eParking or Automated Parking is the consumer application of automating the parking process. Traditional car parks or parking garages consume massive amounts of space and time. Traditional garages require adequate space for the person to drive around to first find a spot, and then exit the building. This makes most traditional car parks ineffective as valuable parking space is consumed by drive ways and foot traffic space.
Automated parking systems are designed with the technology that's similar to parcel handling or other automated sorting systems. Rather than it requiring a human to actively seek a spot, the computer system knows which spots are open.
How it works is quite simple;
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A driver will drive into the car port, exit their car and walk away.
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Hydraulic or mechanical lifters perform the remaining work. Whether that requires lifting vertically, either up or down, or horizontally left or right, the system is capable of parking a car whichever direction is required to place it in the open spot.
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The car is then parked and remains in its spot until requested by the owner.
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Once requested, the system works in reverse, locating the car and bringing it back down to the car port allowing the driver to enter his or her car and drive away.
Simply stated, efficiency is a huge feature of eparking systems. With the demand for space in cities constantly increasing, efficient use of space is becoming the norm. Without the ability for buildings to be expanded horizontally, builders can only go up. The result of these taller buildings is increased land value, mimicking the massive buildings on which they are built. This land value increase results in a fantastic opportunity for car park owners. By replacing inefficient traditional car parks with an automated parking system, the space on which they stand can now house more cars in less space.
The application of eparking systems is not limited to commercial use either. Condominium developers will find these automated parking systems to be both a fantastic use of space but also a major selling feature on their units. Because automated parking systems are not currently as widely as adopted in North America as in other continents, their uniqueness may encourage new buyers to choose the building over another.
eParking systems are ideal for both commercial and residential applications. Traditional car parks consume far too much time and space to remain the norm as people seek to save time, money and space in all portions of their lives. Automation is constantly replacing old ineffective systems and car parking garages are next on the list.