Parking Garage Automation system

Merritt Systems, Inc.

Orlando, FL

The Parking Garage Automation System (PGAS) is based on a technology developed by a NASA-sponsored project called Robot sensorSkin ™. Merritt Systems, Inc. (MSI), of Orlando, Florida teamed up with NASA at Kennedy Space Center to improve robots working with critical flight hardware. Advancements in sensor design led to the smartSensor™ network, a key part of the PGAS

• Robot Sensor Skin was developed under NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts
• MSI teamed up with Kennedy Space Center to develop the Robot sensorSkin™. This helped to improve the robots working with critical Space Shuttle flight hardware
• The Robot Sensor Skin, containing MSI SmartSensor modules and flexible printed circuit board skin, helps robots to steer clear of obstacles using a proximity sensing system
• The MSI SmartSensors use non-invasive, reflective-ultrasonic technology for high accuracy, high reliability, and low maintenance
• The MSI SmartSensors are remotely programmable. It can be tuned to site-specific requirements, has variable range capability, and allows remote configuration, monitoring, and diagnostics
• The MSI SmartSensors are immune to interference from metallic construction materials, such as rebar and steel beams, which degrade inductive loop accuracy

• The current primary markets for the PGAS are parking garages in cities and major airports. The PGAS installed around and within parking garages will autonomously guide motorists to open facilities, and once within, to open parking spaces in real time
• A similar application is under development for the Australian railroad authorities to prevent train collisions with bridges and tunnels
• Another potential market is a wearable collisions avoidance system for the blind
• Walt Disney World is using MSI Ultrasonic SmartSensors to monitor motion
• Profactor Production Research is using MSI Ultrasonic SmartSensors to prevent collisions with it’s Mitsubishi PA-10 robot
• Nomadic Technologies is using MSI Ultrasonic SmartSensors to prevent collisions with it’s robot

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded MSI two Phase I and two Phase II Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contracts to research this new technology
• NASA’s payload inspection and processing robot (PIPR), a long-reach serpentine inspection robot, is one SensorSkin application. The PIPR, used for preflight inspection and verification of Shuttle payloads, was fitted with the skin, containing non-contact proximity, ultrasonic, and infrared MSI SmartSensors
• The U.S. Navy NCCOSC RDTE awarded MSI one Phase I and one Phase II to develop a combined Ultrasonic, Infrared, Temperature, and Tactile sensorSkin for robotic applications

Return to NASA SBIR Success Listings