U-tron PACE – Shuttle Automated Parking System

U-tron PACE is a Shuttle-based Automated Parking solution, also referred to as “Rack and Rail” parking system. The system is based on shuttles performing single path horizontal movement along fixed rails and storing vehicles on racks located perpendicular to both sides of the fixed rails.

Hard-working and efficient system

The structure is made of concrete (with embedded rails) or steel racking structure (similar to warehouse racks). This allows achieving maximal efficiency in rectangular shapes. Shuttle systems range from single level to multi-level, and typically serve larger parking capacity (hundreds of spaces).

Components of U-tron Pace

The typical Shuttle system is composed of entry/exit bay rooms (with/out lift component), shuttles (X shuttle and Z shuttle) and lifts.

The X shuttle conveys the vehicle horizontally along the aisle (X axis) and loads/unloads the vehicle from/to the bay or parking position. The loading/unloading is performed by a dolly (Z shuttles) that moves perpendicular to the shuttle. The dollies and the shuttle are paired and operate as single unit (meaning, the shuttles waits in position until the dollies return to it).

Advantages of U-tron PACE systems

• Relatively simple movement algorithm
• Mid to high throughput (number of vehicles processed in a period of time)
• High-efficiency thanks to the ability to fit parking levels to different cars heights
• Lower cost per space

Considerations of U-tron PACE system

• The system operates with a rectangular footprint as the design requires a transport lane along with the entire system. As a result, the design has limited flexibility in considering the location of structural columns, which in some cases increases the sq-ft per space.
• Hard to use in retrofits