NZ Herald: Robots park the cars in radical Ironbank

Michael Dickison of the New Zealand Herald writes about Ironbank – the innovative new development in Auckland which features, amongst other innovations, a robotic car garage.

The development has raised eyebrows and drawn praise for its unusual design and high levels of eco-friendliness, including not having an inbuilt air conditioning system.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“In these virtual garages, cars are driven on to a circular-shaped grid or rotating turntable behind plate glass doors. The driver leaves the garage and confirms he or she has left on the ticket station outside the garage.

“The glass doors shut and the car is scanned for pets and people before a robot arrives to shift the car.

“That robot or trans-elevator lifts the car by its wheels into a vertical parking bay. On return, the driver swipes a computer chip (proximity locator) in front of a screen to have the car moved off the wall and parked back into the virtual garage.”