Which algorithm is used in Cisco smart parking system and What is the purpose of this system? Everything Explained
Cisco IoT-Enabled Smart Parking Management Solutions With LoRa Parking Sensor
Parking in a big city is always one of the annoying and time wasting daily challenges for many. It’s just part of the life in the city, right? Well, that doesn’t mean we can’t use modern technologies to make our days simpler and more pleasant.
This is exactly the type of challenge the Internet of Things (IoT) should thrive in. There are already so many IoT projects for smart cities. Each of them aims to solve a specific challenge. For example, smart traffic lights which use a combination of sensors and cameras to monitor the traffic flow and thus make sure there’s optimal conditions for each intersection. This means changing the duration of each phase of the traffic lights in accordance with preset rules – ensuring a priority road is clear (for example one with public transport lines) or even for real-time events like the safe passage for an ambulance.
Some projects for smart cities can be very broad and encompass a variety of systems. Like smart waste management. It can feature sensors in bins to make sure garbage trucks go to bins that need to be emptied and calculate the most efficient route individually. Thus there will be less unneeded trips and waste will be picked up where it’s needed in a more timely manner.
Those are complex challenged and IoT systems area already tackling them in a lot of cities worldwide. So, as you can imagine, making parking more efficient would not be that much of an issue, too. And yes, there are already solutions for that, too. Some of them are available for the LoRaWAN standard and the Helium wireless network that uses it.
What’s LoRaWAN and Helium?
LoRaWAN is a specific wireless standard made to provide low-power devices with a reliable and fast internet connection. The Helium network is based on this standard and also builds on top of it with a blockchain and a special validation process to provide maximum security for the data and for the network participants.
Where Helium differs from other wireless networks is that it is fully decentralized. There’s no single owner and everyone can use it. They can be a user with their LoRaWAN devices or they can be part of the infrastructure. This can happen by adding a Helium hotspot or becoming a validator. People (or companies) who do that, can earn the HNT cryptocurrency and make some money out of supporting and growing the network.
Helium hotspots can allow for up to 2 km. of range in urban areas to up to 15 km. in rural zones. Naturally, parking is more of a challenge in cities. The good news is that thousands of cities around the world already have Helium coverage. And yes, you can always add more hotspots everywhere you want and need them to ensure there’s enough capacity for your projects. Basically, you don’t need to worry about whether you will have Helium coverage, or not. Chances are you already do.
So, we can focus on the equipment you will need to make your smart parking solution. As we mentioned, there already are plenty of them on the market.
LoRaWAN based smart parking sensors
According to a GSMA analysis, smart parking is more than just for convenience. A well optimized parking solution will reduce traffic volume by 8% on average and it will reduce the distance travelled in search for a parking space by 30%. People will also save 43% of time on average to find a parking spot. All of this will also reduce pollution. And parking operators can get up to $93.70 increase in monthly revenue per parking space (average price is high because in a lot of big cities parking is already an expensive service).
A smart parking solution will need relevant software to be able to calculate free spaces and optimize additional possible features of a parking lot like lights, open or closed lanes, etc. If done well, it can also has a route planning feature and guide the visitor with light prompts to the available space, thus saving even more time in needless wandering in the parking lot to find it.
For all of that to be possible, though, we need something very basic:
smart parking sensors. A lot of them.
One of them is the Milesight EM310-UDL. It’s an ultrasonic distance/level sensor which features a 3-axis accelerometer, IP67 waterproofing and it is LoRaWAN based. It uses dual ultrasonic beams and can measure in a range from 3cm to 450cm within a 60-degree angle. This makes it ideal for smart parking projects and it will send a real time signal when a pace is free or occupied. What’s more is that these sensors have an up to 10 year service life with a single battery, thus they are completely wireless.
Another such sensor is the Eleven-X SPS-X. It will also offer real time occupancy status, low power consumption and even AI-based sensing technologies.
And there’s even the Smart Parking Systems project by Intercomp. It’s also a LoRaWAN member and it has made an entire system with sensors, cameras, parking meters and management sever. It is able to provide real time information to the parking lot owner, the municipality, the operator and even the police for additional control and safety. These sensors can be placed within the road surface and are suitable for open areas.
Another company with a LoRaWAN smart parking solution is Semtech. It has developed a system which uses parking meters and LoRa-bsaed sensors. They are able to provide a real-time map with the available and occupied spaces. And thanks to a mobile app, officers can even see which are the occupied and unpaid spaces. This solution uses a LoRa-based gateway along with embedded sensors in the parking meters for example.
These CivicSmart sensors have at least a 5-year battery life and are also durable and weatherproof. As a result maintenance is minimal, thus saving even more costs.
Smart parking solutions are just getting started. Most cities are still unwilling to invest the upfront cost, but as they see the successes from private projects and from other towns, they are warming up to the idea more and more. Smart parking is part of the future that is already taking shape.
