Robot valets are now parking cars in one of France’s busiest airports

Next time you head to the airport in France there might be a robot waiting to pick up your car. French firm Stanley Robotics has been trialling its self-driving robot valets for a few years, and this week started its first full-time service at France’s Lyon-Saint-Exupery airport.
The system works like this. Customers park their cars in special hangars where the vehicles are scanned to confirm their make and model. Then, one of Stanley’s robots - which are essentially self-driving forklifts named Stan - drives in, slides a platform underneath the vehicle, lifts it up, and carries it away and parks it.
Stanley Robotics says its system uses space much more efficiently than humans, fitting 50 percent more cars into the same area. This is thanks in part to the robots precision driving, but also because the system keeps track of when customers will return. This means the robots can park cars three or four deep, but then dig out the right vehicle ready for its owner’s return.