As parking problems in cities have become increasingly prevalent, there is a growing demand for new parking solutions. Grand View Research predicts that the global smart parking system market will expand by 22% annually to surpass $30 billion in 2030. And the IoT (Internet of Things) is a primary contributor to such rapid growth.
An IoT-based smart parking system is a decent solution for businesses and consumers, providing real-time data on parking space availability, pricing, payments, and more. It can positively impact the environment and traffic. Moreover, IoT solutions ensure efficient parking reservation and management.
If you want to engage in smart parking development, WebbyLab’s guide will come in handy. Learn about the core working principles of such systems and the steps to create one. We’ll use our expertise in building IoT solutions like Propuskator to illustrate the dev process in greater detail.
An IoT-based smart parking system can address many issues and tasks. For example, a driver can view available parking slots directly from their smartphone with such a solution. Companies, in turn, can supervise their parking spaces more efficiently. And most importantly, they can do it remotely.
Here are a few tasks a smart parking system can tackle.
Parking lot owners can use access control and management systems to allow only authorized users to enter a parking area. Here’s how it works.
The system uses a user authorization mechanism through a mobile app or license plate scanning. At the same time, the controller on the barrier or gate may allow or refuse drivers to park their cars according to the set parameters.
WebbyLab’s project Propuskator is an example of such an access control and management system. It uses a controller connected to the gate or barrier and paired with a 2Smart Cloud mobile application to grant or restrict access to the territory.
Using a 2Smart Cloud mobile application for access control and management.
Another task that an IoT based parking management system solves is monitoring the movement of people and cars in a parking lot. Integrating video surveillance into the system can improve parking administration and troubleshoot potential problems, such as traffic accidents or theft, by controlling which cars enter the area.
An IoT smart parking system also solves the problem of overcrowded parking lots. It allows drivers to reserve parking spaces in advance through a mobile application or web interface.
It’s also possible to use individual solutions like parking locks for reservations. These are devices installed directly on parking slots. When a parking space owner leaves the territory, a parking lock will block entry for other cars.
Parking administrators can use a smart parking system to supervise all processes at the facility. In particular, this solution monitors parking space availability and facilitates the billing process.
A smart parking system using IoT can tackle various issues and tasks. But how exactly does it work?
A smart parking system uses IoT devices and sensors to collect real-time data on parking lot occupancy and transmits this information to the cloud or local network. It also involves building IoT apps for end-users, like parking administrators and drivers. They can adopt this mobile or web application and access the necessary data on available parking spaces, pricing, etc.
As a rule, an IoT-based smart parking system comprises the following components.
Smart parking system deployment requires integrating various devices, sensors, and microcontrollers.
For example, it can be a microcontroller transmitting data to the cloud environment or a Bluetooth beacon. With its help, consumers can control parking locally. Such systems also integrate with video surveillance cameras, video recorders, or automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.
Generally, there are several options for devices and sensors you can use. It all depends on your business needs.
An IoT based car parking system usually requires cloud-based services like AWS IoT, AWS Lambda, or Microsoft Azure IoT Hub for data collection and further transmission to the user application. This process involves the following data path:
An IoT parking system also requires protocols to ensure devices’ and sensors’ connectivity in the parking lot. These can be MQTT, LoRaWAN, Zigbee protocol for wireless IoT networks, or else.
Such a system also requires video transmission protocols if it uses video surveillance. For example, WebbyLab used RTCP for our Propuskator project. This way, we provided a real-time video stream users can monitor through the application.
The microcontrollers for a Propuskator access control and management system.
A mobile or web application is the final component of an IoT-based smart parking system. As a rule, such apps ensure parking management, time tracking, reservation, billing tools, data logging, remote video surveillance, guest passes, and driver authorization.
After connecting those components, the system will work the following way:
The architecture of an IoT-based smart parking system.
Smart parking solution development involves various sensors. Let’s consider the most common options.
Ultrasonic Sensors
The integration of ultrasonic sensors, which measure the distance between objects using ultrasonic waves, allows for precise parking. However, such devices have one drawback — the sensor might get blocked with dirt.
Electromagnetic Field Sensors
An electromagnetic field sensor detects and measures changes in the magnetic field. This way, it reacts to the approach of metal objects.
Infrared Sensors
Infrared (IR) sensors emit an infrared signal and catch the reflection of this signal from the environment. Integrating such a device enables measuring the temperature or detecting movement.
Let’s now look at the smart parking development process. It consists of the following stages.
1. Concept
First, you come up with the concept of your smart parking system. At this stage, consider which sensors, microcontrollers, cloud-based services, and network protocols to use. You also decide which app to create: mobile, web, or both.
2. Prototype
Next, you engage the Internet of Things experts to build an IoT prototype. It’s the initial version of your smart parking system. You can test and analyze the prototype to suggest further improvements.
3. Design
At this stage, your experts create the user interface and select features for the MVP. The main goal is to create a user-friendly app suitable for all major operating systems.
4. Development
This step involves mobile, front-end, and back-end, hardware developers. They implement the technical side of your IoT-based smart parking system MVP and connect it with ready-made design solutions.
5. Testing
Once every component of your smart parking system is connected, it’s time to test it. First, the hired experts examine the MVP for flaws and limitations and check if it achieves the goals set. Then, your specialists fix bugs and offer updates for your system.
WebbyLab is a reliable IoT software and hardware development services provider. We can tackle the following tasks to create a smart parking system:
Our experienced team can handle all smart parking solution development steps. When building custom IoT systems, we stick to the following process:
We don’t just create an IoT-based smart parking system. Our team also integrates it with a smart home solution like 2Smart Standalone to add smart lighting and other features in parking lots. Check out our case studies to learn more about our IoT solutions.
Why wait until your competitors implement IoT smart parking systems? Create yours and start managing your parking lots efficiently. Our skilled team will help you with that, using extensive experience in IoT solutions development. Feel free to contact WebbyLab to build a decent smart parking system.
Learn more about how we engage and what our experts can do for your business
Written by:
Head of IoT at Webbylab
Kostiantyn started his career in IT at Webbylab, where he quickly grew from the position of a tester to the role of a manager and business analyst. When the company’s management decided to develop the IoT direction, Kostia became one of its key figures.
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