Machine-Operated Parking Is Here, And It's Freakishly Awesome

Not everyone likes parking, and it's true that parking garages take up a ridiculous amount of space, so one company has developed a more compact, fully-automated parking solution that's straight from the future

Matt Kimberley

01 Nov 2016

With automated cars ultimately likely to take driving out of the hands of us dangerous humans, automated parking systems are already taking over the business of parking.

The Unitronics automated parking system claims to allow more cars to be stored in less space, specifically for where development real estate is at a premium. Drivers simply roll up to a defined point, lining their car up according to instructions, and then the computers and machinery do the rest, lifting the car up and slotting it away until called for.

Machine-Operated Parking Is Here, And It's Freakishly Awesome

No valet is involved, says the firm, and the car stays locked with the handbrake on and engine off at all times. No one else needs to touch the vehicle at all, which will at least put a stop to those outrageous stories of damage caused by valets and recovery technicians.

The space advantages are measurable, but we wonder whether this might be another step in de-skilling human drivers – at least while we’re still legal. Let us know your thoughts.

Comments

Now as cool of an idea this is, I do see an issue. If there was a power outage, would that mean your car is just stuck on a ledge three stories in the air with no way to get it down?

I would imagine there would be some way that the lift could be mechanically operated, so you could get up there and get the car onto it, then back down again.

I wonder what happens when this shows up at the entrance of this garage :3

They’ll laugh at the owner for ruining his car.

(little sign pops up on loading thing) “No.”

It’s like a vending machine for cars.

Don’t forget to get out of your car or you will be stuck forever

I would almost just stay in the car to see what happens.

There’s an underground parking lot in here in Lisbon, Portugal, that’s been using this kind of technology for at least 9 years now.

how does it actually use space more efficiently? all it’s doing is adding automation

The parking garage wouldn’t need to be as wide, having only two rows of spaces, and not needing any space to allow drivers to maneuverethe cars around.