Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore and ST Engineering have designed an innovative, fully automated smart car park – an innovative solution making parking easier and more convenient across the university’s campuses.
“This is in line with the NTU Smart Campus vision whereby we harness the power of technology in a sustainable manner to improve the quality of life of members of our community,” stated NTU president, professor Subra Suresh.
An application – ‘GoParkin’ – displays available spaces and parking rates in a parking lot in advance, allowing the driver to simply enter the car park without having to stop at booths or taking a parking meter ticket. New-gen cameras automatically scan the car’s plates as it enters and create an account that’s used to determine how much needs to be paid. Upon exit, the cameras scan the plates again, calculate the parking fee, and then the system connects to the mobile app where it automatically initiates a transaction on a saved credit or debit card. As the app allows motorists to make their parking fee payments remotely, it eliminates the need for physical payment stations and barriers at car parks.
The car park also uses a cloud-based engine with sensors installed in various parts of the lot which can identify equipment in the car park that requires preventive maintenance. The data collected can also be used to analyze patterns, such as times when the parking is the most crowded.
“Smart car parks are integral to the smart cities of the future,” said Mr. Ravinder Singh, the president of ST Engineering’s electronics division. Beyond these, insights on car park usage can potentially generate new value-added services for motorists and transform business models for car park operators.”