It might seem like something out of a Fast and Furious film or something from the ultra high-tech gadget lovers in Japan but it is in actual fact a car park in Birmingham. Not necessarily the place you would normally associate with such high tech gadgetry. However, the automated Cube Car Park is believed to be one of just two in the world that parks your car for you.
The £2m car park is fully automated and drivers simply leave their car ion a transfer garage and then watch in amazement as it is taken away and placed in an available space in an underground three-story car park. It is part of the Cube which is a canal side development of shopns and homes, apartments and businesses.
Drivers are given a key fob and when they return and want to collect their car they simply swipe the fob and the car is returned to the transfer garage so that it can be driven out and away.
Neil Edington, developer of the Cube automated parking system said that such a system was necessary because of the lack of space. The car park is situated 20m underground and there would have been a need for a massive ramp into the car park otherwise. By using the automated system, which cost £2m to develop, it saves space and allows greater use of the space available.
There are 339 spaces in total within the car park which has just recently opened its doors to residents and other users of the Cube. Applications are now being taken for spaces and the cost of a pass depends on how long the pass will last.
