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The rapid growth of cities around the world poses a variety of challenges. One of these is the additional space needed to store cars. Improved parking technologies, such as robotic parking, can provide an answer. Such solutions are already being implemented.
In robotic multi-storey car parks, cars are lifted by pallets or independent arms and placed on the different floors or even on racks. Either way, by this automated stacking process cars are parked much closer together and there is no need to waste space for ramps.
The benefits are similar in open-air parking lots, with robots resembling pallet trucks moving cars into tightly packed blocks. Some of the systems tried can increase car parking capacity of lots by up to 50%, which translates into much higher revenues.
These systems are also much more convenient for the end user. Instead of looking for a space and parking the car yourself, you simply leave it at the entrance and let the machine handle the parking. This saves time, reduces emissions, increases safety and eliminates the risk of accidents.
While robotic parking is applicable to large parking facilities, smaller facilities and parking space on the street can also benefit from a degree of automation with the help of IoT sensors.
On the other hand, there is the chance that all these technologies will eventually become outmoded, as more efficient smart public transportation becomes available and fleets of roaming autonomous vehicles, which can be hailed at will like taxis, fill the streets. Parking lots could then be torn down to create space for development and green areas.
However, it could take some time before parking goes the same way as the horse and stable. People are not likely to entirely give up their cars anytime soon, so improved parking technologies can solve the issue of storing them.
The original article can be found on E&T.