This Robot Wants to Park Your Car

Cooping, thatching and wainwrighting; all great skills we used to be expert in once upon a time – but ask anyone to make a barrel, straw roof or wagon today and you’re more likely to get blank stares than quality products. The sad truth is; we just don’t need those skills anymore so we’ve let them atrophy over time.

Another treasured skill earmarked for oblivion soon will be ‘car parking’ as some eye-popping new tech has arrived to kick our own parallel parking abilities to the kerb. Chinese robotics manufacturer Yeefung has brought out a new solution called GETA which can not only park your car in the tightest of spots, it can move all the other cars to fit even more in. A parking lot in Nanjing usually fitted 10 cars at a time but with GETA in attendance, that number went up to 57!

Though self-parking cars have been around for a while with Lexus’ offering Advanced Parking Guidance, Tesla having Autopark and BMW Remote Parking Assist, these systems are still limited by your vehicle’s turning circle – and by how badly everyone else has parked!

With GETA, neither is a problem as it operates like a mobile robot jack that slides under a vehicle, lifts it up clear of the ground then moves it smoothly into place using laser-guided navigation. GETA can pack the cars in so tight because there’s no need to open any car doors or leave any room for all the cars to get out. If your car is in the middle, GETA will just move all the others out of the way – like some giant game of real world version of the Rush Hour puzzle game!

Though GETA isn’t likely to be available for individual vehicles any time soon, you’re more than likely to see them in action at supermarkets and shopping malls in the not-too-distant future. Which, if your parking skills are like mine, is welcome news indeed!