Wow, that is pretty neat. I would just be worried if the card reader messed up or the bike got crushed by the machine or something like that. Maybe if the lines were crazy long as well.

My bike just took the red pill.

That is really cool - and I can understands the practical uses of it too. Why isn't there anything like this in America? Oh that's right, we're #1 in innovation...pffft.. Japan is like, 1,000 years ahead in the future than we are.

summon my mighty bike! tonight we ride

It reminds me of Minority Report and the silo of criminals being held in suspended animation.

@TheManator: Actually, Chicago's Millenium Park has a multi-level bike parking facility, though I don't believe it includes the nifty robotics. Also, like everything else in America, its corporately sponsored by McDonalds.

I love my 10 year old mountain bike. I always park indoors at home and when ever possible. I would pay $20/mo for this service.
Mmm Maybe I should get a franchise!

Nice!
Also this:

+ Watch video

Oh, and this:

+ Watch video

Re the multi-level car parks: they are popping up in semi-rural areas now too. With land costing what it does in Japan it is no surprise.

My mountain bike is usually covered in so much mud that they would scoff, laugh, and then throw me out.

'Bokusatsu_Tenshi' beat me to it, but I was gonna say, Yeah, it's even more impressive when they do it with cars.

And as far as multi level BICYCLE storage goes, I saw a bunch of very simple yet effective manual loaded two level versions in Taiwan.

Not new, but still cool...

Yeah - this isn't exactly "innovation" they've had multi-story bike parking lots in Japan for a long time.

The electronic nature of it is more of an "upgrade" than outright innovation.

And for those who complain about corporate sponsorship in the US - wait till you get to Japan - even the professional sports teams have corporate sponsors. Most of the attractions in Tokyo Disneyland are corporate sponsored.

actually - Toyota has something like this for displaying their cars down in the Odaiba area - it's a tower that has two columns of cars (about 7 or so on each side) plus a pretty cool elevator contraption in the middle.

Doing it with bikes seems like it'd be quite a bit easier - it's more of a software issue than a hardware one.

@TheManator:
Also, and this isn't based on any fact, I'm sure you can find a lot more Japanese using bikes than American's.

That would be even cooler if it made that cookie monster sound as it sucked in a bike.

Now they just need to do this for cars.

My bike just disappearing would be a little disconcerting. I think they should add a camera to the arm as well as a tiny spotlight. This would let you see approximately where your bike is going, but being a tiny spotlight all you'd see is bike after bike passing by so you'd still have some mystery about the size and shape of the vault.

@Rabid Penguin: That could just be because there are a lot more americans.

"AH! That robot is taking my bike! Open these doors! Give me back my Bike!"

Judging from the "do this for Cars" comments, is that carpark in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift real? The one where it churns and automatically brings out Bow Wow's Green-ish car?

@judacris: You mean this one?

Oops. This one.

+ Watch video

If only enough lazy Americans would get off duffs to make something like this viable!

Not all bicycles are the same size - recumbents tend to be longer than the standard bike. I wonder how they'd fare in the automated system? It looks like the dock is a little short for these.

Cool idea, though.

Yes, they are real. Me and a friend of mine asked if we could ride one in Akihabara... they wouldn't let us. T_T

@Rabid Penguin: My point too. You'd be lucky if you could find a middle-classed man who could even fit onto A bike seat. He might need two.

@Bokusatsu_Tenshi: i like vw's version better: [gizmodo.com]

I don't know which I'm more amused about, the bike system or the Ferris Wheel car system. I'd love to see that car system in action!

@twreckx:
Yes that one. I think it real (Have yet to go to Japan).

I've always wondered what would happen if you were to leave something in your car accidentally and not realize till you were watching your car rotate away... say something like your sleeping sister in the back seat... just "hypothetical" of course!

What do you expect from a country with only a self defense military, an excessive population that is aging as well. Robots and inventions like this, aren't just because Japan likes to make cool crap. Its because frankly, they don't have the space or the can't take care of it's older population. Remember, necessity is the mother of innovation.

@danger_the_pirate: I can't believe that you were the only one to mention the VW one (especially with so many fanboys here)

Japanese people rule! This is the narliest thing Ive ever seen! Kick ass