Autonomous parking robots are now in European airports

After successful trials at airports in in Paris and Lyon, the Stan autonomous parking system is on its way to Gatwick, London. Here's how it works: Drop your car into a little garage, scan yourself into the system, then head to the plane. A robot then picks up your car, ferries it off to a distant, secure, high-density car park, and brings it back for you to pick up from a similar little garage when you arrive back in town. Stanley Robotics' Stan robots, shaped like waist-high toasters with a large pickup tray, zip underneath cars, grab them by the tires, lift them up and move them around. They can steer from both ends, so they’re great in tight spaces. Stan’s parking facilities don’t have to allow driving lanes every two rows of cars, because the robots can easily move cars about to get to other ones. The doors don’t have to open, so they can be closer together sideways as well.