Efficient vehicle storage is becoming increasingly necessary in cities where buildings and streets are crammed closely together. Thus far, people have mostly relied on simplistic parking lots and parking garages to meet the needs of drivers. But these setups can waste valuable space because they must include enough room for drivers to move and park without bumping into other vehicles. They also fail to take advantage of empty vertical space above the ground or above spaces in each level within their multilevel structures. Fortunately, workable alternatives exist in the form of automated car storage solutions. We’ll help you acquire an understanding of automated storage and retrieval systems in a vehicular context so you can see how they might be useful to you.
Semi-Automated Parking Systems
Automated car storage systems come in two major forms: semi-automated and fully automated. Semi-automated parking systems are so named because they take care of half the process of storing and retrieving cars. To place a car into a space, a driver needs to move their vehicle into an open spot on the ground. Once the person exits, the automated storage and retrieval system can shuffle around parking spaces between two or more levels because each space is a movable platform that can shift side to side or up and down. Thus, it can raise an occupied spot upward while bringing down an available space to the ground where the next person can drive into it.
When a person returns for their car, a semi-automated parking system will retrieve their vehicle from a high, inaccessible position and move it downward so they can simply step in and drive away. Semi-automated car storage solutions are more space-efficient because they allow you to fill up vertical areas that traditional parking arrangements leave untouched.
Fully Automated Systems
Fully automated parking systems cover the entirety of the automated storage and retrieval process for drivers. Their car storage spaces often exist as giant racks that people can’t enter. A driver will only see the small, garage-like entrance to the system. Once they align their car properly on the platform within the entrance, the fully automated system will move that platform into its storage area and select an available space to place it in. For retrieval, the platform will move back to that space, take the car, and bring it back out to the entrance, where the driver can then get in and leave.
In this way, fully automated parking systems are not unlike their automated storage and retrieval counterparts in the distribution and manufacturing industries. The basic difference is that those systems move boxes and other materials, whereas fully automated parking systems handle automobiles. The ability to place cars in neat, compact racks without wide driving pathways and ramps means that fully automated parking systems offer superior space utilization when compared to average lots and garages.
Now that you understand automated storage and retrieval systems for cars, you may feel compelled to implement them in your property. Get in touch with Harding Steel to discuss what specific car storage solution will be right for you.