SHENZHEN’S first automated vertical parking lot equipped with gantry robots opened recently at the Tian An Cyber Park — an industrial park with 50,000 employees — in Futian District, providing an intelligent solution to mitigate urban parking congestion.

Gantry robots are robotic systems that use a fixed overhead track (the gantry) to move an end effector (tool) mounted on carriages that travel along the track. They’re ideal for precision applications like pick and place, loading and unloading parts, and assembly tasks that need high accuracy and repeatability over a large workspace.

This double-layer parking lot achieves the automated storage and retrieval of vehicles through the combination of vertical lifting, lateral movement, and stacking operations performed by gantry robots. Without expanding the physical footprint of the parking lot, it has increased its storage capacity from 96 to 182 spaces.

The driver simply needs to drive into a yellow induction zone and wait for the gate to open automatically.

After reversing into the parking space, the driver can exit the vehicle and leave. The surveillance system will quickly capture the license plate information. Once the driver confirms the parking status of the vehicle and verifies that the license plate number is correct, they can press the “confirm” button to complete the parking process.

When retrieving the car, the driver inputs the license plate number at the control panel outside the car hall, and the robot will deliver the vehicle to the hall, opening the door automatically to the driver. On average, it takes only 60 seconds to park or pick up a car.

(SD News)