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London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

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Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#11

Post by wildzzz »

alt227 wrote: post #6
smnscu wrote: post #3

I'd be curious how it handles someone parking poorly in that bay e.g. diagonally. Presumably those lines serve as a parking guide and the door won't close unless you park correctly.

IMO this would be a terrible idea to let the robots park cars in the same car park as humans. They most likely have a dedicated car park for this where ever car is parked by a robot. The article says: "A Stanley Robotics autonomous parking robot then slides underneath the vehicle, lifts it by its tyres and transports it to a secure storage area." Which seems to suggest this.

It sounds like the actual lot will be robots only as it mentions parking cars closer together to maximize capacity.

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#13

Post by embedding-shape »

> The service must be booked in advance. Same-day drive-up parking is not available.

Interesting, I wonder if this is just a "Like to be able to see availability and cross-reference data to set individual pricing" or if it's because of a technical limitation, and if so, what could that possibly be?

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#14

Post by pontus »

So I'll have to park my car in a garage first, then take a bus to the terminal just so that a robot can move my car from the place where I parked it to a different place? I was hoping it'd be something where I'd pull up to the curb, grab my bags and head in while the robot parked the car for me but apparently I'll still have to take a bus to the terminal?

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#17

Post by antihero »

alt227 wrote: post #6
smnscu wrote: post #3

I'd be curious how it handles someone parking poorly in that bay e.g. diagonally. Presumably those lines serve as a parking guide and the door won't close unless you park correctly.

IMO this would be a terrible idea to let the robots park cars in the same car park as humans. They most likely have a dedicated car park for this where ever car is parked by a robot. The article says: "A Stanley Robotics autonomous parking robot then slides underneath the vehicle, lifts it by its tyres and transports it to a secure storage area." Which seems to suggest this.

I think the OP was talking about humans parking weirdly in the garage the robot picks them up from, not the car park itself—the car park itself is robot only (so they can jam cars together).

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#18

Post by Elhana »

alt227 wrote: post #6
smnscu wrote: post #3

I'd be curious how it handles someone parking poorly in that bay e.g. diagonally. Presumably those lines serve as a parking guide and the door won't close unless you park correctly.

IMO this would be a terrible idea to let the robots park cars in the same car park as humans. They most likely have a dedicated car park for this where ever car is parked by a robot. The article says: "A Stanley Robotics autonomous parking robot then slides underneath the vehicle, lifts it by its tyres and transports it to a secure storage area." Which seems to suggest this.

Robot = some 3rd world country guy driving in remotely

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#19

Post by simonklee »

pontus wrote: post #14

So I'll have to park my car in a garage first, then take a bus to the terminal just so that a robot can move my car from the place where I parked it to a different place? I was hoping it'd be something where I'd pull up to the curb, grab my bags and head in while the robot parked the car for me but apparently I'll still have to take a bus to the terminal?

Exactly, i think this product is solving an airport problem and not a user problem. Whenever i park at an airport i always look for the shortest distance to terminal / price, then chose an option that lands within an acceptable range. Unless i'm way for very long shuttle-bus isn't really on the table.

Re: London Gatwick has launched a robotic airport parking service

#20

Post by 0x3f »

beardyw wrote: post #9

I remember parking in central London where you left your car in a single space inside a building and it would whisk it up onto some unseen location. I think that was under human control but maybe it will make a comeback with automation.

Where was this? I've only seen it in London at very high end residential places. Even then it's rare. Most privately-owned public car parks in London are dilapidated and full of thieves, but still command premium pricing. It would surprise me if one bothered to build the infra for this.
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