Intelligent Parking Solutions
Knowing where to park without searching – thanks to our smart parking solutions: Innovative City Parking – research project and parking bay sensors.
As shown by a study, every car driver wastes on average about 100 hours a year looking for a parking space, which accounts for one third of city center traffic. Siemens has developed a sensor-controller parking management system that helps optimize the use of urban parking facilities and substantially reduce the congestion caused by motorists searching for a space: our Intelligent Parking Solutions.
The smart way to park
Siemens’ Intelligent Parking Solutions use of the full potential of digitalization: smart sensors, intelligent software and clever analysis of the available data. The system eliminates unnecessary parking-related traffic and ensures optimum utilization of urban parking facilities. This saves time, reduces the environmental impact of traffic and improves the quality of life in the city.
How radar sensors bring intelligence to parking space search
- In-pavement or overhead detectors (e.g. mounted on or in street lights) monitor the parking spaces.
- Microwaves transmitted by the sensor’s circuit board across a predefined space bounce back to the sensor when they hit an obstacle.
- The sensor uses an algorithm to calculate whether an object is in the parking space and, if so, how big it is and how it is positioned.
- The collected data provide a transparent overview of occupancy and parking duration for the monitored parking facilities.
- Moreover, the tool supplies data on street spaces where parking is not allowed, e.g. cycle paths or lanes reserved for emergency vehicles.
The overhead sensors can be installed separately or as “invisible” accessories of street lights. With the overhead detection solution, the search for a parking space can be based on additional criteria such as vehicle size. As the system includes different sensor types and technologies, it can be perfectly adapted to the specific requirement of any type of urban zone. |
Installed at a height of 10 m, a sensor can monitor five to seven cars parking slots plus the surrounding area, for instance cycle paths or lanes reserved for buses or emergency vehicles. This allows the fast and cost-effective recording of parking data as well as the detection of parking violations.
The software uses adaptive systems that enable it to provide the users with answers to specific questions, for instance: How likely is it that a parking slot will be available in front of my favorite restaurant in 30 minutes? The system recognizes recurring patterns in parking space occupancy. On this basis it calculates prognoses and recommendations for the users, such as the expected parking space situation at their destination or alternative routes through areas with lower volumes of traffic.
Drivers can use the collected data to find out about currently available parking spaces. Route planning apps and integrated navigation systems minimize the time spent in search for a parking space and thus help reduce urban traffic volumes. As the solutions predicts the time needed to secure a parking space as well as the walking distance to the final destination, it even helps the road users make informed decisions about which means of transportation to use.
Parking bay sensors – the microwave-radar technology
The Siemens parking bay sensor is an ultra-low-power microwave-radar detector. It is used for detecting parked vehicles as well as recording parking start and end times. The sensors are embedded in the pavement and contain an integrated, battery-powered wireless receiver/transmitter. The recorded data are transmitted to a repeater, which forwards the information to the back-office system for analysis.
The system can be installed in on-street environments as well as on public or private off-street sites. Its flexibility enables it to cater for parallel, diagonal and perpendicular parking setups. With a detection range of up to 90 degrees and a width of 3 meters, the system provides accurate parking detection, with vehicles not needing to park directly over the detector in order to be identified.
