The Possibilities
Parking Guidance and Information (PGI) Systems
SmartLuis has integrations with numerous PARCS related firms who supply hardware for parking facilities. An important part of infrastructure is dynamic car park guidance systems.
PGI systems, or car park guidance systems, present drivers with dynamic information on parking within controlled areas. The systems combine traffic monitoring, communication, processing and variable message sign technologies to provide the service.
Modern parking lots utilize a variety of technologies to help motorists find unoccupied parking spaces, car location when returning to the vehicle and improve their experience. This includes adaptive lighting sensors and parking space led indicators (red for occupied, green for available and blue is reserved for the disabled; above every parking space), and Indoor Positioning System (IPS).
PGI systems are a product of the worldwide initiative for the development of intelligent transportation system in urban areas. PGI systems can assist in the development of safe, efficient and environmentally friendly transportation network.
PGI systems are designed to aid in the search for vacant parking spaces by directing drivers to car parks where occupancy levels are low. The objective is to reduce search time, which in turn reduces congestion on the surrounding roads for other traffic with related benefits to air pollution with the ultimate aim of enhancement of the urban area.
A PGI has several components all of which a Parking Management platform like SmartLuis can help integrate:
- Detectors
- LED Indicators
- Zone Controllers
- Data / Intermediate Controllers
- Central Control System
- Signs
Detectors
Operation of vehicle detection sensor and available space indicator. The indicator turns from green to red when the space becomes unavailable. Detectors can use different technologies, such as:
- Ultrasonic detectors
- Forward mounting sensors
- Camera based detectors
- Infrared based detectors
- Magnetic sensors that detect vehicles via changes in earth’s magnetic field
Some use combinations of above technologies to detect vehicles.
LED Indicators
Some manufacturers use LED indicators per space, while others either don’t provide any or use one LED indicator for few spaces. The purpose of an LED indicator is to provide guidance to parkers up to the last empty space.
Zone Controllers
The Zone Control Unit (ZCU) (aka Node Controller), is the middle layer of parking ultrasonic detector, which is to manage a group of ultrasonic detectors, detects then loops the information of the detectors and send the relevant information to a higher element or directly to central controller. One zone / node controller can support between 16 and 100 detectors depending on the manufacturer of PGI.
Data / Intermediate Controllers
Some manufacturers use a kind of intermediate controllers, to accumulate data and then channel it to the Central Control Unit and others connect their Zone Controllers to connect directly to the Central Control Unit.
Central Control System
PGI system management software, an electronic map of the parking space is embedded in the software, which can directly reflect the usage situation of the carpark in real time. The operators can monitor the carpark situation according to the electronic map. As for the wrongly parked vehicles, the system supports manual rewriting its parking spaces to adjust the real occupied situation of the parking space. Database supporting is usually SQL Server/Access.
Signs
Indoor and outdoor LED displays are used to inform drivers of the available parking spaces and guide them to empty ones.
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