Zhidongxi (public account: zhidxcom)
compiled | Wang Jianen
edited | Gaoge
Zhidongxi July 21st news, imagine how difficult it is to find an idle parking space among the rows of cars that are full of parking, and park the car perfectly. However, this problem was resolved in Seattle.
According to the Seattle Times, an apartment building called Spire in Seattle has installed a fully automatic robot parking system. Residents simply park their cars to the garage entrance and then gently swipe the key card, and the parking system can use robots to park their cars in the underground garage. When residents need to use a car, the system will automatically deliver the car to the residents, saving residents the time to find a car in the garage. At the same time, this parking system can also automatically charge electric cars.
This parking system is designed and installed by Parkworks, a supplier of semi-automatic/full automatic parking system. Its unit capacity is about twice that of a standard garage, and residents need to pay only half of the parking fee that is ordinary garages. In addition, thanks to the use of robot parking, the energy consumption of the entire building has also been greatly reduced.
Cars in robots automatic transportation
1. Robot garages have larger capacity and cheaper parking fees
853 Planners in Seattle divided the streets of the city into conflicting grids. At that time, they must not have imagined that future land tycoons would need to use robots to store vehicles underground. Spire solves this puzzle left by Seattle's ancestors. Residents living in Spire only need to park their cars in any of the three elevators, then tap the key card, and the red car under the car will lift the car up, and the elevator descends like a trap door. When the car descends into the garage, it is transferred to another trolley and then moved to the corresponding parking space. Several small cars on the track transport cars on 266 parking spaces on the 2nd to 9th floors underground.
is about to be taken to the underground garage for cars
"It's about twice the density of a standard parking lot," said Indigo Johnson, project manager at ParkWorks. ParkWorks did not disclose the cost of the project, but residents living here only need to pay an extra $120 a month, which is only half the cost of a regular garage, according to Paul Menzies, CEO of the Spire project’s developer.
Yair Goldberg, an expert consultant at the National Parking Association of America, said that there are about 100 automatic garages in the United States, and this number should increase as technology costs drop and automatic parking systems improve. He also said that if some roadside parking spaces could be replaced by retail stores or residences, it would be a good return on investment anywhere.
Yair Goldberg gave an example, saying that the company he worked in was equipped with a robot garage for $5 million in Hoboken, New Jersey, reducing the garage from 10th floor to 4th floor, which made room for 32 housing units. Denny Road, where
Spire is located, is already in a dilemma of congestion, but parking demand is expected to continue to expand. Developers helped Spire change their original structural design, allowing all cars to get underground instead of half piled on the ground as before.
Spire apartment is located in the neighborhood
2. Robot parking makes the building more energy-efficient and makes it more convenient for residents. The developer of the building said that compared with driving a car to a parking space, electric robots can reduce the use of energy in the building. "Because there is less exhaust gas in the garage and no ventilation fans are needed underground, the garage construction process will also generate relatively less carbon emissions. In addition, there are no pedestrians in the garage, which can also reduce lighting. It only takes about 1 kWh of electricity to store and retrieve a car," Indigo Johnson said. Sam Neff, vice president of
ParkWorks, also said: "When residents park their cars, the bright drop-off area is safer than walking through the traditional garage at night, and the concierge staff will help nearby. When residents want to drive, the system will complete the search of the vehicle in 3 minutes, and can process 60 cars per hour, and owners can see the whole process on the video monitor."
Spire building will open in mid-August, and Paul Menzies estimates that 15% of residents will own electric cars by then. To charge these electric cars, charging piles are set up in the garage. ParkWorks will fix more than a dozen robotic arms and power cords on the lower floor for nighttime charging. Drivers can plug a flashlight-shaped adapter into their cars so that the charging arms can detect them and charge them.
garage drop-off area
3. Promoting robot parking focuses on post-maintenance
Yinhai, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Washington Wang predicts that robot parking will flourish in Seattle as land costs rise. He says some cities, such as Shanghai, are already using automatic parking to solve parking problems in strange-shaped areas like the ones where Spire is located.
Yinhai Wang is extremely optimistic about the future of robot parking, and he believes that there are no drawbacks in the robot parking system besides the potential failure. "Like any other elevator or escalator, or even enclosed parking lots, it needs maintenance." "He said.
According to the New York Times, around 2015, a series of automatic parking system failures destroyed the car and drivers had to park their cars elsewhere. Since then, such companies in the United States have noticed the importance of maintenance.
Conclusion: Robot parking will significantly increase urban land use
"Difficult parking" problem has become a problem that major cities have to face. A large part of the reason for this is due to insufficient parking spaces in cities, but in the It is not easy to plan large-area parking spaces in cities where every land is valuable.
Robot garage has twice the unit capacity compared to traditional garages. At the same time, thanks to its automated management, the utilization rate of parking spaces will be greatly improved, which will effectively solve the problem of parking difficulties in cities.
In addition, the promotion of robot garages can also save more construction space for cities, improve the land utilization rate of cities, and bring more benefits to cities.
Source: Seattle Times
