As a life-long big-city kid, this tech hits near and dear to my heart. Anyone who has driven in NYC can attest to what a nightmare parking is. Even in the outer boroughs, you can easily spend 15-30 minutes driving around the block or camped out at a fire hydrant looking for a spot to open up. And heaven forbid there be construction on the block… Fuhgeddaboutit!

There is some really awesome tech out there that large urban centers really need to look in to. Below are some videos of fully automated parking systems can quickly and efficiently park your car. Here’s a quick synopsis of the way they work:

• The driver is directed into a transfer area that looks similar to a small garage and parks the car
• The driver exits vehicle and activates a control panel which triggers the parking process to begin
• Lasers and motion detectors ensure the car is empty and in the correct position
• The car is actually on a movable pallet which is shuttled on to an elevator system and into the parking area
• Sensors and programming logic automatically route cars to the closest available parking space, and even shift other cars around if needed.
• Upon returning, the driver either uses a ticket, token or identification card to retrieve the vehicle and pays right at the control panel
• The system retrieves the car, usually in under 4 minutes, and even goes so far as to turn it into the correct direction to exit the area
• Systems are equipped with cameras for monitoring from a central location, and even include plate recognition for car retrieval in case the token or id card are lost

The best part about these systems is that they can be built above ground as well as below ground. Got a small parking lot that can no longer support a rapidly expanding commercial area? BUild a structure that stacks cars on top of each other. Got an old subway tunnels that are never used (*coughNYCcough*)? Build the system to house the cars along the length of the tunnel. These systems are not pure fantasy. They are real and in practice, though mainly throughout Europe and Asia.

Big cities like NYC, LA and Chicago are desperately in need of better ways to park vehicles and reduce congestion on the streets, though to my knowledge only 3 cities have automated parking systems in place (NYC, Hoboken and Washington D.C.). The tech is still in its infancy, but is definitely very cool and has the potential to really take off.

Automotion Parking Systems in New York
Video – Popular Mechanics – Robot Parks Cars

APT PARKING in Pennsylvania
Video -Most Advanced Automated Garage In The World

The Multiparker from Budapest (auto-playing video)
Multiparker 710 / 720 / 730 Data Sheet (pdf)

The MPSystem’s Automatic Parking System from Korea
Video -The Future of Parking Now