An automated (car) parking system (APS) is a mechanical system designed to minimize the area and/or volume required for parking cars. Like a multi-story parking garage, an APS provides parking for cars on multiple levels stacked vertically to maximize the number of parking spaces while minimizing land usage. The APS, however, utilizes a mechanical system to transport cars to and from parking spaces (rather than the driver) in order to eliminate much of the space wasted in a multi-story parking garage.[1] While a multi-story parking garage is similar to multiple parking lots stacked vertically, an APS is more similar to an automated storage and retrieval system for cars.[1] Parking systems are generally powered by electric motors or hydraulic pumps that move vehicles into a storage position.The paternoster (shown animated at the right) is an example of one of the earliest and most common types of APS.[2]
APS are also generically known by a variety of other names, including:automated parking facility (APF), automated vehicle storage and retrieval system (AVSRS), car parking system, mechanical parking, and robotic parking garage.
- ^ a b Patrascu, Daniel (2010), "How Automated Parking Systems Work", Autoevolution, retrieved 2012-11-16
- ^ Sanders McDonald, Shannon."Cars, Parking and Sustainability" Archived 2013-08-10 at the Wayback Machine, The Transportation Research Forum http://www.trforum.org/.Retrieved on 16 October 2012.