Gimpo Airport starts Korea's first public robot valet parking, 75 cars a day
Korea Airports Corporation began a robot valet parking trial in the basement car park of Gimpo Airport's international terminal on Oct 27, the operator announced, in the first such service for ordinary passengers at any of Korea's 15 airports or any public car park.
A two-robot set lifts a car from a drop-off bay and moves it to a space, handling up to 75 cars a day; the trial runs to year-end, free of the valet fee and by reservation only.
Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) started an AI robot valet parking trial on Oct 27 on the first basement level of the international-terminal car park at Gimpo Airport in Seoul, the state airport operator announced, as reported by Maeil Business Newspaper and The Fact. Passengers leave the car in a marked bay and request entry at a kiosk; a pair of robots slides under the vehicle, lifts it and carries it to a free space, and a KakaoTalk message confirms the car is parked. Collection works the same way in reverse.
One robot set handles up to 75 cars a day. KAC has deployed a single set, three robots including a spare, so the service runs by advance booking through the KAC website, its smart-airport app or a QR code. Cars up to 5.25 m long, 2.15 m wide, 1.85 m high and 2,650 kg qualify, which rules out some large saloons and SUVs. No valet fee is charged during the trial, normal parking fees apply, and outside operating hours drivers fetch their own cars. KAC will review satisfaction and results after the trial ends in December and consider extending it to other airports. The operator did not name the robot supplier in the material carried by the outlets.
MEKAWIRE context: on Oct 23 the transport ministry listed airports among the sites for mobile-robot rule exemptions under its special act, and on Oct 16 we covered HL Robotics' outdoor parking robot debut at the ITS World Congress. At 75 cars a day, one set covers a small share of a terminal car park, so the trial tests passenger demand more than capacity.