Robot will park your car at airport
Robot valets are parking cars at an airport as part of a trial.
Drivers leave their car in a 鈥済arage box鈥� and take a shuttle to the terminal at Lyon-Saint-Exup茅ry, leaving the robot 鈥� nicknamed 鈥淪tan鈥� 鈥� to park it for them.
Airport spokeswoman Isabelle Rousset said: 鈥淭he client saves time ... they do not have to walk or look for a parking spot.鈥�
In total, four robots move cars left in 12 boxes and can park 500 cars close to each other.
Mrs Rousset said: 鈥淲e are developing it step by step and 96% of clients are satisfied鈥�. The goal, she said, is to make parking simpler for passengers and to reduce carbon footprint.
The robots are electric and help to reduce the number of cars circulating around the airport. Passengers opt for the service for an extra fee 鈥� for example, 鈧�2 more for a weekend 鈥� when they book online.
Mrs Rousset added: 鈥淚t costs more as we have to take into account the new service, but this could evolve.鈥�
The robots, made by French firm Stanley Robotics, were also trialled at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport but are no longer in operation there.
The company plans to try out the robots at Gatwick from August.
