Well, that was creepy.
Minutes after I posted on medical records being locked out, I found this article on Wired about cars being locked up in a robotic parking garage because of the city’s decision not to renew its license agreement. [link via BoingBoing]
The Hoboken garage is one of a handful of fully automated parking structures that make more efficient use of space by eliminating ramps and driving lanes, lifting and sliding automobiles into slots and shuffling them as needed. If the robot shuts down, there is no practical way to manually remove parked vehicles.
In the days that followed, both sides dragged each other into court. Robotic accused Hoboken of violating its copyright. “This case is about them using software without a license,” said Dennis Clarke, chief operating officer of Robotic Parking, in a telephone interview last week.