AI-powered parking meters can help transform the age-old parking meter into a new-age, smart parking meter, enabling smart parking in the smart cities of the future.
Parking violations are a significant problem in major cities worldwide. Such cities face a space crunch, and parking violations can add further to their woes. However, this situation is set to change with AI-powered parking meters. These smart meters will enable stricter rule enforcement and help authorities instantly detect parking violations. This will help transform traditional parking into smart parking, making it coherent with the smart city concept.
HOW DO AI-POWERED PARKING METERS HELP WITH SMART PARKING?
AI-powered parking meters can help motorists and enforcement officials with parking violations. The meters will not only enable facilitation of the process after a violation has happened but will also help avoid a violation from happening in the first place.
Helping Motorists Find a Parking Spot
Finding a vacant parking spot is a common issue faced by people in major cities across the globe. An AI-powered system can be used to predict parking availability to help drivers find a vacant spot easily. The system will use real-time and historical data, such as parking occupancy, traffic conditions and other factors, to predict short-term parking vacancies. The information can then be relayed to the individual via an app.
Assisting Authorities
A major hurdle faced by authorities is determining the location and time of patrol. AI systems connected with smart parking meters can help predict the location and time where parking violations are the highest. It can also provide information regarding the optimum route to be taken.
Alerting Motorists of Violations Beforehand
An AI-powered smart parking meter with number plate recognition technology can automatically send alerts on the owner’s phone. It will alert them of violations beforehand. For example, the IoT-based smart parking system will identify the number plate and send a message that the parking time allocated is about to end. The owner can then vacate the parking spot in time to avoid violation. Similarly, if they want to extend the parking time, they can do so right through their phones. They can pay online to extend the parking time and the data will be synced with the parking meter, helping avoid violations.
Penalizing Motorists Automatically
AI-powered parking meters used in a smart parking system can also be used to penalize drivers automatically without human intervention. If the vehicle’s parking time goes overdue, the smart meter will automatically send a violation ticket to the owner’s phone and update the same in the official database.
Similarly, smart CCTV cameras, with number-plate recognition technology, spread across the city can identify parking violations automatically. They can identify vehicles parked in no parking zones, on the wrong side of the roads and other vehicles that are hampering the smooth flow of traffic.
AI-powered smart parking meters are set to change the face of parking systems. They will become an integral part of the smart parking systems of the future. Smart parking meters are already here and slowly replacing the age-old parking meters. It won’t be long before take over as we move quickly toward a smart future.
