In Düsseldorf, A Robot Valet Will Park Your Car 120
stephendavion (2872091) writes In Germany, high tech has come to airport parking. Last week, Düsseldorf airport (DUS) introduced robot valets to take the hassle out of parking for travelers. Travelers can leave their cars at the arrival level of the ParkingPLUS structure. As they leave, they confirm on a touch-screen that no one is in the car. The robot valet, nicknamed "Ray," takes it from there. The robot measures the vehicle, picks it up with a forklift-like system, and takes it to the back area, where it will position it in one of the 249 parking spots reserved for automated valets. The machine is capable of carrying standard cars weighing up to 3.31 tons.
i don't wanna hear how lazy americans are. (Score:3, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
statistically germans and english are about as fat... Some years, I think they've surpassed us.
really the whole "americans are fat" thing is mostly a product of misinformation at this point.
The conditions that lead to statistical weight gain are complex. Its about economics, social dynamics, work habits, and even political considerations.
And really, I don't see why any country should be ashamed of a statistic like this... does it lead to higher incidents of heart disease? Sure... and? People chose bacon ove
Re: (Score:3)
really the whole "americans are fat" thing is mostly a product of misinformation at this point.
Um, no. The obesity here in the US is exceptional.
And really, I don't see why any country should be ashamed of a statistic like this... does it lead to higher incidents of heart disease? Sure... and? People chose bacon over low cholesterol... get over it.
Many supermarkets here supply their obese customers with scooter like shopping carts because they're to fat to walk.
Levi's sells jeans with a 58" waist.
We've become the laughing stock of the world.
Re: i don't wanna hear how lazy americans are. (Score:5, Funny)
> We've become the laughing stock of the world.
Only to hipsters and eurofags. They bleat about tolerance and inclusion, except when it comes to people they disapprove of, and then suddenly they become snarky sarcastic little bitches with superiority complexes.
Re: (Score:2)
in 15-20 years Europe will pass America for Fatness.
Europe's one main advantage is you can actually take public transportation and walk to get to places.
Even that is not going to be enough.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
And I don't think people would stand for it socially.
Yeah, that's no doubt what people thought here. I bet they thought that education would continue to be useful, too. Both things have the same root cause, government interference. They lied to us about what made you fat for decades, and they did it deliberately. At minimum, they did it to protect the processed foods industry. If you're really into conspiracy theories you might also consider that drugs to control cholesterol were just appearing on the market at that time.
Re: (Score:2)
Why does the government get the blame for not preventing the processed food industry, rather than the processed food industry for making the unhealthy food?
You can't both believe in a hands off government, and then blame the government for not stopping businesses doing socially damaging things.
Re: (Score:2)
Why does the government get the blame for not preventing the processed food industry,
Reading comprehension, you fail it. The government gets the blame for being the processed food industry's whore, and every other industry's as well — but that is outside the scope of this conversation.
You can't both believe in a hands off government,
I don't.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't.
It must have been that comment moaning about government interference that had me fooled.
Re: (Score:2)
It must have been that comment moaning about government interference that had me fooled.
Moaning? You wouldn't know moaning if it were up your ass kicking field goals. I was complaining about the specific nature of this government activity, not issuing a sermon against the concept of government. You should see a doctor about that knee. I think they can offer you some sort of treatment to help you stop jerking it.
Re: (Score:2)
I'll stop jerking my knee if you stop jerking your cock.
Re: (Score:2)
I wish I had mod points - you are absolutely correct.
I often go to the Deep South where I have family, and so many people are morbidly obese that no one bats an eye any more, and if you did confront people about their weight, they would say "Oh, uh, it must be a thyroid problem".
No one wants to take responsibility for the consequences of their actions, and obesity is one of those consequences.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't believe the people of America have any less self-control than people in any other country. The problems therefore are cultural and systematic, not personal.
Re: (Score:3)
in 15-20 years Europe will pass America for Fatness.
Because most fat Americans will have exploded by then.
Re: (Score:2)
It's reasonable to assume that obesity in the rest of the world will continue to increase. But what makes you think the USA is going to slow down, stop or reverse enough for others to pass them?
Europe's one main advantage is you can actually take public transportation and walk to get to places.
Don't forget the advantages of traditions of healthier cuisine, and better regulation of food manufacturers.
Re: (Score:2)
Don't forget the advantages of traditions of healthier cuisine, and better regulation of food manufacturers.
And socialized healthcare. There's no reason to not go see a doctor, who will tell you how serious your obesity has, and get you help if you need it. That European doctors usually see the patients nude, probably also makes them more aware of who needs a pep talk before it becomes a real problem.
Re: (Score:2)
I was with you up until:
"That European doctors usually see the patients nude"
I'm reminded of Joey's belief n Friends that tailors are supposed to measure your inside leg like that!
In 50 years of European halthcare the only time a doctor has seen me nude is when I was born.
Re: (Score:2)
Are you by any chance British?
In both Scandinavia and Germany, I've always been expected to strip down, at least to my undies, but bare when needed.
Here in the US, you generally have to put on a gown, so the lascivious doctors can't get a peek at your innocent and pure body. (In reality, so you can't sue them for doing so. And possibly so they can charge extra for the single-use gowns.)
In tent sized gowns, there's no way the doctor can spot whether you're getting fatter and losing muscle mass, or have ski
Re: (Score:2)
Are you by any chance British?
In both Scandinavia and Germany, I've always been expected to strip down, at least to my undies, but bare when needed.
I am. But I've also had healthcare in Austria.
Still, that's an interesting observation you have there. I'll bear it in mind when travelling!
Re: i don't wanna hear how lazy americans are. (Score:5, Informative)
statistically germans and english are about as fat... Some years, I think they've surpassed us.
I actually looked this up. For every year there are figures, the US obesity rate has been more than twice as high as Germany.
As for the UK, they're up there too, but has never had a higher rate than the US.
Many of the pacific countries have an even higher percentage of obesity, but among OECD countries, the US ranks top.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I think I did an image search for "obesity country year", and then went into the web sites of the more interesting charts to find the sources.
Regular Google searches have become less useful these days, as advertisers and "famous sites" appear to be bumped towards the top even for the regular results. So I more often start with an image search to narrow it down to places that have information, not something to sell. Unfortunately, I think it's only a matter of time before Google catches on to this, and ske
Re: i don't wanna hear how lazy americans are. (Score:5, Informative)
A big part of the problem why Americans (and others) are fatter and fatter are because of misbeliefs foisted upon them.
Fatty foods don't cause heart disease. Sugar, stress, and smoking do. A high cholesterol count does not cause heart disease. It is a *symptom*, not a cause. It is your body attempting to repair the damage.
Avoiding fats is a very good way to fatten yourself up. You'll instead be ingesting sugar and other carbohydrates, and you'll quickly feel hungry again. The sugar in your bloodstream requires the release of insulin to process it. The insulin tells the fat cells to open up and start sucking up all that sugar. When there an over-abundance the walls of your arteries get inflamed in the process, causing your body to *produce* cholesterol to attempt to heal the damage. Then you've got leftover insulin in the blood, and so you feel hungry again so you can put it to use.
Stop accepting what you've been told all your life. Stop eating sugar and stop avoiding fats. It's good for your brain and your heart, and you won't eat as much because you'll feel full for much longer.
Re: (Score:2)
A big part of the problem why Americans (and others) are fatter and fatter are because of misbeliefs foisted upon them.
Can't be voted up more enough. Let's say you buy some healthy low-fat yoghurt. And then you check and it's stuffed full with sugar! And it has a HUGE "low fat" printed on it, when it has more calories and is less healthy for you then the unmodified normal fat yoghurt. The problem is that your body _wants_ fat because that's what it has been designed to want for the last 100,000 years, and as long as it doesn't get the fat it wants it just wants more food!
Re: (Score:2)
This is why processed food ingredients need to be regulated. Individuals cannot be expected to all check every product for each food type - even more so if it's not properly labelled. Free enterprise has been allowed to pull dirty tricks such as the one you describe for too long.
Re: (Score:2)
A big part of the problem why Americans (and others) are fatter and fatter are because of misbeliefs foisted upon them.
Fatty foods don't cause heart disease. Sugar, stress, and smoking do. A high cholesterol count does not cause heart disease. It is a *symptom*, not a cause. It is your body attempting to repair the damage.
Avoiding fats is a very good way to fatten yourself up. You'll instead be ingesting sugar and other carbohydrates, and you'll quickly feel hungry again. The sugar in your bloodstream requires the release of insulin to process it. The insulin tells the fat cells to open up and start sucking up all that sugar.
Reading tip: Why zebras don't get ulcers [amazon.com]. It explains really good how all this works, and what bad food and stress does to your body.
You forget about two things though! First is alcohol - although in a sense that can be counted as sugar as well. But not really! It should be mentioned along with the others: Alcohol! Second is cancer! Too much food, smoking and alcohol cause cancer. Stress does not cause cancer, but it has a very big negative impact on it once you get it.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly... zero analysis... just a citation of numbers without context.
For example, did you know that the US defines infant mortality differently then any country in europe?
This leads to infant mortality not meaning the same thing.
Allow me to open your eyes to the complexity of the situation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I... [wikipedia.org]
That's just one of the stats and frankly that's not even the full depth of the issue.
There is a tendency for people to cite the numbers to make a point without understanding how the numb
Re: (Score:2)
And what you propose instead of data is your gut feel. And that's because you find your beliefs on the wrong side of the evidence so often.
Re: (Score:2)
You don't have evidence. You're just too ignorant to know what is and is not evidence. You don't know how to structure data to use it properly. You don't know how to read statistics. You don't know how to use statistics.
You have no basis to presume what is and is not evidence.
Re: (Score:2)
Bigot.
Re: (Score:2)
baseless insults are baseless... and before you make another specious claim such as my labeling you a bigot being baseless... I backed that up in detail.
You've also completely failed to address most of my points.
You're now running away. You're still responding but you've stopped actually defending your position. You're now just going through the motions.
I will take this as a concession to my point unless you respond to my points and make a good faith effort to hold your position. I am in no way fooled by th
Re: (Score:2)
I backed that up in detail.
You didn't. I did.
You're now running away.
I'm still here. As I said you don't know me at all if you think I wouldn't be.
You're still responding but you've stopped actually defending your position.
You're beginning to understand why I pointed out you were a knuckle dragging tea partier. You weren't defending your position, only asserting. Annoying, isn't it.
I will take this as a concession
You can hold whatever untruth you like in your head. It'll have plenty of company.
Re: (Score:2)
Actually the US has just about the best prenatal care in the world. Its a product amongst other things of the right to life people that strive against abortions etc... and as a result we have the best technology and medical care for threatened infants.
As to the assumptions on the statistics... those are without basis and are merely someone's guess.
You are ignoring the core point which is that the statistics are not directly comparable.
Failing to grasp that is intellectual dishonesty at best.
Re: (Score:2)
UK: "reaching levels of 22-24% in 2008/9."
USA: "As of 2007, 33% of men and 36% of women are obese."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E... [wikipedia.org]
That's a fair difference. And that's comparing against what's probably the worst case in Europe. So no the whole "americans are fat" thing is not misinformation.
Worse, American cultural exports such as TV dinners, Big Macs and deep pan pizzas have had significant effect on the rising obesity around the world.
Re: (Score:2)
Right, because the English and Germans don't have TV dinners or unhealthy foods.
Everyone knows the English are long time vegitarians that eat only whole grain free range whatever.
Are you real? Traditional English food is what? Traditional german food is what?
Now after citing that, tell me how that's oh so much more healthy then anything else.
Your bigotry is frankly hilarious. To blame the increase in weight gain throughout the developed world on the United States? In what possible way could you blame such a
Re: (Score:2)
Right, because the English and Germans don't have TV dinners or unhealthy foods.
I said cultural exports. The TV dinners the British and Germans have were invented by Americans, and the culture pushed around the world. As always the evidence is on my side.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T... [wikipedia.org]
Traditional English food is what?
Roast beef, Yorkshire Pudding and vegetables on a Sunday. Fish on a Friday. Stew. Can't answer for Germans.
Now after citing that, tell me how that's oh so much more healthy then anything else.
Because it's real food, not a Frankenstein creation of corn products, mechanically reclaimed connective tissue and artificial additives.
Your bigotry is frankly hilarious. To blame the increase in weight gain throughout the developed world on the United States? In what possible way could you blame such a thing on us?
It's not bigotry, it's a knowledge of the facts. An appreciation of modern history.
Your bigotry likely is exploding at this point at the suggesting that the US did anything good ever.
And so now you're off into straw man territory. You really are very poor at rational discussion.
Re: (Score:2)
Your decent or self deception is impressive.
You've failed to answer my points and until you do I'll have to take this as a concession from you.
Simply contradicting me is not an argument.
Re: (Score:2)
You've already played the "I'll take this as a concession" card. It failed.
And evidence is not simply contradiction.
Try again kid.
Re: (Score:2)
You did nothing to respond to the point about statistics being collected differently or complexly. Furthermore, your free use of unjustified invective made it clear you were a mindless bigot.
Your evidence is some citations from google that you don't understand and can't be correlated with anything.
That's the sum total of all you've got. You try to hang your position on that information as well as all your bias and bigotry...
It does not hold.
When challenged on this point you just throw out more invective and
Re: (Score:2)
Furthermore, your free use of unjustified invective made it clear you were a mindless bigot.
Your lack of self-awareness of your hypocrisy is predictable, but amusing.
Finally you link to something. And it's still not evidence to a single thing you've said. Wonderful!
Re: (Score:3)
How would you know?
Seriously... the whole thing exists almost entirely in the media and no where else.
Can you find land whales if you look for them? Sure... so what? That proves nothing.
This is as bogus as the "Americans don't know history/geography" line which is only true in that they don't know EUROPEAN history or geography as well as europeans. But by the same token, europeans don't know american history or american geography.
I've quizzed them on it repeatedly and they know nothing beyond what you'd get
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
As an American, you sound like a stupid American. It is precisely this incurious attitude. This willingness to swallow anything without consideration so long as it appears popular that is so reprehensible.
Either have a mind of your own or surrender any claim to one and with that any right to an opinion what so ever.
Re: (Score:2)
The about History is that America doesn't have much of it. They typically think a 100 year old building is notably historic.
History didn't start in 1492. (or any of the earlier dates at which the current Americans can be deemed to have started.
In Europe when we talk about history, we're looking at at least a couple of millennia. And your race shared in much of it.
I mean, I'm guessing by your examples that you know as little about aboriginal American history as you do about European.
Re: (Score:2)
American history didn't start in the 1940s, fool. US history goes back to 1776, European American history goes back to 1492, and Native American history goes back tens of thousands of years.
All your pathetic argument is trying to do now is say that european history is more important. And therefore someone ignorant of American history is not ignorant while someone ignorant of European history is ignorant. This is merely euro centrism.
This ignores the point I made about the Japanese that are themselves not te
Re: (Score:1)
I said: "History didn't start in 1492. (or any of the earlier dates at which the current Americans can be deemed to have started."
And you come back with:
American history didn't start in the 1940s, fool. US history goes back to 1776, European American history goes back to 1492, and Native American history goes back tens of thousands of years.
I'm coming to the conclusion I'm corresponding with someone of a very low IQ indeed. Or maybe you just can't read.
Re: (Score:2)
Who said history started in 1942?
Not me.
You used that argument to say American history was shallow and therefore ignorable. While European history was deeper and therefore of relevance. You are now modifying or augmenting your argument to say that history is infinite and that therefore American history is inferior because it tends to get very spotty prior to European colonization. This ignores the fact that European history is likewise spotty in all portions where histories were not well recorded. We know m
Re: (Score:1)
Who said history started in 1942?
No one. You're continuing to demonstrate an inability to handle numbers bigger than 100.
Re: (Score:2)
You now deny your own argument.
Checkmate.
Good day, sir.
Re: (Score:1)
You now deny your own argument.
No, sorry, I never claimed anything about 1942.
Good day, sir.
Running away?I must conclude that you concede defeat.
Re: (Score:2)
Contradiction is not an argument. You've long ago stopped defending your arguments and have since gone into simple contradiction. What is more, not only do you simply contradict me... responding "no it isn't" every time I say "yes it is"... but you've apparently confused yourself and are now contradicting yourself.
You're done. You'll likely keep sputtering after this point but I won't let you waste more of my time with your obvious stupidity.
Re: (Score:2)
You're done. You'll likely keep sputtering after this point but I won't let you waste more of my time with your obvious stupidity.
And so he bigot runs away.
Re: (Score:2)
Would you accept my anecdote that found the two to be generally equivilent if you exempted statistical abnormalities?
There are portions of the US that do have a lot of fat people. However, not all portions of the US have lots of fat people. Go to Los Angeles for example where I live and you don't see much of it. Go to most rural communities and you also tend not to see it. Most of the fat asses exist in the mid west... and there are some further demographic break downs from there that shed further light on
Re: (Score:2)
You're presenting the mid west as if it's the abnormal outlier. In reality Los Angeles is the outlier. Due to the influence of the movie industry, the body beautiful is more of an obsession there than most other places in the world. Whether it's achieved by genuine healthy living or fad diets, gym obsession, drugs or plastic surgery.
This is why anecdotes and gut-feel count for nothing next to data. You;'e overly biased towards thinking that your experiences are typical.
Re: (Score:2)
the movie industry is a tiny portion of our population.
There are tens of millions of us here... how many of us do you think are involved with the movie business? Less then 100,000... much less...
As to anecdotes... that's all you've got in any case. You point at some land whale getting carted around in a midwestern wall mart and presume to label us all land whales.
Its moronic.
Re: (Score:2)
the movie industry is a tiny portion of our population.
Of course. But the influence is great.
You point at some land whale getting carted around in a midwestern wall mart and presume to label us all land whales.
I never pointed at any such thing. I refer to statistics not anecdotes.
Its moronic.
Bigot.
Re: (Score:2)
Amazon isn't sharing from what I can see... that system should be standard in warehouses by now.
What could possibly go wrong (Score:2, Insightful)
Forklift?
Unless the forklift goes under the wheels, I see this go terribly wrong for many cars. They're not designed to be lifted by forklift.
Re:What could possibly go wrong (Score:4, Informative)
Re:What could possibly go wrong (Score:5, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
From all appearances, it seems to do just that (go under the wheels). I wonder how it would work with 3 wheeled cars, though?
Or six-wheeled cars, like the Covini sports car, or a six-wheel Land Rover?
Re:What could possibly go wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
It does (video) (Score:5, Informative)
Here's a video [youtube.com] of the actual thing, not just an animation.
but do they have robotic hookers? (Score:2, Interesting)
Forget parking cars, do they gots those robotic hookers I can park my dick in?
Should be denser! (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
From the picture it looks like it takes just as much space as a regular parking garage, but I think the real potential in a system like this is in maximizing the density of parked cars.
If you skip the retarded sites like "Mashable" in TFS, you'll find that it actually does increase the density of parking.
(Even Jalopnik [jalopnik.com] has better information.)
I'm picturing something like an Amazon warehouse, but with cars on each shelf.
Those kinds [franky242.net] of shelf parking systems [blogspot.com] already exist, however, they require building an entirely new parking structure [realitypod.com]. The robot "valets" work with existing structures, which means a parking operator can upgrade just for the price of a few robots plus the check-in station, rather than having to tear down and rebuild from scratch. The operator can als
Re: (Score:2)
I was looking for the robot carpark I used in central london about 15 years ago.
I did find this video from 1960 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:2)
Boats have been stored this way for a long time. Huge warehouse spaces with racks.
Re: (Score:2)
From the picture it looks like it takes just as much space as a regular parking garage,
That's pretty much the point: the system is intended to be added to existing regular parking garages, to add comfort to the drivers as well as increase number of parked cars.
The problem with parking garages today is that they were all designed when cars were 8 inches narrower.
Re: (Score:2)
If you read the article,
h0h0h0
I know we all like to look smart and clever, but I'm starting to think we should just let those comments go unanswered. You're just encouraging ignorance like the above when you coddle it. Instead, stop encouraging the willfully ignorant, let them go find their home at Fox News where they belong.
Re: (Score:2)
By the time I trust a robot to suck my dick, it'll probably have a direct neural interface. I just keep thinking about the feeding robot arm mashing the head model in the face. I don't want anything pounding my balls like that.
This is not news (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
Witch!
Re: (Score:2)
Unicode, so funktionen ert?
This is not novel (Score:3)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A... [wikipedia.org]
The basic idea has been around for a while now, in a number of countries besides Germany. And it has less to do with laziness or luxury, and more to do with maximizing the use of valuable space in areas of high urban density. The only thing that appears to be novel here is the use of a free-moving robot rather than a conveyance that is incorporated into the parking structure itself. Granted, there are other benefits as well--being able to retrieve your car rapidly and efficiently reduces parking structure congestion and environmental pollution from excessive idling.
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly right. I parked my Corvair in one of these in New York City in 1967.
Is *everything* a "robot" now? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It's a neat application, but I'm not sure that it's what most of us would think of as a "robot".
Then most of you are idiots, and you should go hang out on the gawker network or similar instead of infesting Slashdot. This is clearly a robot. Maybe it's not a sexy humanoid robot that will suck you off every morning, but it's clearly a robot.
It's also clearly a product with limited utility, because how long is it going to be before cars are all self-driving? The cars will park themselves in the same sort of garages we have now, but they'll surrender to garage control upon arrival. You'll park in the vale
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
But there's no room in a typical parking garage for pick-and-place, so this is the best you can do.
On the other hand, this robot valet is cheap and simple to install, so it can be a good choice for upgrading an existing parking garage.
That's the same hand. HTH, KTHXBYE, HAND
Re: (Score:2)
Then most of you are idiots
Right ... 'cause that's how language works. The way that most people use words has no bearing. I forgot.
Problematic (Score:1)
Another Trade Eliminated (Score:2)
in EU don't need to be disabled to get medicare (Score:2)
Over there there is an medicare like system for all.
Offtopic Shitposting (Score:1)
long term parking / offsite much cheaper then $40 (Score:2)
long term parking / offsite much cheaper is alot less then $40 a day to park.