Smart Parking Systems – Reimagining the Parking Experience

Sekaran Letchumanan Jul 01, 2021

In this current era, the concept of smart cities has gained great popularity. Thanks to the evolution of technology the idea of a smart city is now a reality and a requirement. Overpopulation of cities demands the progress of strategic planning that uses infrastructure, innovation, and technology to adapt and keep pace with swift changes. Today, consistent efforts are being made in the field of IoT to maximize the productivity and efficient use of urban infrastructure. Particularly when it comes to parking systems.

Our growing economy and the subsequent increase of vehicles on the road, exponentially multiplies the demand for parking space. Added to that, the manual management for available parking spaces presents the possibility of mismanagement and the under-utilization of space, which in turn leads to enhanced traffic congestion in urban areas, as vehicles cruise around to find a spot.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop an automated smart parking management system that would assist the driver to locate parking spaces, with ease and simultaneously helps in the effective management of available parking spaces. The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of physical objects, devices, vehicles, buildings etc., embedded with electronics, software, ultrasonic sensors, and network connectivity that enable these objects to collect and exchange data. This allows for smart parking management systems to evolve from the traditional system of using manual tickets to high reliance on information and communication technologies (ICT) which play a crosscutting role in articulating tools that guarantee better results. These services will allow users to access online services such as mobile apps that include features to tackle urban mobility problems and create sustainable infrastructure, both economically and ecologically.

What does SPS offer that makes it SMARTER?

Smart parking systems utilize technologies and sensors that emphasize the importance of data reliability, security, privacy and other critical design factors in such systems. SPS typically contains the following elements that make the system intelligent.

Car plate number recognition.
Empty parking lots detection by camera.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) access capability as a backup subsystem.
Parking lots divided to zones (Employees, Costumers, VIP, Special needs, etc.).
Ability to block zone(s) or individual lot(s) by security.
Ability to detect abnormal parking (Eg: employee parking in a costumer lot or another inappropriate location) and trigger security.
Three Dashboard Panel to show all zones and lot vacancy.
Ability to key in ad-hoc new employee car/visitors/shuttle details to be authorized by security.
All data shared immediately to the database.
All data and communication controlled by layers of cybersecurity.
Auto-generate reports to authorized personnel for review.

Imagine the following smart parking scenario: Sensors determine whether parking spaces are engaged or available. The data is then sent wirelessly, in real time, to a gateway so a parking map is created and continuously updated. Drivers can use their mobile phones or heads-up displays to find a perfect spot without wasting time.

Sounds a lot better than the previous system, doesn’t it? However, this is just the beginning of the huge benefits that we can expect from the future of smart parking systems. The progression of sensor technology is at the crux of the development of the future smart parking system. Similarly, there is need for other technology innovations to create more adaptable systems, such as wireless communication, data analytics, induction loops and advanced algorithms.

The more technology innovations get implemented; the more features can be added. Smart parking is still an evolving technology. Only by applying new ideas can we make smart solutions like this available and use them to improve the quality of our everyday life.