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IoT Based Smart Parking System

The document discusses an IoT-based smart parking system using ultrasonic sensors. It describes how the system works, including sensors detecting distances and transmitting data via MQTT to AWS where it is stored. A web application then displays available parking spaces in green or occupied in red based on this sensor data. Other potential improvements discussed include using LoRaWAN for longer battery life and computer vision for license plate recognition.

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Shubham Sagar
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
135 views

IoT Based Smart Parking System

The document discusses an IoT-based smart parking system using ultrasonic sensors. It describes how the system works, including sensors detecting distances and transmitting data via MQTT to AWS where it is stored. A web application then displays available parking spaces in green or occupied in red based on this sensor data. Other potential improvements discussed include using LoRaWAN for longer battery life and computer vision for license plate recognition.

Uploaded by

Shubham Sagar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Table of Contents

Smart Parking System. The Modern Trend or a Growing Need?

How Smart Parking System Works

IoT Based Smart Parking Solution

Other Tech Options for Smart Parking System

IoT Based Smart Parking System ​0


Anger, annoyance, even a meltdown… What other emotions have you felt when
looking for a free parking slot?

Living in cities can be troubling. Urbanization is always expanding, and traffic in


cities is becoming heavier every day. The UN Department of Economic and
Social Affairs (UN DESA) p
​ redicts​ that all of the increase to the world’s population
will live in urban areas. This increase is predicted to be as much as 68% by 2050.
The population growth is not only a pressing issue for the government but a
tangible daily reality for most citizens.

Smart Parking System. The Modern Trend or a Growing


Need?

Parking problems are not uncommon, especially for big cities. By 2023, m
​ arket
spending for smart parking products and services is expected to grow at a CAGR
of 14% and surpass $3.8B​ a
​ ccording to an I​ oT Analytics report​. The growth of
market spending is good news because it will force people to try to find a
solution to these traffic problems instead of taking no action.

The problem is quite obvious. But a bigger question is what can technology do to
solve it? Is there any way to solve the problem?

IoT Based Smart Parking System ​1


How Smart Parking System Works
Smart parking development implies an IoT-based system that sends data about
free and occupied parking places via web/mobile application. The IoT-device,
including sensors and microcontrollers, is located in each parking place. The
user receives a live update about the availability of all parking places and
chooses the best one.

In order to investigate technologies behind the smart parking solution, we


implemented an internal research project. The main idea was the creation of
smart parking using the Internet of Things and ultrasonic sensors, where
available parking places could be displayed in a web application.

This video shows the result of our internal IoT-based smart parking project:

IoT Based Smart Parking System ​2


IoT Based Smart Parking Solution

Used IoT ecosystem:

Hardware​: ESP8266 microcontroller, HC-SR04 distance measurement sensor


Network:​ MQTT protocol
Cloud & Analytics:​ Amazon Web Services: AWS IoT, AWS Lambda
Used Programming Languages:​ MicroPython, Python, JavaScript
User Interface:​ JavaScript-based web application

The IoT device consists of an ESP8266 microcontroller and an HC-SR04 distance


measurement sensor. The sensor periodically measures the distance and
transmits this data to the microcontroller, which is connected to AWS IoT service
via the MQTT protocol.

Related article: I​ oT Application Development With The AWS IoT Platform

Periodically, the device sends measurements to the cloud where they are stored
in AWS IoT shadow as a sensor state.​ ​A sensor detects a parked car by
measuring the distance to the nearest obstacle—in our case, to the bottom of
the car.

IoT Based Smart Parking System ​3


The state can be "occupied" if the distance is in the range of 100mm - 500mm,
"free" if the distance is more than 500mm and "dirty" if the distance is less than
100mm, which means that the sensor may be unclean. All of these values can be
easily configured. These values represent both free and occupied parking lots.

In our case, if the sensor detects nothing up to 50 cm, the status is set to "free"
and is shown to the user.

The "occupied" range is between 10 and 50 cm.

IoT Based Smart Parking System ​4


Below 10, the status is "dirty". It means the sensor might be covered with mud or
an obstacle, and requires checking.

When a driver accesses the system via the web application, a signal is sent to the
Lambda function. It reads the sensor state values ​from AWS IoT shadow and
displays parking spaces depending on the state. Green color - free space, red
color - occupied space, yellow color - pollution.

IoT Based Smart Parking System ​5


For now, this particular solution may be used for MVP and POC (proof of
concept).

The building of a full-fledged IoT based smart parking system will be different.
Hardware, software and firmware selection will depend on the size of the
specific parking area and the number of parking slots.

Mobile and/or web application features also play a big role in the IoT system
architecture. If business requirements show demand for a smart parking
development, a more advanced application might be created.

Related article: W
​ eb Application Development Principles To Be Followed

All the hardware should always be selected by the IoT specialist. Depending on
the IoT system architecture, developers will select the most suitable hardware. In
some cases, it’s better to use gateway and ​LPWAN for IoT sensors​, for others it
may not be.

IoT Based Smart Parking System ​6


Other Tech Options for Smart Parking System
The improvement of the smart parking system depends on business needs.
Taking into account r​ etail​ and h
​ ealthcare​ technology trends, smart parking might
take priority. Returning to our smart parking solution, the main features that
might be improved are:

LoRaWAN protocol w
​ ill increase the autonomous operating time of a smart
parking system. D
​ ue to LoRa Alliance’s specification​, the LoRaWAN protocol is
optimized for low power consumption, which means that you don’t need to
change batteries more often than once every 2-5 years. Furthermore, it is
designed to scale from a single gateway installation up to large global networks
with billions of devices. Thus, it would be a good idea to apply this or any LPWAN
protocol for a smart park.

Data Science and Computer Vision t​ echnologies based on video stream are
also a perfect match for IoT-based innovations. On the subject of smart parking
development, Data Science and Computer Vision might be applied for car
number recognition.
This feature allows:
● Automatic gate opening, if the car belongs to a given park
● Navigation of cars to available and suitable parking slots

Sensor​ integration is also a good upgrade for smart parking systems. The most
applicable are:

1. Ultrasonic sensors
Ultrasonic sensors​ measure distance by using ultrasonic waves in time
between the emission and reception. Advantages: high accuracy of the sensor.
The disadvantages: the probability of sensor contamination.

2. Electromagnetic field sensors


Electromagnetic field sensor​ is a small-scale microelectromechanical system
device for detecting and measuring magnetic fields. The solution is based on
the change of the electromagnetic field as the metal mechanisms approach
one another.

IoT Based Smart Parking System ​7


3. Infrared sensors (IR sensor)
An infrared sensor​ is an electronic device that emits in order to sense some
aspect of its surroundings. An IR sensor can measure the heat of an object as
well as to detect motion. An IR sensor works in a similar way to ultrasonic
sensors.

Custom mobile and web IoT applications m


​ ight be developed depending on
business needs. The function of a parking slot order may be a killer feature for
mobile/web apps. If a parking area is a few kilometers long, an integrated A
​ R
navigation​ may help drivers not to get lost looking for own car.

Augmented Reality Development Guide For Business Owners


Download PDF >>>

All the features mentioned above are not the limit of the technology. The more
technology innovations we implement, the more features we can add. For most
cities, smart parking is still evolving technology. Only by implementing new ideas
can we make smart solutions like these available and use them to improve our
everyday life.

IoT Based Smart Parking System ​8

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