No more hunting for a parking space! Robot Ray helps drivers fit into tight bays - but would you trust your car with a machine?
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If you're the type of person who drives around looking for a space big enough for your not-quite parallel parking skills, then help may be at hand.
A robot named 'Ray' has been developed to help spatially-challenged drivers fit into tight spaces by automatically parking their car for them.
The technology, currently being used at Düsseldorf International Airport, claims to be able to park 60 per cent more vehicles in one area compared with a human driver.
And it's simple to use. A driver leaves their car at a Vehicle Transfer Station (VTS), which uses laser scanners to measure the precise height and width of the vehicle.
The system then calculates the position of the vehicle's wheels and measures other key parts such as the wing mirrors and the bumper.
Once this is done, the driver is issued with a ticket from a terminal where they can leave their vehicle in Ray's mechanical 'hands'.
A robot named 'Ray' has been developed to help spatially-challenged drivers fit into tight spaces by automatically parking their car for them. The technology, currently being used at Düsseldorf International Airport, claims to be able to park 60 per cent more vehicles in one area compared with a human driver
The system calculates the position of the vehicle's wheels and measures other key parts such as the wing mirrors and the bumper (right). Once this is done, the driver is issued with a ticket from a terminal where they can leave their vehicle in Ray's hands (left)
Ray has four wheels that can turn a full 360-degrees, allowing it to manoeuvre into extremely tight spaces.
Approaching from the side, Ray picks up the car by sliding one set of its forks each under its front and rear wheels.
The car is then transported to the parking spot selected by the system's software. When a driver wants their car back, they pay the ticket and their vehicle will be brought to a nearby VTS.
The technology has been developed by Serva transport systems, a company based in Grabenstätt Bavaria, alongside the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics in Dortmund.
Automated parking systems are nothing new, but German company says its product is more efficient.
Ray has four wheels that can turn a full 360 degrees, allowing it to manoeuvre into extremely tight space
Approaching from the side, Ray picks up the car by sliding one set of its forks each under its front and rear wheels. The car is then transported to the parking spot selected by the system's software
Software divides up the area to make sure cars make the best possible space, for example by parking cars of a similar size together.
Ray can reshuffle the arrangement of cars at any time if it realised that a different arrangement would make more efficient use of the space.
The system is already being used in the parking of Dusseldorf Airport alongside a smartphone app that tells drivers if their car is ready to be collected.
'This technology is especially handy during peak times,' Dr Christian Jahncke, managing director of SITA Airport IT told Fraunhofer magazine.
'Instead of spending millions of euros to extend our garages, we could simply make better use of the space we already have.'
APP USES PARKING DETECTORS SO THAT YOU WON'T LOSE YOUR CAR
It's happened to all of us: Faced with a busy car park, you suddenly have a sinking feeling that you have no idea where you have left your car.
But instead of wandering the endless rows of identical vehicles, you can now let your smartphone track down your ride with a simple push of the button.
Google recently announced that smartphones using its Google Now service will be offering something known as a 'parking detector'
The intelligent personal assistant, available within the Google Search mobile application for the Android and iOS operating systems, lists the address of the place where you last left your car.
It does this on a Google Now 'parking card' on your phone, that also provides a map which shows how far you are from that location.
If the card gets it wrong the first time, the service will also offer alternative places that you can check.
Put the internet to work for you.
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