Vehicle transport apparatus

A vehicle transport apparatus configured to transport a vehicle by lifting up wheels of the vehicle, said vehicle transport apparatus comprising:

• a first robot configured to enter underneath the vehicle, lift up front wheels of the vehicle, and travel;
• and
• a second robot configured to enter underneath the vehicle, lift up rear wheels of the vehicle, and travel, wherein
• the first robot and the second robot each include:
• a body;
• omnidirectional wheels operatively attached to the body and configured to cause the body to freely travel and turn omnidirectionally;
• a drive force transmitting mechanism operatively attached to the body and configured to transmit a drive force to the omnidirectional wheels;
• a load-bearing mechanism operatively attached to the body and including lifting arms, contact portions and loading motors;
• a distance sensor configured to detect a distance between a corresponding robot of the first and second robots and an object near the corresponding robot;
• and
• a robot computing section configured to control a travel operation and a loading operation of the corresponding robot,
• wherein:
• the contact portions are configured to contact ground-contact-surfaces of the front wheels of the vehicle when the first robot approaches the front wheels, and contact ground-contact-surfaces of the rear wheels of the vehicle when the second robot approaches the rear wheels,
• the vehicle transport apparatus is configured such that:
• when the loading motors operate, the lifting arms move from storage positions to expanded positions and contact the ground-contact-surfaces of the front wheels or the rear wheels, the contact portions and the lifting arms contacting different areas of the ground-contact-surfaces in a front-rear direction,
• when the loading motors continue to operate, the lifting arms further move to approach the contact portions and lift up the front wheels or the rear wheels, and
• when the vehicle is to be lowered in a parking region, the robot computing section adjusts a parking position of the vehicle based on information detected by the distance sensor.