An Israeli company has been offering an automated alternative to the old fashioned parking garage, reported ISRAEL21C Sunday.
The Unitronics Group's parking garage solution does away with having the driver search for available spots throughout the floors of the garage.
Instead, the driver drives the car into a 20-by-20 foot entry bay, turns off the engine, locks the car, takes a ticket and goes on his way. The rest of the process is fully automated.
A Unitronics robot rolls into position under the car and lifts the vehicle using a combination of radar, optical sensors and cameras. It uses automated elevators to transport the car to the destination spot and positions it perfectly.
Unitronics develops industrial automation products, smart warehouses and automated parking solutions for global clients including Danone and BP in Belgium and Coca-Cola in Holland. It built 47 projects in Israel and runs an international network of 165 distributors and sales offices in Europe, the United States, Israel and the Far East. Its US subsidiary recently completed four new-generation automated parking garages in the United States – three in Hoboken, New Jersey, and one at City Hall in West Hollywood, California – plus another in Mexico.
Two other projects in the works are a $4.5 million carpark, planned to open in late 2017 in a luxury apartment complex in Cliffside Park, New Jersey, and a very large $24 million project in Calgary, Canada.
Unitronics founder and CEO Haim Shani told ISRAEL21c that while mechanical parking is not a new idea, the Israeli solution does not require any devices or systems aside from the robot and offers revolutionary financial and ecological benefits.
“Our solution is unique and can change the whole game. The developer not only enjoys high-density parking but also lower cost,” says Shani.
The Unitronics Group, based in Airport City, went public in 1999 and is listed on the Brussels and Tel Aviv stock exchanges. Employees number about 250 in Israel and almost 50 in the United States.