Volley AutomationAutomated Robot Parking System

OVERVIEW

A robot capable of lifting a Rivian and parking it door-dingingly close to another vehicle in a garage without damage or human involvement is one thing. It’s another thing entirely to have that robot look the part, with an aesthetic that says it all: The future of parking has arrived. When Volley Automation first approached Mighty Studios, the initial ask was to take their invention—an industrious robot that was the workhorse within their smarter parking system—and ‘skin it,’ giving it an exterior that matched its interior technological capabilities and smarts.

INSIGHT

It’s a fact: High-density condominiums and apartments in cities like San Francisco need parking for their residents. When these buildings are first designed, city codes dictate how many spaces are needed, and space is limited. By creating what is essentially a ‘robot car valet’ Volley Automation eliminated both architectural and human challenges within traditional parking garage design.

A robot parking valet provides many advantages. Once a driver arrives in the Volley Automation bay and calls up the robot via an app, the robot—essentially a tray on wheels that can move in any direction—lifts the vehicle and with no need to account for doors opening or turning circles, can park it incredibly close to another vehicle, reducing the space needed for each car. With the system in place, a building that once needed four floors of parking with ramps and drive aisles could now require only two, cutting construction costs and reducing the overall parking footprint, all while adhering to code.

Much like a real-world valet, you are placing your trust in the robot’s skill. Volley wanted the aesthetic of the robot to match the ability and confidence of the system itself. The challenge for Mighty Studios was to not just make it look good while creating that sense of trust, but to create a skin that could accommodate the complex systems and high-tech internal mechanisms and robotics within.

The process began with Mighty’s industrial design team working with Volley’s engineers to get the full scope of what was required, including mechanical design constraints, cosmetic considerations, and client objectives. In the end, Mighty delivered a ‘skin’ that addressed efficiencies in production, material selection, and all while providing a design that allowed for maintenance access to internal robotic systems, hardware, and software.

Beyond the initial ask, Mighty’s industrial design expertise was further leveraged to explore additional concepts for Volley’s smart garage project. The task? Consider how an EV charging system might work into the parking experience. Could, for example, a resident use the app to park the car and have the EV charged during? The team at Mighty explored multiple industrial design concepts for an elegant robotic charge handle, taking into consideration different vehicle requirements and connection challenges, bringing some much-appreciated industrial design brainpower to the conceptual table.

At the end of the client engagement, the result was more than just a robot valet with a face. The Volley Automation project allowed Mighty to show the true scope of what client collaboration can look like. From a simple industrial engineering ‘create an aesthetic’ for a robot request, grew a mechanical engineering component, plus additional work with the client in concepting visions for future enhancements to the system.