Collaborative Mobile Application and Advanced Services for Smart Parking

The main reason of wasting time in search of free parking spaces is the lack of information, in particular for open/roadside parking availability. Various ICT-based solutions have been proposed to solve this issue, but still suffering from limited integration among each other and with external online services, such as touristic information services. In this paper we illustrate a modular, service-oriented smart parking system, which includes web applications for parking operators and end users, as well as mobile applications for end users and parking controllers. The proposed system allows (1) operators to draw parking areas and define their details, (2) end users to be guided to the most suitable parking area, with also the indication of points of interest, and (3) controllers to monitor all vehicles that have been parked in their area. Another important feature is the possibility for end users to share their knowledge about parking occupancy, which is very useful when a parking area is not provided with precise availability counters. The smart parking system has been successfully evaluated in our Campus.