Canadian Chat → Re: Audi Piloted Driving -- cool, but simply not practical

Automated parking garages are fine so long as you don't mind them taking your car hostage due to software glitches or contractual disputes, or dropping cars off elevators, sometimes with people inside.

the systems are generally quite reliable (very little problems ever, really)...there is much redundancy in them...as well, people are never in their cars...they park them on the launch pad, then leave...the system handles the cars on their own...i have never heard of one dropping a car, but i suppose it is possible...you are much likelier to have your car damaged by someone hitting it while trying to park beside you, or from vandalism...none of that is possible in these automated parking garages...they are MUCH safer than a "regular parking garage", not only for the cars, but for the patrons as well.

The automated parking garage in Hoboken (one of the ones prone to taking cars hostage) has dropped cars on multiple occasions, both before and after a major refit. In at least one instance, the driver was still in the car, implying that the elevator attempted to move the car before the driver (and his dog) could exit the vehicle. The driver had to be rescued as the elevator prevented the car doors from opening. In another case, the automated system's lasers were unable to find the car on the pallet, and assumed the elevator was empty, causing the glitch that damaged the car. Workers at the garage at the time reported that this was not unusual, as they had had "tons of glitches" that had ripped doors and windows off, and dropped cars off elevators. The garage in Santa Monica, for its part, was prone to frequent glitches that refused to give people back their cars.

Despite your claims of reliability, these types of garages have a reputation for being unreliable on an ongoing basis.

like everything in life, there are good systems, and not so good systems...your examples are the "not so good" ones...i am not familiar with that brand (Robotic Parking Systems Inc), but perhaps some of the problems are due to early design (1st or 2nd Gen product?)...assuming quality software, design and construction though, they are very reliable and offer 99.99% uptime on a 24/7/365 schedule.