I'm sure many readers have received the following two photographs by e-mail. It's been going around for some time, and purports to show a robotic 'parking garage' in Germany.
As usual with chain e-mails, the reality is rather different - and, in this case, more interesting.
The facility shown is the Volkswagen Autostadt retail center at Wolfsburg in Germany. There are two towers, each holding up to 400 brand-new vehicles.
Purchasers arrive, complete their documentation, and proceed to a waiting area. A robotic lift system delivers their car to a final clean-up center, and then they're ceremoniously presented with the keys.
The process is described in the short video clip below. I found it very interesting.
The clip below is much shorter, and is taken from the very top of one of the glass towers. You can look down inside it as a car is lowered. Vertigo-inducing!
As a friend commented via e-mail, the idea might be more difficult to implement in the USA. Hummers and dually pickups won't fit in those little boxes!
Peter
We do the same thing with canned and bottled beverages in the USA
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