Uncrewed Systems Technology 044 l Xer Technolgies X12 and X8 l Lidar sensors l Stan UGV l USVs insight l AUVSI Xponential 2022 l Cobra Aero A99H l Accession Class USV l Connectors I Oceanology International 2022

49 particularly when running late. Having an autonomous fleet of Stan UGVs can allow drivers to leave their car at any convenient drop-off point and head into the airport terminal, knowing it will be stowed and retrieved appropriately. Second, an autonomous parking robot reduces the risk of collisions or other accidents in parking lots, and virtually eliminates any risk to people, as they are never required in the parking area. Lastly, Boussard and his team found that while major international airports make most of their non-airline revenue from duty-free sales, regional airports make most of theirs from car parking. With empty cars being parked by robotic valets, no car doors need to open or close, meaning more cars can be packed together in a long-stay car park. “Very rarely can airports expand, so for many of them, using our Stan UGV is the only practical way to increase their parking densities. That can then allow them to offer more routes, and gain more passengers and hence revenue,” Boussard says. “We calculated that it would cost about e 15 million to build a multi-storey car park for 1000 vehicles. Meanwhile, we have shown that we can add the equivalent of 1000 vehicles parking spaces to a 2000-space long-stay car park for e 7.5 million by increasing the parking density by up to 50%.” While the Stan weighs 1.8 tonnes, it is capable of lifting vehicle weights of up to 2.6 t, and the company plans to increase this capability in future versions. It measures about 2 m wide, with the length varying between 4.4 and 5.9 m depending on how it has to adjust for the wheelbase of the vehicle it needs to pick up and park. The Stan’s speed is currently limited to 3 m/s, which is used largely on straightaways when away from vehicles and people. To date, the Stan has been trialled at major international hubs including London’s Gatwick and Charles de Gaulle in Paris, and it has active customers at large regional airports as well as applications such as automaker logistics and train station long-stay car parks. Deconstructing Stanley Most of the critical components of the Stan sit in the ‘head’ – its bulky housing at the front of the vehicle. The components include the electric motors for traction and steering near the sides, the battery packs sitting at the bottom, and all the electronic components sitting above. The electronics consist of the main PC running the Stan’s embedded software, and various ECUs processing its internal Ethernet and CAN comms between the main PC and subsystems. On the very top of the head are a Velodyne Lidar, two GNSS antennas and two wi-fi antennas. Behind the head sits a 1 m-wide platform, which can be divided into a fixed half at the midsection of the UGV, and a mobile half at the back that extends to meet the wheelbase of the car or van to be parked. As well as a small Lidar at the Stanley Robotics Stan UGV | Digest Uncrewed Systems Technology | June/July 2022 The challenges associated with mass-manufacturing self-driving cars motivated Stanley Robotics to develop the Stan, the first of its valet vehicles (Images courtesy of Stanley Robotics) Most of the Stan’s components sit in its ‘head’ at the front of the vehicle