Tokyo's Kasai Station gets robotic bicycle-parking contraption

We've seen a couple of robotic car parking garages in the past, but Tokyo's Kasai Station seems to have found another use for the same idea, with it now employing the services of an enormous bicycle-parking contraption that can store some 9,400 bikes. As you can see for yourself in the video after the break, the system is able to gobble up your bike and pull it down into the bowels of the garage with slightly terrifying efficiency, and at a cost of just ¥100 (about a buck) no less -- or ¥1,800 for a monthly pass. No word if they've had anyone try to stay on their bike and take a ride into the beast, although we'd assume there are some sort of safeguards in place to prevent those sorts of shenanigans.

[steve @ Apr 21st 2008 5:14PM]

i for one... aw screw it. die robot scum!

[ultrabot @ Apr 21st 2008 5:43PM]

That's racist!

[Dualboot @ Apr 21st 2008 5:22PM]

Very nifty and fast contraption. I wish they could do that for my car, so my wife wouldn't lose it in the parking garage :-)

[kev @ Apr 21st 2008 8:41PM]

They have those for cars too, but cars are not efficient in Japan, either space-wise, nor for the simple fact that you might as well just walk or use a bike.

[ryan10ad @ Apr 21st 2008 5:26PM]

The speed reminds me of the lifts of the Marriot Marquis in New York. Cool.

[Ian @ Apr 21st 2008 5:29PM]

next person to say shenanigans is going to get pistol whipped!

[AlekZander @ Apr 21st 2008 6:32PM]

what's that restaurant you like with the goofy shit on the walls and the mozerella sticks?

[horizontaleight @ Apr 21st 2008 5:29PM]

Pick up some power converters?

[kyle allen @ Apr 22nd 2008 3:48PM]

gah! you beat me too it, "bigs is right, im never guna get out of this parking gerage"

[ingus @ Apr 21st 2008 5:32PM]

this video, along with its music, reminds me of stage 4 in Ikaruga...

[Moe @ Apr 21st 2008 5:33PM]

They use that same technology at my mom's retirement home.

[dajimmers @ Apr 21st 2008 5:48PM]

To put her back in storage? I think maybe you should look into some other homes...

[smk @ Apr 21st 2008 6:43PM]

Ur.momza.Irobot?

[payne @ Apr 21st 2008 7:03PM]

+ for Moe; that's pretty damn funny.

[Joe @ Apr 21st 2008 9:33PM]

LOL!!!1 You made a funny!!

[whatishalo? @ Apr 21st 2008 5:33PM]

Are all bikes over there kind of dumpy like that one he is using to demo or does he just not want to use his good bike in case the machine decides to gobble it up?

[MacBookOwner @ Apr 21st 2008 6:04PM]

While there are bike aficionado in Japan, just like everywhere else, most people who just commute to the train station from home seem to own those kind of bikes-cheap, durable, and...well, durable. Most stations (not that one), just have a big open space with racks for them-no one locks them, they just park and go.

[ScooterDe @ Apr 22nd 2008 5:34AM]

yes, most city bikes seen around Tokyo are plain, single-speed machines, but people even plow up hills on them quite merrily. Bike theft does occur and is one of the few social ills (along with umbrella theft), so I do recommend locking your cycle in Tokyo (these plain models usually have a key-operated lock integrated onto the back wheel).

[grant @ Apr 21st 2008 5:34PM]

The warehouse I used to work at had an ASRS system, pretty cool to watch.
http://www.hksystems.com/automated-storage-and-retrieval/index.cfm

[BlowURmindBowel @ Apr 21st 2008 6:22PM]

Yeah, my dad works in Automated Materials Handling / Automated Warehousing etc. He took some videos of some of the systems he saw at the last trade show he went to. Apparently the vendors will bus people out to other warehouses in the same city where they have examples of their systems fully setup and running... He even saw some fully automated fork-lifiting systems.

Really cool stuff!

[steve @ Apr 21st 2008 5:37PM]

i wish I could understand asianesese.........I kid, I kid.....but seriously, how about some subscripts. I for one dont understand a word (or should I say symbol) of Japanese

[Bellerophon @ Apr 21st 2008 5:52PM]

Anyone remember that medicore film "I, Robot"? Remember that car parking system that USR Robotics building had?

Surely this will grow in that one day.

[smk @ Apr 21st 2008 6:45PM]

Exactly what I was thinking (though my post seems to repeat what you said ... below ha...)

[Darryl @ Apr 21st 2008 6:34PM]

Only the Japanese...

[smk @ Apr 21st 2008 6:39PM]

Remember that garage scene in iRobot? kinda reminds me of that...

[gad get @ Apr 22nd 2008 4:08AM]

Redundant.

[kd @ Apr 21st 2008 6:57PM]

I'd say if someone tries riding into 'the beast' on their bike - who needs safe-guards? It should be considered Natural Selection.

[josh @ Apr 21st 2008 7:57PM]

are you american? cause if u are, can u run for president?

[Tragedy @ Apr 21st 2008 7:45PM]

That's just 3 stations from me (I'm in Minami Gyotoku), why of all places do they have this contraption there? That's a low-volume station.

[SHoe @ Apr 21st 2008 8:03PM]

When I was in Japan in November, I came across several diffgerent automatic car parki8ng setups. My wifes parents condo building in Osaka even had that though it was just a 2 level elevator type setup with each parking spot having 2 cars. These seemed very common.

Saw a couple of 'open air' ones that were variations of this concept:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_JJFTuvXio&feature=related

[Damien Grant @ Apr 21st 2008 9:44PM]

Not bad, not bad. Security..beats a chain,padlock and parking meter.

[Dave @ Apr 21st 2008 9:51PM]

Looks like if you DID try riding the bike in there, the storage rack just above yours would be just about the right height to impale your balls. Word to the wisenheimers.

[cromas @ Apr 22nd 2008 1:36AM]

If there's one thing I learned from a year in Japan...never assume anything. And ESPECIALLY never assume things which would otherwise be considered obvious and logical.

(...and especially Bart...)

[mayq @ Apr 22nd 2008 2:39AM]

We used to call them granny bikes...

You'll only appreciate it after you've been using one for a while. It is easier to get on/off, the chain won't stain your pants, the gears are hidden inside the rear wheel assembly, and the large basket is very useful.

[mayq @ Apr 22nd 2008 2:41AM]

that was supposed to be a reply to this:

whatishalo? @ Apr 21st 2008 5:33PM

Are all bikes over there kind of dumpy like that one he is using to demo or does he just not want to use his good bike in case the machine decides to gobble it up?

[gad get @ Apr 22nd 2008 4:21AM]

I always smile when I see those cartoony superimposed Japanese graphics and captions and such. And compare that to what you'd see on say, Fox. Their graphics are amusing for entirely different reasons. (*Cough*, football robots.)

[Franco @ Apr 22nd 2008 12:29PM]

Does anyone think engadget is getting their source of infomation from other tech blogs????

I seen this on another blog three days ago. ???