SMART PARKING

A more challenging task than driving on Indian roads is finding a place to park. And, with vehicles soaring, the situation only stands to worsen. Construction Times looks at the scenario, technology, future of parking systems.

No wonder when experts work on a solution to counter India's parking woes, they often talk of a complete overhaul of the present system. While starting afresh is a near-impossible feat, many urbanists and city planners have turned towards digital parking solutions, given the huge traffic of vehicles and limitations of the parking infrastructure.

However, specially drafted parking policies will be a prerequisite for the effective deployment of any such smart parking technology.

Until then, an Indian motorist will keep driving for around 20 minutes on average to get a suitable parking spot (IBM figures). And, the country will continue topping the TomTom Traffic Index list with cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Pune infamous for heavy congestion.

With the introduction of cars, parking service became a necessity for its owner, community as well as law enforcement agencies such as police and local government administration. For car owners and drivers because it saved his time to go looking for a safe parking area. Community benefited because improper parking caused nuisance for others which resulted in traffic jams. The police were happy because traffic was easy to manage. Local government enjoyed it because it got good earnings from these parking slots.

The growing population of India has created many problems - one of the challenging ones being car parking which we confront almost every day. Besides the problem of space for cars moving on the road, greater is the problem of space for a parked vehicle considering that private vehicles remain parked for most of their time. Roads are being built for cars to ply but are we also giving the vehicles enough space to park? Parking is one of the major problems that is created by the increasing road track. It is an impact of transport development. The availability of less space in urban areas has increased the demand for parking space especially in areas like Central business district.

With digital parking solutions, the scenario is fast changing

The invention of parking systems dates back to 1905. The most common being, the drivers drive in their cars to the parking entry gate. The sensors scan the car number. A small receipt with car number and IN time gets printed via the printer on the service pole. This service pole is positioned in such a way that it can be accessed from the driver seat. The driver then parks the car. He wanders, does the shopping or whatever. When he wants to leave the parking bay, he brings his car to the exit gates. The sensors scan his car number. The parking fee is calculated and shown on the small display on the service pole. The driver can choose to pay by cash or card, whatever. With the evolution of technology, the mode of payment changed. Cash made its way to cards and then rfid tags. This allowed cars to drive in and out without stopping at gates, the charges getting deducted automatically from the accounts.

According to NewAtlas, the primary of automated parking systems was built in Paris. It had an associate in a nursing elevator that transported unaccompanied cars to the deck. The attendant on the upper deck would drive the car to an available parking zone. The next generation saw “paternoster” which had a Ferris-wheel design become a popular mode for parking. This made it possible to fit eight cars in each compartment. It allowed maximising vehicles parked in minimum space.

The first driverless parking garage was built in Washington D.C., where mechanical maneuvers transported cars. It means car parking requires the help of an attendant to either drive into the machine or help after the car arrives at the parking space. Where time is the essence, the companies started investing in creation of fully automated parking systems. APS soon became a hit in the US. It helped in pedestrian safety as it prevented car-pedestrian accidents from occurring. APS conjointly helped in reducing carbon emissions as some people drive in circles to find space. The APS expertise allowed a better experience for the handicapped to exit on level ground so as to avoid navigating gradients and avoid staircase. The negative of APS was the inexperience of some customers in using it. This led to bad user experience for others.

Smart Parking System

Thanks to digitalization, smart parking systems are starting to offer solutions for urban mobility. This is a system which, thanks to the Internet of Things and sensor technology, allows real-time data to be obtained about parking availability, both outside and inside, and regarding traffic and road conditions.

Smart Parking Technology

Various devices and processes form the structure of smart parking, acting as parking space detectors. On the one hand, the deployment of sensors and/or cameras, which record and process data and images to provide real-time traffic occupancy data for the area we are heading to.

An IoT cloud-based system, on the other hand, allows these devices to be connected and the data to be centralized. The data are then analyzed using big data in order to calculate the availability of on-street parking spaces or spaces in public and private parking facilities.

Smart parking maps

If we want even more accurate information about how likely we are to find an on-street parking space, we don't always have to use an app. Functionalities already available on our devices such as Google Maps provide us with real-time traffic data and the likelihood of parking in these areas. This service and other maps update the information the closer we get to our selected destination.

Smart signage

Smart technologies are also being used in road-sign systems with the aim of increasing safety and helping to coordinate pedestrian and vehicle traffic more efficiently. Examples include traffic lights and pedestrian crossings that change color or light up depending on real-time or estimated traffic volumes, such as peak hours.

Smart detectors for vehicles

Knowing exactly how many vehicles are located in a parking lot at any given time is the basis of smart parking. This car parking monitoring system is made up of sensor systems including dual channel loop detectors, ultrasonic vehicle presence sensors or LiDAR vehicle sensors. They detect whether the parking space is free/occupied, they identify if a parking garage is full and provide an accurate location of vehicles, respectively.

Sensors to detect parking spot occupancy

In this case, these sensors detect available parking spaces, facilitating the task for drivers looking for vacant parking spots in closed spaces. Thanks to the incorporation of LED indicators, drivers can see how many parking spaces are available, with red or green light signs indicating whether the parking space is currently used or is free for parking.

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