Modern parking facilities are all about safety as well as efficiency: Making sure that vehicles enter a parking lot smoothly, find a space easily, and make payments in quickest time is a top priority for parking operators across the globe. In this regard, RFID, automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), and other technologies can play a significant role.
Modern parking facilities are all about safety as well as efficiency: Making sure that vehicles enter a parking lot smoothly, find a space easily, and make payments in quickest time is a top priority for parking operators across the globe.
“I would say smart parking means using technology and innovation to improve the efficiency and user experience of parking: the reservation, route planning, obtaining access, finding a bay, parking, paying, returning to the car, and leaving,” said Maarten Mijwaart, General Manager of Nedap Identification Systems. “Smart parking facilities are potentially better utilized, have more satisfied and returning customers, and are integrated well with their environment.”
In this regard, RFID, automatic license plate recognition (ALPR), and other technologies can play a significant role. More and more, long-range RFID is implemented to allow quicker access to the facility, especially for monthly or loyal customers who park on a regular basis.
“Long-range RFID can greatly increase the customer experience. The barrier actually opens when the car approaches it. Delays are prevented and the traffic flow is much smoother. Vehicles with long range RFID can get access smoothly without stopping and rolling down the window,” Mijwaart said.
Once vehicles go in, they can benefit from smart guidance systems that prevent unnecessary traffic movements. Taking a long time to find a space in the facility, especially in a multi-level garage, usually results in driver frustration, not to mention increased carbon emission. With advanced guiding systems that use red/green lights to indicate occupancy, drivers can immediately identify empty spaces visually.
“Parking sensors will know exactly which bays are occupied or not. Guiding people to parking lots with empty spaces will greatly decrease search traffic,” Mijwaart said. “Guiding people within the parking lot can also increase customer satisfaction, improve the smoothness of operation, and also optimize the utilization.”
Another technology that has gained importance for parking operators is ALPR, which also facilitates access as the barricade opens once the vehicle’s license plate number is recognized. When making payments, the driver enters his license plate number and pays.
“ALPR is great solution for all circumstances where it is undesirable or impossible to equip users or cars with physical credentials,” he said. “Most license plate cameras use infrared technology. They need full sight on the license plates and should be positioned at the right height and with the right angle.”
As for the future of smart parking, Mijwaart said there are definitely new wonders that we can expect.
"Smartphone technology is advancing rapidly. RFID and ANPR technology are improving, and we have not even discussed the concept of self-driving vehicles. What would be the role of parking facilities when cars drive themselves? Where would these facilities need to be? How should they be equipped?" Mijwaart asked.
"In the era before that, we will see a lot of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication (V2V, V2X). It is very interesting to see how that will impact road and parking infrastructures in the future.”