Parking Spot Solutions

1. Mindfire Solutions

2. An average Indian motorist will keep driving for 20 minutes to get a suitable parking spot! A more challenging task than driving on roads is to find a parking space. This holds true, especially in countries like India and other developing countries where the population is large and the pressure on infrastructure high. However, all of this can change with the implementation of smart solutions. According to Libelium, a company that provides technology solutions based on the IoT (Internet of Things), the application of this technology can reduce traffic volume by 8%, petrol or diesel emissions by 40%, extra kilometers for a car to park by 30% and time spent parking by 43%. Smart parking is going to play an important role to reduce and automate the time a driver spends to physically look for a parking slot. Not many know this, but the inefficient parking system is one of the largest contributors to traffic congestion and environment pollution.

3. What is a digital parking or smart parking system? A digital parking system is the process of relaying real time data to motorists to help them spot vacant parking lots at their preferred locations. A smart parking system or a digital parking system offers solutions to urban mobility. This real time data highlights parking availability, both outside and inside a designated parking area, and considers traffic and road conditions. A smart parking system is an extension of a parking assistant that lets you know of available parking spots ahead of time. It is the potent combination of hard technology like sensor and cameras and soft tech like parking management, applications, consumer and operator apps. Both the techs are accentuated with advanced tech like Artificial Intelligence and Location Intelligence to make the experience of parking one’s car hassle free.

4. Why do we need parking solutions? According to the American firm Parking Ya!, specialising in the sale of garage spaces, more than 25% of vehicles that are driving around cities are looking for a parking space. Smart technology has the key power to solve this problem, organize and simplify the flow of urban traffic, enhance operational efficiency and create opportunities for drivers to enjoy driving while saving time. Smart parking solutions can also significantly lessen the harmful effects of congestion, thereby equating to less greenhouse gas emissions.

5. Smart parking technology for Parking spot solutions: There are several devices, processes and systems that form the overall structure of smart parking. On the one hand, sensors and cameras play an important role to record, process and transmit data and information to provide real-time traffic data. On the other hand, the IoT based cloud system centralizes the data, analyses it and shares it with parking management companies/authorities to calculate the availability of on- street, public and private parking facilities. Together they form a force to act as smart parking space detectors. To understand the technology in detail, let us take a look at some of the structural components of the smart parking technology.

6. Smart parking maps: Maps, while super-helpful on a day to day level, might not be able to provide us with the more accurate information on finding an on-street parking space. While the Google Maps or Bing Maps on our devices provide us real time traffic data including crashes, diversions and accidents, they only share a likelihood of parking in these areas. Smart parking technology will help these maps update specific parking related information, the closer we get to our selected destination. Smart signage: Road signs have always played a role in guiding both the pedestrian and the driver. However, smart technologies and their smart signages are a more effective process of helping coordination between pedestrians and vehicles. Example - traffic lights and pedestrian crossings that change color or light up depending on real time or estimated traffic volumes, during peak hours. • •

7. Sensors: Smart parking depends on sensors to detect available parking spaces, doing the task of looking for vacant parking spots, instead of the driver having to do it. With the help of LED indicators, drivers can see the number of parking spaces available with green or red lights that indicate the availability or non-availability of parking spaces. Smart counter systems - A system to detect when a vehicle enters and leaves the parking facility. This is a way where IoT based platforms will be able to give drivers a real time counter of available parking spots. Additionally, counter systems can contribute to increasing parking efficiency while determining future trends and patterns to predict vehicle surges. Automated parking systems - This can help reduce the dependence on land use and increase efficiency of space usage. An automated parking system also can be used to navigate the cars across multi storied parking facilities. Its multi-sensored system helps reduce parking search time, control emission and is more secure. Being a minimum resource usage facility, an automated parking system is less dependent on natural resources like light or ventilation. • • •

8. In the times of Covid 19: Even after a year post the Covid-19 outbreak, we continue to heavily rely on technology for safe access and minimum contact in our daily lives. The parking industry is one business that has radically adapted to digitization to meet people’s safety and hygiene expectations. While smart and intelligent parking solutions capacitate the driver with intuitive and hassle free parking, it has also made the process smoother, faster and safer. We can say goodbyes to long queues for cash points forever, now with the emergence of various touch-points for check-ins, check-outs and payments. Parking in metropolitan cities can be an overwhelming experience due to the massive mismatch between the number of car owners and official parking spaces available. An IBM survey revealed that 58% of those who drive cars in cities such as Delhi and Bangalore, are the most stressed globally. With the disproportionate rise of cars on the streets, it is unknown if modern technology is completely equipped to get rid of our parking woes forever. However, it is safe to assume that it can definitely contribute to a more efficient and safer parking system.

9. The future of smart parking: As per a recent survey, 42% of people who participated in it voted in favor of smart parking systems. With the help of IoT applications and other technology, real time parking maps are likely to become commonplace. It is estimated that by 2035, 2 billion cars will be on the roads. Millions of dollars are wasted globally in the absence of timely parking space. The world is in need of smart parking solutions now more than ever. With innovations in this field, drivers will be able to book parking spaces beforehand and plan and commute a trip, thereby increasing the comfort of city residents while bringing down time and resource waste significantly. Smart parking apps can further contribute to urban planning by helping governing authorities to identify areas with sufficient car parking space vis a vis those which do not. This extremely valuable information can help plan a city’s overall development in the future and cater to the growing dependency on reliable and easily accessible parking spots.

10. Content Source: Quora Contented By: Mindfire Solutions