IoT for that parking sweet spot

Finding a parking spot in busy cities and other urban areas is becoming increasingly problematic.  With vehicles becoming more fuel-efficient, and more affordable, more and more cars are hitting the streets every single day. This means that almost everywhere around the world, parking spots are becoming almost impossible to find. 

It is estimated that by 2050, more than 65% of the world’s population will be living in urban areas and if mobility plans are not drastically modernised and improved, the parking issue will get inevitably get worse.

Private and public parking lots are one part of this future-looking global mobility plan, but, without proper visibility, drivers will struggle to find an available spot.

Smart IoT parking systems powered by melita.io

Smart parking systems powered by melita.io solve this problem by remotely making drivers aware of available spots near them.  By providing drivers with this information via their mobile phones, IoT-powered smart parking systems reduce the number of cars circling or waiting for someone to vacate a spot whilst trying to find an available space to park in. In turn, this reduces fuel consumption, congestion, emissions, and ultimately, overall driver stress.

Traditional ways of managing parking lots tend to be very basic. Many a time parking lot management depends on a series of manual controls, even allowing drivers to enter the lot when there are no available spots. This invariably creates chaos and congestion, especially in bottleneck areas of the lot. This is time-consuming, expensive, and inefficient, both for the drivers as well as for the parking lot management team.

What are the benefits of IoT melita.io parking systems?

Smart and intelligent parking solutions such as the ones that melita.io in collaboration with HEYIIoote enable via a LoRaWAN gateway or NB-IT network, use the latest radio network technology, advanced IoT parking lot management software and smart sensor technology to detect and transmit information about empty spaces in parking lots.

LoRaWAN and NB-IoT sensors are both wireless and can be installed in the most remote indoor or outdoor areas. They also require very low voltage to function and come with high battery lifetimes.

NB-IoT, require a SIM to function and is the most ideal for indoor and underground areas that are not well-covered by traditional cellular networks.

The real-time information that is collected by the sensors, is communicated to drivers’ smartphones allowing them to find the most convenient parking spaces for their needs. They can even keep track of the space remotely and in some advanced solutions, drivers can pay for the slot in advance thus booking it before their arrival.

The data is also immediately available y to management via melita.io’s IoT cloud-based portal, thus providing the opportunity for immediate action to remedy urgent issues, as well as for longitudinal analysis of collected data. This is extremely useful to keep track of trends and identify opportunities for increased revenue and detect recurring issues.

This ultimately results in higher customer satisfaction, a decrease in traffic and emissions and overall better parking lot management. These are steppingstones for future developments in innovative mobility solutions. To learn more about how melita.io can help improve your parking lot business take advantage of the power of the Internet of Things, contact us.