By Joe Pinkstone For Mailonline
Published: 17:03 GMT, 23 January 2019 | Updated: 17:04 GMT, 23 January 2019
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Passengers heading to Gatwick airport and leaving their car there will soon have it whisked away by a robot valet.
The fleet of droids will put cars closer to one another than is possible with human drivers and therefore be able to fit a third more cars in the same area.
A trial is starting in August which will see customers leave their car in a drop-off zone before summoning a robot through a designated app.
Military grade GPS will guide the machine to the car where forklift-like equipment will approach the car from the front, slide under the car's body and move it to a specific spot.
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Passengers heading to Gatwick airport and leaving their car there will soon have it whisked away by a robot valet. The fleet of droids will put cars closer to one another than possible with human drivers and fit a third more cars in the same parking lot
A three-month trial will see the robots, named Stan, take to Gatwick's car parks.
Gatwick's trial will take place in part of the South Terminal's long-stay car park.
Existing infrastructure such as parking space markings and lampposts will be replaced with a smooth surface for the robots and room for 100 more vehicles.
A car's shape and size is scanned by the equipment to ensure they are safely steered to where they need to go.
