Fort Lauderdale to get robotic parking garage

Valet? We don't need no stinkin' valet. We'll have our cars automagically ensconced in a Rubik's Cube-like parking maze at the robotic garage, thanks. When built, the recently-approved mechanical parking structure will be only the third fully automated system in the country (after Hoboken, NJ and Washington, D.C.). A driver will pull in and onto a mechanical parking tray, which scans the car for any potential stowaways before rising into the structure like an elevator and distributing the vehicle into an empty spot. A new tray comes down to await the next vehicle owner who can afford to drop $30,000 on a parking spot, and the cycle begins anew. When residents of the associated condo project wish to retrieve their vehicles, a handheld device can be scanned in the elevator on the way down so that cars can be ready and waiting. For $30K, let's hope that Rubik's Cube never misplaces your Jag.

[WTF happened!?!?!?! @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

The robotic garage in Hoboken dropped someone's Cadillac 45 feet last year.

http://www.edmecka.com/916_garden_caddy_crashes_jj032004.html

[Andy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

The first one in the US was in Washington DC.
The DC garage is in an apartment building, Summitt Grand Parc. I actually used it once when I was searching for a place to live. It was interesting to say the least.

http://www.spacesaverparking.com/

http://www.spacesaverparking.com/projects/automaticparkingdebut.html

[nels @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Geeze I paid 25k for my parking spot in Chicago and all I get is BORING, i wanna robo park toooo

[met @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

something similar to the parking in irobot?

[Ryan gardner @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Sweet. Now I just need to find a way to hack the RF signals those keychains send out and I can steal a whole hell of a lot of cars. Especially the German place - because they are now being instructed to leave their electronic keys inside the cars... So just take the car, smash the window, grab the electronic keypad... and go get the windows repaired at the friendly neighborhood chop shop.

It would be fun to anticipate what the machine would bring you next once you hacked into it. It would be like one of those kids vending machines... "Oh, another BMW Z3? I wanted an SUV... better put a few more quarters in..."

[CrystalGeyser @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

They have these garagaes in Taiwan too. They're slow and loud, but efficient. Unless you're rich, extremely patient, and aren't afriad of power outtages, this could be a very good thing. This is especially true in Los Angeles, where many SUV mom's double park all the time!

[cuby @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

this nutty "Cube Garage" was clearly built on a shoestring budget. but in a few years they'll develop a Hypergarage. then there'll be Garage Zero ... wait what were we talking about?

[There's this old joke @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Reminds me of the old joke...

A man walks into a bank in New York City and asks for the loan officer. He tells the loan officer that he is going overseas on business for two weeks and needs to borrow $5,000.

The bank officer tells him that the bank will need some form of security for the loan, so the man hands over the keys to a new Rolls Royce parked on the street in front of the bank. He produces the title and everything checks out.

Two weeks later, the man returns, repays the $5,000 and the interest, which comes to $15.41. The loan officer says, "Sir, we're a little puzzled. While you were away, we checked you out and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is, why would you bother to borrow $5,000?"

The man replies, "Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for only $15.41 and expect it to be there when I return?"

[Taury @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

This structure is like the weird cube thing from the movie... well... "Cube". Let's hope nobody gets trapped inside one of those boxes...

[newlaster @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

There's actually also a robotic parking garage in Detroit also. Where else but the motor city? It is connected to an apartment building downtown.

http://www.loftsofmerchantsrow.com/

[blankoboy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

pfffft, welcome to 25 years ago in Japan. Yawn...=)

[James @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

I looked at the Summit building in Fort Lauderdale over the summer... maybe thats where its gonna be...
My family lives in DC, so I'll have to check out the one there sometime. lol.

[wheel see @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

"A new tray comes down to await the next vehicle owner who can afford to drop $30,000 on a parking spot, and the cycle begins anew"

shame on you engadget re-read the article...the space doesnt cost the parker $30,000 they are saying the actual cost to build the building is $30,000/space...in reading the article it seems like the space will be included

~wC

[Mart? @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

I agree with #11. That kind of parkings exist in some cities of Spain (Spain, not Japan!) some years ago. It's nothing new.

[OddManOut @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

I'm amazed 'blankoboy' was first to mention this simple fact WAY down at post #11. I saw these things all over the place in Japan (and they didn't look new either), at varying degrees of complexity. Some were just a glorified mechanics lift that let the rent-a-space people double their profits (ie it just stacked each space two high), and some were the size of our parking garages here, but of course you could get a lot more cars in them because each 'floor' didn't have to allow for a human to walk upright.

Cool as it is, I too have wondered what happens if there's a power outage, or if one car gets stuck somewhere inside...

[James @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

$30k i will take two. I live in a loft downtown and paid $60k for one parking spot.

[Steve @ Dec 19th 2005 1:22AM]

Uh, I saw this in Akihabara (Japan) over two decades ago. This thing's ancient to the Japanese.