It’s no news that IoT (Internet of Things) is rapidly changing the world around us! The technology has unfolded unprecedented ways of communication and connectivity, transforming how we perform our day-to-day activities in personal, social, and business environments. From unbeatable security and surveillance to autonomous driving and in-vehicle infotainment, IoT-driven digital transformation has also permeated the automotive industry and improved our driving experience! IoT seeks to provide drivers with actionable diagnostic data and improve their daily interactions both on the road and at parking lots.
Automated Parking: The Vision Of Smart Cities
Smart, better-connected cities are one of the many wonderful possibilities of IoT. The idea of a smart city is that of a connected society which relies on information and communication technologies to expedite processes, improve operational efficiency, and relay information to the people living in it. It also seeks to enhance both the quality of government services and citizen welfare.
Smart cities can become truly smart with the appropriate application of IoT technology, and its role in mitigating parking challenges is of paramount importance. Whether you are a vehicle owner or a parking lot manager, parking has become a demanding task in most urban cities where the number of vehicles on the road is exponentially increasing. Parking issues can cause street congestion resulting in wasted time and resources. In fact, car parking challenges are a major contributor of up to 30% in traffic congestion!
IoT Is The Solution For Streamlining Parking Spaces For Efficiency
Today, solutions based on the interconnectivity and innovation of IoT technology are being utilized in parking spaces to effectively mitigate parking issues through manifold facets. These include:
Real-Time Analytics
Placement of IoT-based smart parking system facilitates real-time vehicle detection and monitoring of parking spaces. The information is stored in a database and presented in the form of diagnostic data, which can be accessed at any time. If you are a parking lot manager, you’ll enjoy better control over your parking area with the real-time availability of information, such as the knowledge of peak hours when your parking lot receives maximum traffic. This helps you take measures to improve mobility around your parking space. As a result, the service quality at your parking area can be significantly improved. Certainly, data analysis can help parking lot owners take appropriate steps towards the safety and operational efficiency of parking spaces!
Seamless Space Monitoring
The everyday quest for the right parking spot can be avoided through real-time monitoring and management of unoccupied parking spaces. This will not only eliminate the risk of not finding a spot but will also allow people to reserve their parking slot in advance. An IoT-empowered system is composed of smart components such as a sensor, a real-time monitoring device, and an automated payment system. This serves as a navigation-database embedded solution which optimizes parking operations and provides significant time and cost savings to both parking lot owners and drivers. Every time a vehicle drives in, it will automatically be guided towards an available parking spot, without any detours!
Innovative Pricing And Integrated Payment Gateways
Most drivers are obliged to pay hefty parking charges, and the amount is significantly high in densely populated urban areas. With accurate parking information obtained through automated monitoring, you can improvise the pricing for your parking lot. By adopting demand-responsive pricing, you can reduce the instances of traffic congestion and offer better parking rates at the same time. For example, the parking slots near the entry and exit points can be priced higher, whereas the ones at the far end of the parking space can be priced economically to encourage drivers to take those spots. And by further integrating automated payment gateways to your parking management system, you can eliminate prolonged wait times at entry and exit spots and prevent potential missouts.
Improved Management Efficiency And User Experience
Smart parking is designed to resolve all those factors that make the regular task of parking a vehicle irksome! Receiving real-time information about the vacant parking slots directly on the phone can help meet user expectations, reduce costs, and improve the overall management efficiency.
Optimized Parking
Every driver prefers a parking spot that is near to their destination and thus avoids the far end slots in order to save time. With a smart parking system in place, a driver can get real-time information about the occupancy status of a certain parking spot and its distance from the entry and exit points. A driver can reserve his/her preferred spot in advance and stay up-to-date with the parking policies that impact their decisions. As the parking events are monitored around the clock, parking metadata is stored at the cloud-based management dashboard. This system can alert the parking owners against violations and suspicious activities that may be going on in any area of the parking space. This eliminates the need for manual supervision and results in increased revenue!
Although parking has been a marginalized aspect in the vision of smart cities, the potential for improvement in parking facilities is huge. With our unmatched IoT capabilities and over 30 years of experience in the industry, Trakaid is providing customized solutions for parking automation! We are committed to devising safe and reliable solutions for navigation and transportation to help resolve challenges associated with urban living.