Parking Attendant 2.0

theodp writes "Would you trust a robot to park your car? That's the question facing New Yorkers as the city's first robotic parking garage opens in Chinatown. With new software and enough laser and radar sensors to make Fort Knox jealous, it's believed that the new facility — which can squeeze 67 cars in space that would otherwise hold only 24 — will not suffer the kind of glitches that caused the nation's first robotic garage in nearby NJ to drop and trap cars."

Comments

Re:In my previous job we had one

[MichaelSmith]

in the first few weeks of the system's operation there were two accidents - the robotic arm with the elcetromagnets ripped of their roofs.

I hear that happens in Iraq from time to time as well :(

I have to say I don't like the idea of picking the cars up by the roof with a magnet. Roofs are only designed to be structural in compression (if you roll over), not routinely as a way of moving the car around. What happens if the roof distorts slightly and stuffs up the seal around the doors?

I love this comment

[jimicus]

"It is a complete virtual impossibility that damage can occur," he said.

Make up your mind. It's either impossible or it's not. If it's not, do those "we do not accept any responsibility blah blah blah" signs have any legal bearing? Because I really don't want to lose my no claims discount because of your car park.

And If There's A Brownout?

[mynameismonkey]

Am I the only one who likes being able to get my car out if the grid is down? In the last major blackout I had to drive home to NYC, the next day I figured if I had no electricity I may as well go camping so I drove to NJ. One fuse blown and my car could be stuck for no good reason.

I, for one, do *not* welcome our new robotic parking overlords.

Automated Storage and Retrieval

[sjbe]

This is just a new application of automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS). They've been around for quite some time in warehousing applications, particularly for manufacturing and libraries. They're particularly useful when dense storage of a wide variety of items is needed. They can be quite secure since you only have to control access to the user terminal to control what goes in or out. They also are generally very reliable and easy to use.

The downsides? All that automation is pretty expensive. Unless one has fairly specific needs there usually are cheaper and simpler alternatives. There also is the risk of breakdowns and regular maintenance is of course required. Power outages obviously will shut the system down and prevent access. The biggest problem though is that if one isn't careful about data entry regarding where things are stored, doing physical inventory and finding lost items can be a BIG problem. If you say the item is in bin 6A and it's really in bin 7C, there is generally no easy way to find it other than searching bin by bin. Not fun even on a small AS/RS system. RFID and barcoding can help in some cases but it's still a serious challenge.