London Gatwick Airport To Deploy Autonomous Robots To Park Cars | Aviation Week

London Gatwick Airport (LGW) plans to deploy an autonomous robot parking service in August, allowing passengers to drop off cars for automated parking. The technology will be provided by French company Stanley Robotics. Travelers who prebook the service will park their vehicle in a designated cabin, turn the car off, confirm the booking on a screen, and then go to the terminal by walking or via a shuttle. LGW says the walk takes about 6 minutes and the shuttle ride 7–15 minutes. An autonomous vehicle will then move the car on its tires to a parking spot while continuously monitoring its surroundings to avoid obstacles. For retrieval, the system stores flight details and monitors landings so robots can return cars to a pickup cabin. Passengers keep their keys, and the service requires a minimum parking period of five days on weekdays. LGW said restrictions may be eased as the service scales, and noted a similar system is already operating at Lyon Airport.