Urban cities have expanded rapidly over the last decade. This has led to an increase in traffic because of the higher number of cars. Demand for parking spaces has also become more competitive. The disabled members of society have been disadvantaged by this demand, as some of their designated parking spots have been occupied by opportunistic able bodied drivers. Some of these drivers have even procured illegal certification to allow them access to these limited spots. The DisAssist platform and other systems, seek to address some of these issues.
Parking infrastructure around different cities have various aspects in common. Major cities have both on street and off street parking areas. The IoT which powers DisAssist promises to provide an extra advantage of making availability visible through an app. This mobile app will coordinate payment information and assist in basic acquisition of disabled parking slots through advance booking. The system also seeks to validate users by partnering with government and other agencies. This will be done by using a data base of disabled drivers or their care givers.
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Real time data will be relayed to the users by use of LED indicators on the actual parking spot. This will then be used to communicate to the driver seeking a spot. Confirmation text messages will also be used to inform about successful transactions, as well as to keep records and to ensure clarity. The user is only required to have a smart phone and a DisAssist device in order to access this service.
In their article DisAssist: An Internet of Things and Mobile Communications platform for Disabled Parking Space Management Lambros and Dosis compare DisAssist with systems that offer identical services. The authors include Locomotive Alarm and Parking System which lacks Infrared, RFIG tag and wireless sensors. Smart Eye on the other hand lacks Infrared and RFIG tag. DisAssist has all these aspects in itself, though all three systems have law enforcement monitoring. The Disabled Parking System offers an additional component. This system generates an alarm which embarrasses drivers lacking RFIG tags, or those with illegitimate RFIG tags. In most cases, the offender will be embarrassed by the alarm, and they will forfeit the parking spot.
The components supporting this system are many. They include the Ultrasonic Range System that detects car movement, and the Arduino Uno which is the micro controller. Jumper wire connects this main components to others like the Bread board, RFID reader and colored LED. The green LED allows bona-fide users while the red corresponds with the alarm. The setup process of the system enables it to have optimum speeds while the loop process allows for modification and improvement by the developer.
The main advantage of this system is that it avails parking spots to the deserving people without waiting for the implementation of law enforcers. This process does not interfere with law enforcement but instead it reduces their tasks by removing offenders faster. Areas not covered by this system are dependent on alternative systems like Cross Pavis Parking Violation Systems.
According to the Freeing up the streets article, the PAVIS system goes beyond ordinary law enforcement monitoring by issuing tickets to the violators and backing them up with supporting evidence. It includes a photograph of the offending vehicle at the prohibited parking spot and an image with the licence plate number generated by an LPR engine. The documentation presented also has a time stamp and a physical location of where the offence was carried out. It is supported by a web interface which allows monitoring of the areas where it has been set up.
Some areas where the PAVIS system is used, make use of guard rails to prohibit entry. This is done by scanning the vehicle's licence plate number. This allows authorized vehicles to gain entry while forbidden vehicles are denied. They include examples like authorizing entry of emergency vehicles in a reserved spot. There is a specific violation protocol that determines what course of action will follow which act.
Advantages to using this system include the monitoring of all parking violations, in addition to the violation of disabled parking slots. It is also active around the clock so it does not depend on human prescence. This makes the PAVIS system most attractive to many urban systems because it addresses several issues with one solution. This system has been reported to be successful in Izmir city in Europe.
The Police Eye is a parking violations detection system that is aimed at avoiding the carrying out of the violation. A potential offender is monitored using an algorithm that is set up in various non parking spots. The sytsem then uses the identified number plate to determine the owner of the vehicle. A text message is then sent to the owner, where he is warned of potential violation of parking. Ignoring this warning will lead to automatic generation of a ticket.
Agile software development uses feedback from cross functional teams as well as self organization of units. The resultant product factors in queries and adjustment from the key players and stakeholders. This system relies heavily on image comparison, recognition and processing. This is combined with various state and national laws that help in the generation of the warning text message. Law enforcement officers also confirm the status before sending the text.
To avoid an information overload, the image processing algorithm first checks for violations. The system then stores only the footage of offenders. The interface shows the user the pending list of violations as well as the current offence. The user or officer will then check the photo generated, and decide whether it is a violation or not. Violators will be warned while false predictions will be discarded. This system is similar to the PAVIS system because it adresses a broader series of parking violations.
The various parking systems described above are all quite favorable to the disabled members of society. However, each has its merits and demerits. Though no one system is full proof however, the last two sytems give added advantages. The best future endeavour would be to develop a system that incorporates all the advantages of each system.
