Lately technology has advanced so much that much of the work we did as humans are now done by machines. This is a step in the right direction but to get to the point where we have robots to park our car is a bit too much. New York City has announced to open its first robotic parking garage in Chinatown this coming month of February. In an apartment-building basement 67 cars will be parked mechanically which was built to park only 24 cars with ramps and maneuvering space. This extra space was stripped out, as the mechanical device parking the cars will not need this space. But do we trust a robot to park our cars?
Other states like Florida had this type of automated parking and have had their share of experiences as well. Nothing major, but the device dropped an unoccupied Cadillac Deville six floors in 2004 and a jeep four stories the following year. Also, the garage had a malfunction in two of its sensors which led to cars being trapped for 26 hours. Despite these glitches, (which I think are major ones and I am so lucky that it was not my Cadillac!) the garage company claims to have performed with 99.99% efficiency.
The machines that perform these automated operations are from Automotion Parking Systems, the U.S. subsidiary of Germany's Stolzer Parkhaus, which has built successful and performing automated garages in several countries overseas like Dubai and United Arab Emirates. But the garage in New York will have no human supervision except for an attendant who will explain the process of parking the car in the pallet and walk out, so the mechanical gear could take over the car and park. It will also protect the garage owners from lawsuits, since there will be no eye witnesses when the cars are crushed and piled up as a result of a glitch.
The technology will only need some more time to perk up its parking by the usage of droids (Go Star Wars!). All you will need to do as a safe, conscientious driver is to park the car wherever you feel like it, get out of the car and call for a droid; the droid would march up to your car, get in, and drive to a parking spot and park as needed. When you need the car back, talk to a wrist watch gadget and the droid will bring the car to you. Is that not a sweet covenant? Only hope, that it brings it to you in one piece. Otherwise, like Kramer in Seinfeld says ‘Just write it off!’
1 comment:
I think you're right when you say that we have to use such facilities with a bit of trepidation but come on! It was a Cadillac, I think the computer knew exactly what it was doing. :-D As far as whether or not it's making us lazy, I don't know, all I know is that it will be a bit of a time saver. Parking in places like New York and Dubai is horrendous (I have first hand knowledge of both) and a thing like this could make life a bit easier. But still, not at the risk of having your car dropped.
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