Hyundai Group is deploying parking robots that autonomously lift and move vehicles in apartment parking lots, following their introduction in commercial facilities. This innovation is expected to change the scene of cars circling the parking lot in search of empty spaces during rush hour.
On August 10, the Hyundai Motor, Hyundai Wia, and Hyundai Engineering consortium announced a pilot project for parking robots at the Hills State The Wave City in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.
This project is part of a smart city regulatory sandbox initiative, approved by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and is supported by government funding. Hyundai Group aims to verify the operational stability and efficiency of parking robots in real residential settings.
The pilot will take place in a designated area of 53 parking spaces in the underground parking lot of Hills State The Wave City, where two sets of parking robots developed by Hyundai Wia will be deployed.
The parking robots, which are thin and wide at 110 mm, slide under vehicles to lift their wheels and transport them to designated locations. They utilize LiDAR sensors to recognize the size and position of vehicle wheels and can move vehicles weighing up to 3.4 tons, including SUVs. Their maximum speed is 1.2 meters per second.
After drivers exit their vehicles in designated drop-off and pick-up zones, they can use a kiosk or the apartment's wall pad to have the robot automatically move their car to an available parking space. The same method can be used to summon the vehicle when exiting.
With the ability to move in all directions, the robots reduce the space needed for drivers to park and exit their vehicles. Hyundai explains that this could increase parking capacity by 20% to 50% within the same area.
During the pilot period, Hyundai Group will measure various metrics, including the time taken for vehicles to enter and exit, user wait times, parking success rates, robot utilization rates, monthly operation counts, and improvements in parking space efficiency. Based on the pilot data, the group plans to develop proposals for legal and institutional improvements related to parking robots and expand their application beyond residential facilities to commercial and office spaces, transportation hubs, and public and cultural facilities.
A Hyundai Group official stated, "This pilot project for parking robots in multi-family housing is a significant step in establishing a new parking paradigm for the smart city era, going beyond simple technology validation."
Meanwhile, Hyundai Wia has been steadily expanding the application of parking robots since their introduction at the Factoryal Seongsu in Seoul in 2024. This pilot project in multi-family housing could mark a turning point for the expansion of parking robots from commercial facilities to everyday spaces like apartments and shopping centers.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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