn’t waste any time,” says the company. In case you were questioning Ray’s gender identity, now you know.
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What’s most interesting, aside from the spinning Lidar sensors on the robot’s frame that draw a 3D map of the garage, is the garage’s guarantee of zero nicks and scratches. The system snaps 360-degree photos before you park and before you leave so there’s no question if Ray made a screw-up. Lose the paper ticket and you won’t have to pay a penalty, either.
A smartphone app is available to reserve a spot or to request that your car be ready once you land, and you never give up your keys. If you enter a flight number when you park, the system will automatically retrieve your car based on your landing time and whether or not you will need to pick up luggage, also taking into account any flight delays. If you wish to use a human valet, the airport offers conventional service on the terminal curb for a €15 euro fee at both drop-off and pickup. But that’s on top of the parking rates, which makes Ray seem like a deal.
The system has a few drawbacks. It can’t park low-clearance cars—you’ll have to park your own slammed 240SX or have a human valet do it—or those with body addenda that extend much beyond the basic contours of the vehicle. Should you forget your passport in the glove box, the airport won’t let you run back to your car. Instead, you have to summon Ray or a real person. We have to admit that this seems pretty awesome, and, as frequent travelers, we applaud anything that makes the airport experience less stressful.
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