From: J. R. Molloy (jr@shasta.com)
Date: Thu Oct 25 2001 - 08:33:02 MDT
Robots are ready to park your car
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001371397,00.html
THE first car park in the United Kingdom to use robots to store drivers' cars
has opened for business in Edinburgh.
Drivers who arrive at the £9 million Autosafe car park are asked to place
their motor in brightly coloured bays at the entrance. An electronic sensor
then scans the car to determine weight and size, checking that it is
unoccupied.
The car is then moved via turntables and a "robot shuttle" and stacked
vertically in a bay. When drivers return they simply sit in a waiting room
until their vehicle is delivered - in a guaranteed time of less than three
minutes. Bosses of the car park, the brainchild of the Swedish company Sky
Parks, say that it will be able to hold more than 600 vehicles.
Cameron Michael, the manager, said: "I think this car park will benefit all
drivers, but it will be especially good for women. Not only are the cars
extremely safe, because the public does not have access to the vehicles, but
it removes the need for the driver to have to wander up and down dark stairs
or corridors."
Near the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, in Morrison Street, the
24-hour car park opened officially on Monday with 200 spaces. Eventually it
will hold 608 vehicles.
--- --- --- --- ---
Useless hypotheses, etc.:
consciousness, phlogiston, philosophy, vitalism, mind, free will, qualia,
analog computing, cultural relativism, GAC, Cyc, Eliza, cryonics, individual
uniqueness, ego, human values, scientific relinquishment
We move into a better future in proportion as science displaces superstition.
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