Ancient, luck-based parking is gone. Parking has to become more innovative. A smart parking system can make a parking lot, a street, or a city more desirable. A recent survey by MG Motor India, conducted by Nielsen, gathered insights into the mobility patterns of people.

Ancient, luck-based parking is gone. Parking has to become more innovative. A smart parking system can make a parking lot, a street, or a city more desirable.

A recent survey by MG Motor India, conducted by Nielsen, gathered insights into the mobility patterns of people residing in major Indian cities. Besides, it also identified challenges they face while commuting, which reflects the state of urban mobility in India. The survey found that merely 26% of survey respondents found it easy to locate parking, while 74% struggled with the availability and management of parking spaces in their cities. Read the Urban Mobility Happiness Survey.

Let us first look at the parking issues India faces.

Many Indian cities lack parking infrastructure to accommodate growing numbers of vehicles. The scarcity of parking spaces causes congestion and haphazard parking. A by-product of this is Illegal parking, which disrupts traffic by vehicles occupying sidewalks and other unauthorised areas, hampering traffic and delaying commuters and logistics companies.

Economic Losses:

Loss to businesses: It impacts local businesses, especially restaurants and retail stores.
Productivity Impact: Finding parking near workplaces can delay and lower productivity. 

Health and environmental issues:

People circling for parking spaces results in wasted fuel and environmental pollution, subsequently affecting health and the environment.

The solution is better urban planning, infrastructure improvements, and smart parking technologies. The future of parking is smart parking. Are we prepared for the shift?

How is parking smart?

Smart parking eliminates parking guesswork. Since the invention of the car, drivers have relied on instinct or luck to find a parking spot for many years.

What is Smart Parking?

Smart parking is an IoT (Internet of Things) solution that uses sensors, cameras, and software to inform drivers of vacant parking spaces in a particular parking area.

Let us look at smart parking; it has three main components:

• Live data and guidance to help drivers find the best parking spot quickly.
• Parking asset control for cities, operators, and facility management to track occupancy, payments, and more.
• A direct way to combat climate change is with cars searching for parking less for a sustainable future.

How does smart parking work?

Smart parking uses IoT and AI data to improve parking.

Here are the essentials for smart parking:

• A sensor and or a camera
• Communication to driver
• A dashboard

The sensor processes data in the parking area or spaces. A sensor detects if a car is parked in a parking spot. This can either be a proximity sensor or a camera*.

After the sensor detects a change in the parking spot, the user receives a notification that there is a free parking space and gets the direction toward it. The procedure is repeated when the user leaves the site, and other drivers are notified.

* While a camera can view a more expansive space, it may not be very effective if the parking space has trees or other obstructions; they can become quite expensive compared to sensors.

Advantages of Smart Parking

Smart parking systems can be an excellent opportunity to improve city traffic processes.

Reduces Traffic jams:

By always directly showing a user where there is a free spot, smart parking can reduce the time searching for it. Cars wouldn’t drive around looking for a free spot.

Reduced Pollution

By reducing traffic, there is a reduction in car emissions and overall pollution.

Security

In addition to the efficiency, smart parking provides security for the designated area. Users can be allowed or denied access. Especially for offices or restricted areas, this can be an excellent solution to manage access.

Real-Time Traffic Data

With the data collected on the parking spots, cities can better analyze their traffic and thus improve its efficiency.

Manage Office Parking

The technology can reduce the time, emissions, and costs of car running in companies with many employees who commute by car.

Conclusion:

Smart parking is a solution for congested cities. Also, the value of commercial real estate can simply go up. For large parking lots in shopping malls, office complexes, and industrial areas, smart parking technology can be a boon.

Reach out to us at info@aastroelectronics.com to learn all about how IoT can help your organization. Follow Aastro Tech Electronics on Linkedin, Facebook, and Instagram to stay updated.