In a hurry at the airport? If you live in France the team at Stanley Robotics have come to your aid with a solution that could see the stress of parking become a thing of the past. Their robot - nicknamed Stan - based at Charles de Gaulle airport, collects cars from designated drop-off areas and transports them to the nearest car park until owners are ready to reclaim their vehicles. Peasy facile!
Technology is key to the process which begins when customers make a booking via the company’s app or website, before parking in a “well lit and spacious” garage close to their terminal. And once they’ve confirmed their arrival on the accompanying touchscreen, they can leave for their flight - taking their keys with them.
Stan will then be activated to collect deposited vehicles, automatically adjusting to each car’s dimensions as it slides underneath and gently lifts the car off the ground. Then, when it has reached the airport’s car park, it uses “the latest sensor technology” to precisely manoeuvre vehicles into rows of five.
The system is being touted as a money-saver for airports, with Stanley Robotics claiming that it can increase the number of cars in a given area by as much as 50 per cent as it can carry a load of 5 vehicles per journey.
The fully electric system is advertised as a zero-emissions solution, and while they neglect to mention where the electricity may be generated, each robot is said to be capable of processing between 20,000 and 30,000 vehicles per year, managing up to 400 parking spaces at any one time.
The system’s final party trick is that each booking contains a record of customers’ flight details, meaning that cars can be returned to the easy-access drop-off point in anticipation of their owners’ return.
Stanley Robotics’ valet solution is already in operation at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, and having recently secured millions of pounds in investment, there’s every chance it could become a more common feature at airports across the globe in the very near future.
