There's a famous episode of the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld where the four main characters are desperately trying to find their parking spot in a huge garage. Kramer is carrying a heavy box. Elaine has a goldfish in a bag that is losing water. George has an appointment to meet his parents, and Jerry really needs to go the bathroom. But every level looks the same, and every attempt to locate the car ends up in disaster. It's like Dante's circles of hell, but in modern-day format.
We've all experienced moments where parking was a huge issue. In a busy metropolis (there's another Seinfeld episode about parking in New York City streets), when we have heavy bags to worry about at a gargantuan airport, when we're in a hurry for a meeting and parking spots are few in the immense garage we need to park in. What if we could have robots take care of this problem for us?
Science fiction? Nope, it's already happening. How about Germany's Düsseldorf Airport, as an example. According to Mashable, this is all you have to do: pull up to the airport's PremiumPLUS area. Pick up your luggage and tell the system (via touchscreen) that the car is empty. And this is where "Ray" the robot valet comes in.
So that's cool enough, but here's where the robot has an advantage over conventional parking. You know that panicked feeling you have when the parking meter is running out? Imagine that exponentially felt as your plane is delayed ... repeatedly. But here, problem solved: The valet automatically checks for any flight changes. And if the traveller feels the need to tell Ray what's going on, they can always check in through the airport's parking app.
“Our product is especially appealing to business travelers, who arrive at the airport shortly before the flight, seek efficient parking, and return within a few days," said Thomas Schnalke, the airport's managing director, in a statement quoted in multiple news reports.
Companies are also getting on board. Take Boomerang Systems, for example. Their product, RoboticValet, is capable of picking up a car and moving it around 360 degrees. This allows for the design of more efficient garages that don't require the wasteful roadways needed for human travellers to get around. It's been used both in parking garages and on the street.
We've been touting the benefits for humans, but also think about the benefits for the environment. Parking garages would be smaller, leaving a smaller footprint on the landscape. That's less material required, and more room to build something better -- or even to leave a bit of natural space for passers-by to enjoy. And let's not forget all the useless carbon emissions we have from circling parking lots or garages. If we could breeze to an area and let a robot do the rest, that's fewer fumes being pumped into our atmosphere.
So perhaps we can't enjoy the benefits yet in a conventional parking lot, but as the technology gets cheaper it's bound to become more widespread. And the next time we buy a goldfish at the mall, we can be assured the parking garage won't stand in the way of us getting her home safely.
Top image: Wikimedia Commons
