The next time you find yourself swearing like a sailor while trying to find a parking spot at the airport, think of Stan. He’s a new robot designed to valet your car, and we can’t wait until he makes it to this side of the pond.
Stan will be parking cars at London’s Gatwick Airport this summer as part of a pilot program to make parking more efficient. Designed by French company Stanley Robotics, these self-parking robots work by extending a flatbed underneath your car, lifting it by its wheels and moving it to its parking spot. Because Stan needs less room to maneuver, cars can be parked closer together, dramatically increasing capacity in parking lots.
Stan even knows when your flight arrives and will retrieve your car and get it ready and waiting to be picked up in a staging garage. If all goes well, Gatwick may expand autonomous valet service to two other parking areas, where it could pack 8,500 robot-parked cars into what are currently 6,000 self-park spots.
We’re pretty sure this is one valet that won’t take your car for a joyride or steal anything from the glove compartment.