Robot valet 'RAY' to park cars at Germany's Dusseldorf airport

Parking robot "Ray" transports a car in Dusseldorf, Germany, Monday, 23 June 2014.

The parking robot will see service for the first time at Dusseldorf Airport. 

Credit: AP Photo/dpa, Federico Gambarini

Plane to catch and don't feel like hunting for parking?

Travelers at Duesseldorf airport in Germany can soon leave the job to a robot valet.

An airport spokesman says the robot, nicknamed Ray, starts work Tuesday and can be booked using a smartphone app.

Thomas Koetter says all travelers need to do is leave their car in a designated area and confirm it's empty and ready to go.

Then Ray or one of its cybernetic colleagues will take the car to one of 249 parking spaces reserved for robots.

Koetter says the forklift-like machine can carry any standard car weighing up to 3 metric tons (3.31 tons) and is fully insured.

He says the service costing 29 euros ($39.43) a day targets busy business travelers but is open to anyone.

The technology has been developed by Serva transport systems, a company based in Grabenstätt Bavaria, alongside the Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics in Dortmund.

Parking robot "Ray" transports a car in Dusseldorf, Germany, Monday, 23 June 2014. 

The parking robot will see service for the first time at Dusseldorf Airport. 

Credit: AP Photo/dpa, Federico Gambarini