« Ray » Now Parks your Car – New Parking Device at Airport Premieres Technical Innovation

At Düsseldorf Airport, «Ray» is now parking cars. In a quiet, precise and extremely efficient manner, Ray finds just the right parking spot for each vehicle. And when you’re ready to pick up your car, Ray brings it back whenever you want. Ray - the parking robot - is a technical innovation that premiered at Düsseldorf Airport. Searching for a vacant parking spot right before your flight is now a thing of the past, thanks to Ray. This manifestation of modern computer technology now handles parking for customers. On Monday, June 23, 2014, the system, produced by Serva Transport in the Bavarian town of Grabenstätt, was officially put into operation.

Thanks to the computer-supported technology, customers can now simply leave their vehicle in one of six spacious transfer boxes. The drop-off is quick and close to the terminal so that travellers can start their trip without any delays. Ray is connected to the airport’s flight data, so the vehicle will be ready for pick up once that customer return. That means that passengers no longer need to memorize a vehicle’s exact parking location, but can simply pick it up and continue on with their trip.

"The new PremiumPLUS Offer expands our broad range of parking services by another innovative and customer-oriented segment," says Thomas Schnalke, the airport’s Managing Director. "Our product appeals particularly to business travellers, who arrive at the airport shortly before their flight, look for efficient parking and return within a few days. Our product is ideal for them."

"We expect many innovations in the area of IT-supported parking in the coming years. The use of intelligent robot systems will revolutionize parking in the future," explains Dr. Christian Jahncke, Managing Director of SITA Airport IT GmbH, a joint venture of Düsseldorf Airport and SITA, a worldwide provider of air transportation industry ICT.

"I am excited that we can utilize this very promising system together at Düsseldorf Airport as a world premiere."

"This is a big day for our company. Our automated parking system begins standard operation for the first time at Düsseldorf Airport", says Serva’s Managing Director Rupert Koch. "Our patented robot system is unique in the world and offers many benefits to its users. We thank Düsseldorf Airport and SITA Airport IT for their confidence, and we are certain that the system will meet their expectations, especially in terms of customer service."

Thanks to Ray, parking has become child’s play for passengers, who can reserve an individual parking spot before their trip using an online booking system (parken.dus.com) and download the app when using the system for the first time (« DUS PremiumPLUS-Parking » available for iOS and Android). On site, customers drive to the arrival level and the special parking area at car park P3 and leave their car in one of the six transfer boxes. During the first phase, there are 249 available parking spots. Prior to leaving the garage on the way to the nearby terminal, the driver uses a touchscreen to confirm no passengers are left in the car, indicate when they want to pick the car up and whether they are travelling with carry-on or checked luggage. The subsequent parking is done by robot Ray, which measures the vehicle and gently parks it in the rear part of the building. By matching the stored return trip data with the airport’s current database, the system knows when the customer will come for the vehicle. The vehicle is deposited in one of the transfer boxes on time. If an itinerary changes, the traveller can easily and quickly communicate the changes to the system using the app.

"The system offers our passengers much added value in this monitored area, including vehicle insurance. In addition, a friendly attendant is always available for our customers on site. Our introductory rate until the end of the year for the PremiumPLUS offer is 29 euros per day and 4 euros per hour", says Thomas Schnalke. "If customers adapt to the technology, we will consider expanding the system, since it is easy to integrate into existing parking structures."