The New York Times reported that there are more than 2 billion parking spaces in the US alone and a third of these parking spaces are in parking lots. These asphalted parking lots are claimed to be hated by the people yet proliferate for their convenience. Research indicates that in the US there are eight parking spots built for every car and another research showed that parking lots cover more than a third of the total landmass of the US, which is the single biggest landscape feature of the built environment.
All of these figures denote an exponential growth of the parking industry over the past few decades. It is indeed taking over the mobility of the world by leaps and bounds. A decade or two ago, the parking industry functioned in a conventional method, which required a larger landmass as the number of vehicles grew. However, with the rise of technological innovations in the parking industry, it has adopted smart parking methodologies. The new and advanced smart parking helps optimize space utilization and help the parking industry transition to an eco-friendly industry.
Whether in the past or now, the parking industry is taking over the overall mobility of the world. Here are a few tenets on how specifically the parking industry is taking over the world’s mobility.
- Automated Stacking:
Unitronics, an Israel-based company holds about 50% share of the automated parking market in the US. The company’s automated stacking technology is claimed to eliminate the extra space that is otherwise needed for ramps and driveways. Automated stacking uses robots to store the vehicles in the most suitable parking slot allowing the cars to be parked as close as possible to each other. The elimination of drivers also allows for less energy consumption since it does not need lights and ventilations.
- Robot Valets:
The automated stacking technology is efficient in a multi-story parking tower, but how about large open-air parking spaces like the ones in airports, out-of-town supermarkets, train stations, etc. Stanley Robotics, a French company is on a mission to put these kinds of space to better use with robotic valets. The company’s robot valets are already tried and deployed at airports in Paris and Lyon. Upon the arrival of the vehicle, the driver must leave the car at the designated area at the entrance of the terminal and the rest is taken care of by the robot valets. Stanley Robotics’ system is linked to the passengers’ air tickets; therefore, once the flight has landed the robot valet automatically picks the car and brings it to the entrance of the terminal.
- IoT Enabled Parking:
These kinds of automated parking facilities are feasible for specially built parking lots; however, the most number of parking happens along the streets and outside small shops. This is where Internet of Things (IoT) enabled solutions to aid this parking problem. Nwave, a UK-based firm is one of the few IoT companies that is tackling the parking issues in open-access areas. The company has deployed thin sensors that can be laid into the road along the streets and these sensors can monitor the space above it and determine if that space is in use or not and send that information to the base station. These sensors can last up to 10 years and have a long range for communication purposes.
- Autonomous Parking:
With a constant increase in the number of autonomous vehicles, autonomous parking is becoming an imperative option. Perpendicular parking has always been a tedious task for most people as it requires precision and care. However, Remote Smart Parking Assist (RSPA) technology that comes with an autonomous parking facility helps in efficient and fast parking of vehicles by eliminating the need for drivers. Regardless of whether it is an autonomous vehicle or not, autonomous parking facilities with the help of robots can autonomously park the cars into their designated slots. Autonomous parking helps time, space, and energy.
- Parking Management Software:
Software for parking management is a cloud-based service that is an all-important innovation in the parking industry. Parking management software has played an important role in the parking industry taking over mobility since it makes parking and parking management easy, quick, and accessible. The software for parking management can handle everything from booking a parking slot to processing payments. The feature-rich interface of parking management software can ably handle all aspects of parking and parking management.
By 2050, around 68% of the world’s population is expected to move into the urban environment, which implies the need for more parking space. While one of the options to meet the growing need for parking space is to build more multi-story parking spaces, the most feasible and efficient option is smart parking. With reference to smart parking facilities, RenCubo, a leading parking software and mobile app development company can offer you the best software and IT solution for your parking management business.
