by Tim Wood
Last updated: 2:00 AM ET, Thu July 3, 2014
PHOTO: Meet Ray, the new robotic parking concierge at Dusseldorf Airport.
If you can get past the the creepy "Jetsons"-meets"-"Minority Report" feeling of this technology, the idea behind the Ray robotic parking system is revolutionary.
No more last-minute dashes to the airport, only to miss your flight because you can't find a parking space.
Dusseldorf became the world's first airport to employ an intelligent robot parking system when the tech debuted June 23. This is truly one of those inventions that will go a long way toward taking the hassle out of air travel. All you do is book your parking space online before your flight via the system's app for IOS and Android devices.
Then, at the airport, customers drive to their designated parking area - one is located on each level - and drop their car off inside the "transfer box." Ray then goes to work, measuring your car and through a series of sensors and radars, moves your car to the spot you reserved while you head off to the terminal. Users work with a touch screen to indicate all passengers are out of the car, when they want to pick their car up and whether they are traveling with carry-on or checked luggage.
Ray is connected to the airport's flight data system, so it knows flight schedules. If the traveler makes manual changes to their itinerary, they can make those changes on the app. When the plane arrives, the vehicle is waiting for the user in the transfer box. If you decide to stop for dinner or do shopping at the airport, you can adjust your pickup time on the app.
Beyond just knowing the information on your car, the system is constantly rearranging cars based on arrival times.
The below video is in German, but the awesomeness of this technology can not be contained by language barriers.
"The new PremiumPLUS Offer expands our broad range of parking services by another innovative and customer-oriented segment," says Thomas Schnalke, the airport's managing director. "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. Our product is ideal for them."
The system is produced by serva tansport in the Bavarian town of Grabenstätt and employed by SITA Airport IT GmbH, a joint venture of Düsseldorf Airport and SITA, a worldwide provider of air transportation industry ICT. The company believes it can increase available parking space by up to 60 percent at Duesseldorf simply by its flexible design and ability to park cars sideways.
There are 249 available parking spots during the first phase of the project. The "PremiumPLUS" parking will cost is 29 Euro per day and 4 Euro per hour.
The key is will customers take to this freaky new convenience? The airport is ready to expand the program if they do, and serva says the system can be retrofitted into any airport's existing parking system technology.
What say you, the traveler? Are you ready to have robots park your car?
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