Smart parking - adaptive navigation, lighting and charging stations for electric vehicles

Some time ago we wrote a large review of payment and access systems , and this was a story about parking access control. But even the most competent access control does not solve all parking management issues.

One of the most pressing is intuitive navigation . Navigation that allows you to quickly find a free place, and at the end of the parking quickly find the exit. It will depend on the navigation whether the driver will “boil” in the process of searching for free space or will feel royally finding the most convenient parking places in minutes.
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Lighting control in the parking lot is not the most noticeable problem for the visitor, but for the owner it is a serious expense. And given the fact that no one predicts a reduction in electricity tariffs, but only lazy does not predict an increase, and some even demand it. The issue of reducing the cost of parking coverage will be more acute, but no less acute than the issue of lighting efficiency, since no one has canceled the competition, and poorly lit parking is an unpleasant pleasure.

Well, the cherry on the cake, these are car chargers , and of course, the software environment for managing them and accounting for electricity costs.

Today we will not do a review because Parking management solutions are not so mono, and there are simply no solutions that would allow managing navigation, LED lighting and charging stations for electric vehicles in one software interface.

At the moment, Circontol is the only company in the world that has one software and hardware platform for managing the parking navigation system, LED lighting and electric charging stations for electric vehicles, and naturally develops and produces all this stuff on its own.

The only one in the world, it sounds loud and even incredible. But in fact, the capabilities of the system are no less incredible.

CirPark Platform - software and hardware platform for parking management

CirPark Platform - software and engineering infrastructure based on CirPark Scada software (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) - dispatch control and data collection.


The picture is clickable

And so CirPark Platform is:

• Intelligent parking navigation system - iPark ;
• LED parking light system - LEDPark
• Electric car charging stations for indoor and outdoor parking facilities - EVPark
• A system for monitoring electricity consumption by chargers and any other energy consumers;
• Vehicle search system

CirPark Scada software package designed for collecting, processing, displaying and archiving information from an object (system) and real-time control.

As part of parking management, CirPark Scada works with parking controllers and allows you to receive, display, transmit, process information from the following equipment:

• Parking sensors
• Vehicle counting sensors
• Lighting Controllers
• Electric vehicle charging stations
• Allows you to make plans for parking facilities (floor by floor, division into zones, linking to the terrain, and so on)
• Create visualization screens for the operator
• Keep statistics
• Customize equipment operation reports
• To form the logic of the controllers and sensors
• Display alarms and equipment faults

Connection to the server part of CirPark Scada is possible, both through the web-interface, and with the help of an application for Windows OS. The open XML API opens wide possibilities for integration of third-party solutions into CirPark Scada, for example, payment-access systems.

The iPark system uses CDU-TCP-PARK parking hubs as control equipment. Hubs are universal, they are also used for sensors of the metering of traffic flow, in lighting control systems and charging stations for electric vehicles. They have 4 digital inputs and 4 output relays, the equipment is connected via RS-485 interface, there is also an Ethernet port.

Data through special hubs are transmitted to the server, which registers them, processes and displays to the parking operator using the CirPark Scada software.

Parking navigation system iPark

The task of the parking navigation system is to ensure that the driver can quickly find a free parking space. And of course, also quickly, after the completion of parking, I was able to drive out of it.

The navigation system on the parking facility controls the traffic, makes it easier for the driver to search for free space, directs the flow of cars depending on the workload of the parking facility. Equipped with durable and easy-to-maintain sensors and sensors.

The traffic accounting system at the parking facility registers the fact of entry / exit of the car, keeps track of the parking load, providing the necessary information to the operator, and also distributes the flow of cars.

The parking navigation system optimizes traffic at the parking facility, which, in turn, increases parking capacity by 25% due to an intuitive and fast search for free space. By reducing the time to search for free space, you get a free bonus in the form of reducing air pollution with carbon monoxide.

Equipment parking navigation system iPark

These are several types of sensors of frontal or central installation above the parking space.

Frontal vehicle presence sensors

The front sensors, thanks to two sensors, have a higher accuracy of detecting the presence of a car in a parking space and very flexible settings of the built-in led indicator.

In addition, the advantage of the front sensor is still its location in the passage , which allows drivers to even see from afar the availability of parking galleries.

The range includes two front sensors Bilogy and Trilogy , which, thanks to the two built-in ultrasonic sensors, determine the location of the car in a parking space with an accuracy of 99% . If the car parked in half of the parking space with a stop at the next, then the sensor will show that both places are occupied.

Sensors are mounted above the frontal part of a separate parking space at a height of 2.1 to 3.5 meters.



The Trilogy sensor, in contrast to the Bilogy, is equipped with an additional adjustable led-backlit parking space . You can dynamically increase the brightness of the backlight at the time of parking the car and reduce when parking is completed.
Or completely turn off the backlight when the place is free, or vice versa, highlight only the empty seats and so on.

Parking space

Due to the flexibility of setting the RGB led indicator, you can adjust your parking space status for each indicator color.

This is just an example of how colors can be customized:

• red indicator light - space occupied,
• green lights - the place is free,
• blue lights - places for disabled

The color of the indicator can be configured manually or according to the schedule.

For example, this may be needed if you want to "book" a parking space for VIP guests. Those. the indicator can be “red” and the parking space is free. Or for reserved places, you can even provide a separate color.

The color of the Trilogy and Bilogy LED can be any , not just green or red. For example, you can set different colors for service, employees and large cars. For example, for large-sized parking places, the color of the free space will be “orange” and the color of the occupied person will be classically “red”.

A real example is in a large shopping and office center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, “pink” lighting for free space - a parking zone for women.


The appearance of the front sensor Trilogy

Sensors are configured remotely through the CirPark Scada software, including the ability to adjust the sensitivity of the sensor, program the indicator or backlight on a schedule.

A frequently used design solution is a free guest parking period, after which the operator receives a notification.

Central vehicle presence sensors

The central sensors are simpler in design than the front sensors, which means their cost is lower, less power consumption, and adjustment and control is easier.

These sensors with a single ultrasonic sensor installed above the central part of the parking space also have a two-color LED status indicator.

The range of CirControl includes two sensors of the central installation SP3-RB with a two-color red-blue indicator and SP3-RG with a two-color red-green indicator .


Appearance sensor SP3-RB and SP3-RG

The sensors of the central installation, are somewhat worse visible for drivers, as a result of which the search time for a parking space may slightly increase.

Split sensor and vehicle presence indicator

The same variant of equipping a parking space is possible in the form of a separate sensor and sensor.


Appearance of the SP3 sensor and remote indicators

The SP3 ultrasonic sensor (characteristics are the same as the SP3-RG \ SP3-RB) is installed above the central part of the parking space, and the indicator is placed on the frontal part. Indicators have a red-green or red-blue led backlight.

The flexibility of the parking navigation system is largely achieved due to the flexibility of using different sensor control scenarios.

The system allows you to virtually "play" with the settings of the indicators

For example, when parking is low, showing occupied places are shown in red and free places are shown in green. And when the occupancy is more than 80%, turn off red, and display only the remaining empty spaces in green.

Or you can adjust it so that the indicator blinks, thus, the driver will quickly find a place. Or you can dim the indicator of the occupied places and make it as bright as possible at the empty seats. The programming system of the logic of the sensors is so flexible that it is difficult to come up with a script that could not be realized.

Based on the data from the sensors, the software can build a temperature map of the intensity of use of parking spaces, or identify priority places, i.e. those that are filled first. For example, these data can be used to determine the cost of advertising placed near such places.

Sensors do not need regular cleaning from dust and dirt, due to the high degree of dust and moisture protection IP54 and IP65. All types of sensors consume no more than 5 watts even at 100% brightness.

Navigation Displays

The direct purpose of the navigation displays is to indicate the shortest direction to the free space. In addition to this solution, CirControl allows implementing object zoning, i.e. the parking facility is divided into zones, these zones can change according to a schedule or seasonally, or it can be zones for parking of different categories of visitors, for example, disabled people or VIP-persons.

In such cases, quickly programmable scoreboards facilitate navigation and eliminate traffic collapse inside the object.

The range of CirControl 31 displays for timely and understandable informing drivers at the parking facility. Displays are programmed remotely, display the direction of movement, the number of empty seats, which changes dynamically, the number of parking zones and other necessary information.

Structurally, the displays are made for outdoor and outdoor performance. Displays designed for installation inside buildings do not have a sealed enclosure.

Outdoor displays have a degree of protection IP-54, are available in an aluminum housing and are designed for outdoor use.

Information boards can be combined into parking panels with indication of the name of the parking zone, floor or other information, followed by installation at the entrance to the parking facility.

Traffic accounting system

The traffic flow accounting system can be implemented in iPark based on three types of sensors, which make it possible to accurately take into account the traffic flow in a parking facility.

Induction Loop Sensors - 1-channel and 2-channel induction loop controllers. Work on the principle of inductance. In the roadway laid several turns of the wire connected to the sensor. Under voltage from the sensor, the wire acts as an inductance coil in the electromagnetic field, the machine, running into the location of the wire, changes the inductance, this change is detected by the sensor, the relay closes, the system reads the presence of the machine. 2-channel controllers allow you to track the direction of movement. The sensor detects only the ingress of metal in the circuit, respectively, does not respond to people.

Infrared and ultrasonic sensors of a stream of cars, go in couple the receiver - the transmitter. All sensors have versions for external and internal installation. Work on the principle of infrared or ultrasonic barrier. The transmitter emits a wave, the receiver accepts it. Breaking the barrier with any object is fixed by the system. The disadvantage of such sensors is that the sensor does not recognize what the barrier broke, the car it was, a man or a cat.

Pros - easy to install and use, does not require additional costs for laying the wires in the roadway.

The data from the sensors through the controllers and hubs are transmitted to the server accounting machine flow, which, in turn, after processing displays the latest information on parking displays and scoreboards. The traffic flow accounting system is autonomous and can be installed at the facility separately from the navigation system in the parking lot. The central controller with the pre-installed software CirPark Scada automates the accounting and control of the transport flow of any object.

Lighting system parking facilities LEDPark

This is a modern controlled and adjustable LED lighting system for parking facilities. The LEDPark system is integrated into the iPark system for controlling the illumination of a parking facility, depending on the occupancy of parking spaces, traffic intensity, time of day, day of the week, and so on.


The efficiency of the LEDPark lighting system is due to the use of LED technology, providing low power consumption, uniform illumination of the parking zone, as well as durability.

For example, compared to fluorescent lamps, electricity costs using LED spotlights cost the owner of a parking object 85% cheaper in terms of money, the study was conducted in 2015, and took into account the standard electricity costs in Spain at that time.

LED modules are equipped with a built-in cooling board and have a maximum power consumption of up to 4 watts. Fully integrated into the iPark system, via LED lighting controllers.

The UPS module is used to protect the LED lamps from network overload. Built-in long-life Ni-MH (nickel metal hydride) batteries. Nominal output voltage: 43.2 V. Extended temperature range of operation. It also has an interface for connecting to CirPark SCADA software for monitoring system status, issuing alarms and the ability to remotely configure the UPS.

LED lighting systems LEDPark provide uniform illumination of the object. There are no dark corners and flickering lamps, bare wires and broken lamps, everything is reliable and predictable as a German sedan.

EVPark Charger Management System

The number of electric cars and hybrid cars on the roads of the world in 2017 exceeded 3 million, which is 54% more compared to 2016, according to the latest edition of the Global Electric Vehicles Outlook of the International Energy Agency, now forecasts are that by 2020 the world will used up to 20 million electric vehicles.

And in 2018, for the first time, global sales of new electric vehicles exceeded one million units, according to McKinsey

In Russia, the dynamics are also impressive; in a year and a half, from January 2017 to July 2018, the number of electric vehicles in Russia grew by more than 2.5 times. According to Avtostat, 920 electric cars were registered in the country - and there were more than 2,500. Although in absolute numbers this is of course a bit.

Nevertheless, the electric car market is growing, more and more people are betting on this eco-friendly mode of transport. The time spent in the mall is very convenient to charge the car. As a result, the fact that charging stations are available to customers can make customers choose your establishment instead of another. And if we talk about Russian realities, then we are talking about the most solvent customers.

Circontrol has in its range a variety of chargers for any electric vehicles, for example for mounting on a wall or on the ground, compact chargers and large charging terminals supporting fast charging of an electric vehicle, and all this for indoor and outdoor parking facilities. And in general, this is now very few people surprised.

But what can be surprising is that all chargers are integrated into the software package CirPark Scada, which not only shows the way to free places equipped with chargers, but also takes into account every kilowatt spent. And this may be important if, for example, a hotel parking is equipped with chargers, and the cost of electricity consumed is included in the bill.

For user convenience, EVPark charging stations use OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) technology, which is widespread in the field of electric cars. The OCPP protocol is an initiative of the Dutch organization E-Laad . They came up with an open application protocol that allows charging stations and control systems from different manufacturers to communicate with each other. OCPP is used by charger manufacturers worldwide.

The system of dynamic load distribution network (DLM) allows you to charge more electric vehicles at the same time in less time, more efficiently using the available power and distributing the load between the charging devices and eliminating problems with network overload of the parking facility.


But even the DLM system can be used more flexibly, for example, to allocate 70% of the total power for charging the boss’s machine, and to distribute the remaining power equally.

Summari

In addition to managing navigation, lighting, and charging devices for the auto, CirPark Platform has the flexibility and plenty of extra buns.

For example - using the CirPark Platform, you can collect information on how much electricity is used by any energy consumers - Lighting, navigation, elevator equipment, coffee machines, any outlet can be taken under complete control.

The function “find your car” works on the basis of data from the room recognition cameras. As a rule, it is configured by floors or parking areas. It can be integrated with the payment system - when paying, the terminal automatically issues the floor on which the vehicle is located. An overview of the 16 license plate recognition system developers can be found here .

Naturally, there is integration with the fire alarm system , when activated, it will be possible to display information about the fire on the information display. There is also integration with carbon monoxide (CO) sensors.

The advantages of CirPark Platform have already appreciated 460 parking complexes around the world. Among which are Marina Bay Sands (hotel and casino on the beach of Marina Bay in Singapore)
Petronas Towers (88-storey twin towers located in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. Eighth-tallest buildings in Asia) and many others.

CirPark Platform is suitable for managing parking in a shopping center, business center, airport, hotel or hotel, in parking complexes of residential buildings and stadiums.

Well, and perhaps the last - here on this page are the best parking solutions from around the world , and our engineers are able to make projects of any complexity.