mercredi 5 décembre 2012

The Current Trends In Robotic Parking Systems

By Rosalind Landry


The population of most world cities has increased over the last few decades. This has resulted in a number of challenges one of which is the lack of car parking space due to the ever rising demand for land. For a long time, developers have been constructing offices, hotels and other structures that generate high income and have turned away from car parks due to low returns. The advent of automated or robotic parking systems has been a welcome development as efforts are made to deal with this problem.

The greatest advantage that these automated systems have over the traditional types is that they allow for a greater parking density. There are several levels (storeys) used to park cars and these range 4 to about 30. Due to the high number of cars involved, there is need to install state-of-the-art technology that ensures that both the parking and retrieval processes are efficient. Unlike in the traditional types, ramps and driveways have been done away with. A car is directly lifted or conveyed to its tower or rack.

There are five types of these systems that are being used at the moment. They are the puzzle, the crane, the rail-guided cart, the silo and the shuttle systems. Each comes with its own advantages and downsides. The main considerations in choosing a design include the amount of capital available, the chosen site of constructing the project and the anticipated size of clientele among others.

In the crane system, a gigantic crane is used to facilitate movement both vertically and horizontally. Both movements take place simultaneously so that cars are picked and parked with great precision. There are rails fitted on the floor to facilitate the horizontal movement and an elevator that moves the crane vertically. Due to the high efficiency, a lot of time is saved.

Areas that are very limited in construction space may consider the puzzle design. In a puzzle there are several pallets arranged to create some form of a grid. The grids are interconnected by conveyor belts and they move on a roller system. Electric motors provide the required power. Rail-guided carts are a modification of the same design. These carts are placed beneath the pallets that move the cars to be parked or retrieved.

Shuttle Systems are operated by use of programmed elevators. There may be one or two rows of vehicles on both sides of the shuttle. The number of shuttles varies and is primarily dependent on the amount of capital available. Robots facilitate horizontal movement. There are two lift types used and these are the Off Aisle Lifts (OALs) and End Aisle Lifts (EALs).

The silo system resembles a large cylinder. This cylinder is has a parking mechanism located at the center. This mechanism can move up and down and rotate simultaneously to either park or retrieve the desired vehicles. The only downside of this kind of design is that only a single vehicle can be parked or retrieved at a given time.

Robotic parking systems have resulted in numerous benefits both to service providers and drivers. They are very easy to maintain and investors get back their returns within a couple of years. Costs of lighting and ventilation, for example, are lower than in the traditional type. The client mainly benefits from convenience and more enhanced security for their vehicles.




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