Smart parking with simple cameras
Asura Technologies has a developed a fully scalable video analytics
platform that can maximise parking efficiency in cities
Better parking not only
improves quality of life
for citizens, it benefits the
economy and the environment,
too. And the most economical
and environmentally friendly
parking space of all is one
we don’t have to build.
Asura Technologies enables
this kind of sustainability
through upgrades to existing
infrastructure and installation
of non-invasive smart systems
that pave the way to a world
beyond smart parking.
Asura Technologies develops
applications using video
analytics that may serve as
key components for smart
parking initiatives. The aim is to
achieve high-level automation
by ‘smartening up’ existing
infrastructure using as little
hardware as possible. Cameras
without smart features are
common in cities, and if not
already available are cheap
to procure and install. These
provide the video needed for
Asura parking solutions. It
all starts with parking-space
occupancy monitoring on- and
off-street, with ANPR/ALPR
for reference. Enforcement is
done by automatic registration
of the vehicles’ parking time
and matched with the payment
data of an assigned kiosk or
the mobile payment. Why have
construction work when a few
cameras can do the trick?
Efficient parking is more
sustainable. To be efficient
operators need information. The
Asura system provides real-time
figures on parking utilization
and revenue, essential to
understanding operations.
Asura Technologies’ system
is fully scalable, being able to
handle a small parking site,
a neighborhood of streets or
a network of smart parking
sites within a city. The dream
is a city where all parking areas
are interconnected using the
same management system.
In this city data and statistics
would help to identify parking
habits and patterns to enable
dynamic pricing, where price
can be changed according to
supply and demand, or even
sustainability policies. In the city
of the future drivers will always
be automatically navigated
to the most suitable parking
space, with the help of cameras
and smart parking software
powered by video analytics.
most of the issues that will impact
upon parking. Open-Road Tolling
(ORT) is reliant on millions of wireless
transactions with individuals’ private
and business accounts. If the privacy
and security of those transactions
couldn’t be guaranteed, ORT wouldn’t
be sustainable.
Just a few years ago the necessary
levels of security would have
required a bespoke, closed and more
costly communications network.
Now, cloud solutions easily provide
the levels of connectivity and
security needed. And some more
progressive deployments are using
it in the parking sector.
“What they currently lack is wider
recognition of capabilities,” Souders
states. “Without more visibility, and
more traction, we’re always going to
be held back by concerns over
potential ‘failure’ and press and
public criticism. This means that
in too many cases we see only very
small incremental changes in how
parking happens, not the big leaps
forward that are already possible.”
Gaining that confidence is wellserved
by setting up trials and pilot
schemes. These can be small-scale by
individual organisations, or larger,
more sophisticated and supported by
multiple entities, public and private.
Pilots provide a proving
experience for both service provider
and user. They show what technology
can do and how it can make life
simpler and better. Perhaps even
more importantly, they show what
doesn’t work, ensuring that by the
time wider roll-out occurs kinks have
been ironed out and barriers to user
uptake have been lowered or removed.
Pilots of increasing sophistication
are becoming more common. As with
case studies which enable peer
learning, they’re a healthy indication
of progress. But, says Souders, we
still need more of them.
Bringing things to a halt
Smarter parking doesn’t just benefit
parking. It forms the gateway to
smarter communities in general.
Some of the leading real-time
information service providers
already rely upon the buying habits
of travellers to gain their data; as they
tap in and out of mass transit, for
instance, users provide an evergrowing
and increasingly accurate
picture of capacity requirements.
“Parking pre-booking can add
origin-destination as well as locational/
temporal demand information. It can
be used to manage demand, through
variable pricing or straightforward
access control – ‘no space, no go’,” adds
Souders. “It can also be used to manage
freight movements, connecting with
edge-of-town truck parks and
allocating time slots and capacity
to incoming deliveries.”
“Parking is at more of a premium
than ever before. The kerbside in
particular is becoming an increasingly
contested space, and anything which
can make an appreciable, intelligent
difference to access is going to become
highly prized.
“The technology and data
capabilities exist to support pretty
much any parking strategy,” he
concludes. “Drivers are going to be
the imaginations of implementing
agencies and the support of their
suppliers. The results will be even
tighter integration of parking and
traffic management – and smarter,
cleaner, more liveable communities.”
Anything which can make an
appreciable, intelligent difference
to parking access is going to become
highly prized
Andy Souders, CEO, All Traffic Solutions
London The worst UK city for parking
(an average driver spends 67
hours a year looking for
a space). In New York this
figure is 96 hours
(2017 Inrix survey)
Smart Parking |
046 Traffic Technology International March/April 2020
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