The Internet of Things (IoT) is no longer an unfamiliar trend. Any device or electric appliance can be made smart – a smart watch on your wrist, a smart kettle in the kitchen, or a smart shower in the bathroom. This year, the grand total of connected devices is closer to 12 billion.

Among the biggest issues IoT is designed to cope with is car parking in modern heavily congested cities. The urban population growth has resulted in the increased car traffic, which causes lots of trouble. So it is no surprise that every driver experiences one and the same problem — looking for a parking place in the afternoon gridlock. Obviously, the majority of car drivers have once forgotten the floor and bay where they parked their car in a large shopping mall.

It is good to know, however, that these typical urban problems can be easily solved with the help of the Internet of Things. Let’s find out how IoT is utilized for car parking.

How IoT is implemented in parking lots

The smart city concept has recently gained great popularity, and the Internet of Things provides a tangible opportunity to modernize the urban infrastructure and handle day-to-day problems, including limited car parking facilities. The development of a smart IoT-based parking facility is a very complex process that involves a number of modern technologies and techniques.

Sensors. Parking sensors are embedded into the road and connected through a cloud server with the driver’s smartphone. As soon as the parking space is available, a special application sends a notification, and the driver can book the free space at once.

GPS and indoor positioning. Such systems provide real-time information about available parking spaces and prices for the service. These technologies also track the vehicle inside the
building, help find the parking place, the entrance or the exit.

Artificial Intelligence. IoT app developers apply this technology to achieve effective image analysis. Image recognition is widely used to identify available or occupied parking places, vehicles, and license plates.

RFID. The radio frequency identification technology is widely applied to parking space management. Vehicles with a RFID tag or strip can go through the entrance and exit gates without stopping to pay for parking, which saves much time.

Conclusion

The number of connected cars is believed to form one of the key elements of IoT reaching 250 million by 2020. Although IoT cannot solve the problem of an excessive number of cars on the
roads, it is capable of decreasing the time wasted on roaming around the downtown in peak hours. Moreover, money spent on fuel will be controlled and significantly reduced. And this is, obviously, the first logical step forward, with a view to building smart cities.