This document throws light on some of the latest parking technologies being used in India and other countries.

1. COMMON PARKING ISSUES
With the high percentage of vehicle ownership in the India, parking has become a
conflicting and confusing situation for the people.
Whether at an airport, bus stations and shopping centers, problems with parking are an
everyday occurrence. Lack of accessible parking can hurt
local business and decrease the quality of life for
residents. Due to the importance of parking, cities study
and analyze parking programs and performance on an
ongoing basis. The following list identifies the kinds of
problems that typically occur in a community.
India is facing a new problem nowadays – lack of sufficient
parking space. With families getting smaller and the total
number of motor vehicles exceeding the total number of heads
per family, the parking scenario is woefully falling short of the
current requirements in the country. The situation is such that
on any given working day approximately 40% of the roads in urban India are taken up for just parking
the cars. The problem has been further exacerbated by the fact that nowadays even people from low
income group are able to own cars. The number of families with cars has become much more than
what the country is able to manage.
As it is, the cities in India are highly congested and on top of that the parked cars claim a lot of space
that could otherwise be used in a better way. Thanks to poor, and at times zero, navigability, Indian
cities are regarded as some of the worst options for living. One can also add the issue of pollution to
this mix and understand the enormity of the crisis. In this context it needs to be understood that the
Indian cities, with the possible exception of Chandigarh, were never planned in such a way so as to
accommodate a deluge of cars as is the situation now. The apathy of present day urban planners has
only made the situation worse.
Source: http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/government/parking-problems-in-india-and-their-solutions
Country: India
Rank: 135
Vehicles per 1000
people: 10
WorldAutomobile Ranking

2. Parking solutions worldwide
Robotic Car Parking:
Dubai’s car park Capable of handling 765 vehicles, it is the first of
several large-scale robotic car parks being built to address parking
problems in the UAE. All the customer sees is a parking garage
with space for one car, though the ‘floor’ is platform which rides
on the top of a robotic trolley. When the customer leaves the
vehicle and collects a ticket, the wall of the garage drops away and
the car is whisked to an elevator, which in turn takes the car to
another trolley.
From there, the machine parks the car in the dark depths of the
structure. In total, the process takes around three minutes.
With this technology, you don’t need to drive through the garage
to find a parking space.
You simply drive your car to an entry station and leave your car to
be picked up by the computerized lifts that will safely place it
inside the building on a shelving system. When you leave, you return to a central point and your car is
swiftly retrieved for you.
This robotic car park will be especially convenient for the office tenants, parking or retrieval can be
completed in less than 160 seconds. It is safe and secure and obviously doesn’t expose expensive
paint work to the abrasive elements during lengthy office hours.

3. Multi-level automated car parking at Sarojini Nagar and Baba Kharag
Singh Marg:
The Sarojini Nagar parking will be of eight floors with the ground and the first reserved for shopping/
commercial complex and the rest dedicated for parking. It will have a parking capacity for 824
vehicles. The project is scheduled to be completed by June 2010 before the Commonwealth Games.
These automated parking’s will have car lifts, pallets, computerized control systems etc. that will be
operational round the clock.
Both the parking’s will have a basement level for the entry of cars from where they will be taken up
by car lifts as well as for the other mechanical services.
Electronic Parking System for Singapore
EPS or Electronic Parking System was introduced in 1998
in Singapore to reduce the congestion of traffic in the city
areas.
Almost all the vehicles in Singapore are equipped with
devices called, in vehicle units. Using these devices and
the technology based on the ERP systems, Mitsubishi
heavy industries, Ltd. Developed an electronic parking
system that enables settlement of parking charges without
parking tickets and cash. This saves a lot of time and
reduces congestion. Smaller and compact antennas are used. Devices for calculating the fees were
developed which are called Charging unit CHU.
Fig. 1 Access control system Fig. 2 Chargingsystem
Host computer
Personal computer for
Host computermaintenance use CHU
Or
Office Optical communication
Antenna
AntennaEntrance Antenna
Entrance
Barrier Exit
Barrier
Barrier
Vehicle presence Vehicle presence Vehicle presence Vehicle presence Vehicle presence Vehicle presence
detector detector detector detector detector detector
Fig. 1 Access control system Fig. 2 Chargingsystem

4. Features of EPS
1. Availability:
The driver need not open the window to take any ticket or stop his cat. The vehicle just has to
pass through the gates without halting
2. Flexibility of car park operations:
The car park owner can flexibly change car park charges table depending on his demands
3. Reliability:
The RF communication and ERP systems are highly reliable there by reducing any chances pf
error.
4. Service time (hours)
Since there is no need for handling cash and tickets at the entrance or exit allows nonstop
operations round the clock.
The process time per vehicle can be as less as 3 to 4 seconds however I at times can extend up
to 15 seconds as well.
Lift Parking System
Lift type parking systems are used in high-traffic city centers to reduce traffic related problems
caused by lack of availability of parking space and unauthorized
parking of cars.
The car parking capacity of an area can be increased by the use of
lift parking systems.
It operates by the driver parking the vehicle in the parking bay at
the entrance level. Once the driver leaves the safety zone
incorporated into the parking bay, the system automatically
commences the vehicle parking procedure.
First, a turntable built into the lift turns the car through 180 degrees
to ensure all cars are parked facing the direction of the exit. This
facilitates the quick, safe and convenient retrieval of the vehicle
from the system. The car is then elevated to its designated parking
level and is the moved automatically to the left or right depending
on which space has been allocated.
Advantages of Lift parking systems:
 Suitable for both Public and Private parking.
 Elevator Parking is used in Apartment Blocks, Commercial
and Office Parking applications.
 Safety is ensured by use of a parking safety zone and
multiple safety sensors.
 Access to and egress from the parking bay is quick, safe
and convenient.
 The Elevator Parking system is the most efficient system in terms of surface land space
required for an installation.
 The operation of the system is overseen and reliably governed by a computer.
 The system operates with very low levels of noise and vibration.

5. RFID-Based Automatic Vehicle Parking System
Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an automatic
identification system wherein the data that is stored on the
RFID tag is automatically received. It’s a device that can
be attached with a product, animal or a person for
identification purposes and tracking the object using radio
waves. Some of these tags can be read from several metres
away beyond the line of sight of the reader.
RFID technology is used in vehicle parking systems of
malls and buildings (refer Fig. 1). The system normally
consists of a vehicle counter, sensors, display board, gate
controller, RFID tags and RFID reader. Presented here is
an automatic vehicle parking system using AT89S52
microcontroller.
It’s a system that consists of an antenna or a coil, a
transceiver that is fitted with a decoder and a transponder
also called a RF tag. This tag is electrically programmed
with certain information. Depending on their frequency, RFID tags can be categorized in different
categories. Some of the most commonly used RFID kits are low-frequency (30-500 kHz), mid-
frequency (900 kHz-1500MHz) and high-frequency (2.4-2.5GHz).
Boom Barriers adapted along with RID technology
This arrangement used at the entry of the vehicle and at each of the slot. Barricades at the entrance
indicate the availability of the slots small, medium or large. If space is available but not for large
vehicle, at that time that hold the vehicle up to the space made available or suggest the driver to use
another parking field. Another use of Barricades with RFID module is to pay parking charges and
operate the locking and unlocking system. This used to prevent the vehicle from theft.

6. Flowchart
The parking management system functioning can be well understood from the following flowchart:

7. An introduction to ultrasonic sensors for vehicle parking
For years, ultrasonic sensors have been used in a wide range of applications including fish finders,
parking sensors in cars and burglar alarms. In this article we describe the characteristics of ultrasound
and the use of ultrasonic sensors, using parking
sensors as an example.
Characteristics of ultrasound
Ultrasound is an acoustic wave with a very high
frequency, beyond human hearing. Since the
audible frequency range is said to be between
20Hz and 20 kHz, ultrasound generally means
acoustic waves above 20 kHz. Bats, with their
echo-location (biological ultrasonic radar), can
hear sounds up to 200 kHz, way above the
capabilities of the human ear.
Ultrasound has several characteristics which make
it so useful and that have led to its use in many
electronics applications. Firstly, it is inaudible to humans and therefore undetectable by the user.
Secondly, ultrasound waves can be produced with high directivity. Thirdly, they are a compressional
vibration of matter (usually air). Finally, they have a lower propagation speed than light or radio
waves.
The fact that ultrasound is inaudible to human ears is an important factor in ultrasound applications.
For example, a car parking sensor system generates sound pressure over 100dB to ensure clear
reception. This is the equivalent of the audible sound pressure experienced when standing close to a
jet engine.
Ultrasonic parking sensors
Ultrasonic sensors bounce sound waves off obstacles, using the ‘echo’ time to indicate how far away
they are. A speaker in the car bleeps – increasingly frantically – as they get closer.
Pros of ultrasonic parking sensors
 The cheapest form of parking aid – aftermarket systems cost as little as £30; car manufacturers
charge £300-£700.
 Sensors detect objects even when the car is stationary.
Cons of ultrasonic parking sensors
 Ultrasonic sensors can miss smaller or narrow objects, and inclines can deflect the sound waves –
a steep ramp, for example.
 They also only detect objects directly behind or in front of the car,and may not work if the sensors
are dirty or out of alignment.
 Fitting usually requires drilling the bumper, but stick-on sensors are available (though
unattractive).
 Ultrasonic parking sensors not be suitable for use with a tow bar.