CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The industrial growth of the world is reflected by the increase in the number of automobiles on

the streets throughout the world (Wenghong & Fasheng, 2010), which has caused a lot of

parking related problems. The slow paced city planning has increased the problem even more

(Wenzhi & Bai, 2006). The search for the parking space is a time consuming process which not

only affects the economic activities efficiency, but also the social interactions and cost (Chou

& Lin, 2004). Network companies cannot provide updated information of the parking facilities

on the internet as the parking facilities do not cooperate with the companies. Certain big cars

are not able to fit into the normally available parking spaces. Hence there is a need for a system;

which can take all relevant information into consideration, for finding the parking vacancy.

Human errors are the major source of traffic accidents, therefore building in-car technologies

for checking the parking lot, avoiding accidents and guidance to the parking facility is turning

out to be an integral area for research. The objective of such technologies is the reduction of the

burden on driver, improvement of the traffic capacity, and provision of reliable and secure car

functions (Oyentaryo & Pasquier, 2005).

The parking meters which rely on coins or tokens is an inefficient system as it requires man

power for management of the parking and exact change for paying the parking charges (Wenzhi

& Bai, 2006). Parking control and enforcement systems provide efficient and effective

monitoring of meter and it also keeps a check on any violations of the parking lot. This results

in best possible use of the parking space for increasing the revenue. However, it requires man

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power which needs some capital (Shankar & Mehmood, 2005). Currently used parking system

is not an efficient one; as the drivers are allowed to park without any restriction and the parking

facility cannot be used to its full extent (Gongjan et al., 2009).

The Intelligent Parking service, a part of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), gives rise to

different parking facilities on the basis of new functions they provide. This service not only

manages the internal operations of the parking facility, but it is also designed to work with

different aspects related to the parking facility. The services which the Intelligent Parking

System should provide in the future are:

The parking availability information system and parking reservation system should

provide advanced navigation services.

The mobile electric commerce system and a continuously working gate system should

collect the toll charges electrically.

An automated navigation system should assist in safe driving.

An in-facility navigation system should provide the best possible traffic management.

Provision of effective security for the safety of cars.

Provision of strong functions for facilitating administrators and managers in

management of the parking facility.

The information related to the availability of unoccupied lot; before the driver enters the facility

is provided by the parking availability information system. An empty parking lot can be

reserved by the driver through the parking reservation system. The continuous entry and exit

system facilitates a driver by getting rid of time consuming processes such as getting a ticket,

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and the freedom of selecting any payment method. The in-facility navigation system is used for

finding the vacant lot and then guiding the driver to that parking space. Further modifications

result in even better systems, such as reserving the parking space online and using a smart card

with it will help the driver find the destination quickly, safely and easily. Despite the system

requiring no man power, it will still be able to know about the entrance and exit of the vehicles

as well as the occupancy rate of the facility. These systems will also decrease the traffic

congestion as the number of vehicles parked on the street will decrease. These new systems will

boost the parking business by the increase in the number of customers (Zhang & Wan, 2010).

The modern development in technology has also resulted in In-vehicle advanced information

systems, which is the standard equipment in the expensive and luxurious cars. These systems

consist of cell phones, electronic maps and satellites for navigating the real time situations of

road through wireless technologies. The latest advancement in intelligent parking service is the

parking space negotiation system which is much different than the parking information system.

Parking space negotiation system uses the linking and integration of the parking facilities which

results in negotiation and coordinates between the in-vehicle information system and parking

facility. This system initializes the negotiation process for the parking charges, the advance

reservation of the parking lot, search for the best possible path from the current position to the

parking facility and then to the destination. Coordination work is an important task for the

negotiation corporation. Negotiation is just like a business where both sellers and buyers decide

the terms of business, for getting the best possible deal for both parties. The parking information

system along with the parking space negotiation system laid the foundation for the intelligent

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parking service and it can counter all the traffic related issues working hand in hand with each

other. This project deals with the design and implementation of an intelligent car parking system.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Car parking today is being done manually. Road transport workers carry out car parking

activities manually using paper. This is a problem for the workers with the probability of losing

and duplicating organization information. It is difficult for car parking officials to find useful

information as a result of the current system (manual system) not been effective and efficient

to use anymore because the system cannot save, manage and monitor the organizations

information, and generate report. Frustration in locating vacant parking space or getting stuck

in traffic effects parking management system optimization and efficiency. Parking patrons do

not have knowledge on where the best parking locations are situated, the duration of the

operating hours, the projected costs involved and most importantly, whether a parking place

will be available when they arrive. Car parking problems become obvious from the moment a

customer enters the car park until after they leave the car park. Some of the serious car parking

problems includes user behavior, space utilization, engineering design and planning, security

and safety to parked vehicles.

1.3 MOTIVATION OF THE STUDY

The researcher was motivated to carry out this project by the inherent problems associated with

the manual car parking in Nigeria in order to development a system to solve the identified

challenges associated with the car parking process in Nigeria thereby designing an intelligent

car parking system.

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1.4 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study aims to design and implement an intelligent car parking system having the following

objectives:

i. To design an intelligent car parking system that is efficient and reliable

ii. To design a system that saves time with improved users options and quality of services.

iii. To design a system that is secured and accurate in report processing

iv. To design a system with the flexibility to accommodate new car park users and response

to new demands

1.5 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The Intelligent car parking system presents an Autonomous car parking that regulates the

number of cars that can be parked in a given space at any given time based on the parking space

availability. With increasing number of automobiles in the recent days and lack of free parking

space, especially in metros, the need for developing an automated car parking system which

makes efficient use of space and avoids traffic congestion arises. It creates a challenging design

problem to park the cars in close proximity and to operate and maintain such systems.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study overviewed the intelligent car parking system as a computer technology for the

reformation of car parking system, its design and implementation. The scope of this project is

limited to the design and implementation of an intelligent car parking system.

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1.7 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

This research should be of interest to both researchers and system developers as it can

significantly contribute and enrich the body of knowledge in addressing problems related to

intelligent car parking system. The creation of this model for an intelligent car parking system

act as a point of reference to other car parking management system. The system developed has

the following significance:

i. The study provides an insight into the various ways in which an intelligent car parking

system functions and methods to increasing its efficiency and reliability.

ii. It supports large volume of data processing and storage; promote information retrieval,

addition, deletion, as well as other database updating activities.

iii. It provides relevant, complete, accurate and timely information for effective manage

of car parking system so as to increase productivity.

1.8 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

In every study there are always issues that are responsible in its limitation. This project work is

limited by the following factors:

i. Inadequate Time: I am confronted with issue of time as I have to combine work, family

issues and writing this project. This reduces the time I have for the project, hence I

experienced some delay in completing and submitting the project on time.

ii. Finance: Lack of adequate finance required was another constraint while doing this

project. This contributed to the researcher ability to get information and data where they

available at a record time.

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 iii. Lack of Material: The much-needed materials like books, journals and magazines for

computer projects are not very much available. I had to spend much time searching the

Internet for materials.

1.9 ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK

The study is organized in Five Chapters. Chapter One gives an insight to the project. It presents

a general introduction of what an intelligent car parking system is all about. The chapter also

contains statement of problems; problems encountered using the current car parking system, the

aim and objective of carrying out the study and the significant of the work. Finally, the

organization of the thesis was explained to give a general view of what the chapter stands for.

Chapter Two presents literature review, which provides an insight to related work on this field.

Chapter Three discusses system analysis and design. It presents an overview of the manual

system and its problems and way to overcome these problems. Chapter Four is system

implementation. It handles the principles, methods and approaches earlier reviewed in the

previous Chapters and put them in full-fledge implementation format. Chapter five summarize,

conclude and made recommendations on the study.

1.10 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Information Systems: Any organized system for the collection, organization, storage and

communication of information.

Database: A collection of data that supports the overall operation of an organization.

Data: Facts, events, transactions, etc., which have been recorded.

Software: This is the logically written instruction that control the hardware

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Password: This is a secret code that must be entered into a computer to enable access to its

applications. It is made up of numbers, letters, special characters or a combination of any of the

above categories.

Computerization: This is the conversion of a manually operated system to a controlled,

organized and automated system

Application: An application, or application program, is a software program that runs on your

computer

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

With increasing number of automobiles in the recent days and lack of free parking space,

especially in metros, the need for developing an intelligent car parking system which makes

efficient use of space and avoids traffic congestion arises. It creates a challenging design

problem to park the cars in close proximity and to operate and maintain such systems. Earlier

there were parking areas which required human personnel to track the available parking slots

making it time consuming. The concept of an intelligent car parking system was mainly driven

by two factors: a need for parking spaces and a scarcity of available land. With the emerging

problem of parking cars, the ordinary parking system which does not provide any information

about vacant parking areas would not be able to handle the problem effectively. These systems

would get the drivers to search the parking areas on their own and thus create a problem where

there would be too many cars in the car park area (Sumathi et.al., 2013).

2.2 RELATED STUDIES

Various authors have looked at developing sensor-based technological solutions to improve the

use of parking spaces. Bagula et al., (2015), intelligent vehicle parking space management

systems may be classified according to the type of sensor detection. He distinguishes the

systems that only monitor the entry or exit of vehicles from the parking area from the systems

that are able to detect whether each parking space is occupied or free. Systems belonging to the

first type are easier to deploy and less expensive, appropriate for monitoring the occupancy

levels of large outdoor parking areas. Systems belonging to the second type provide more useful

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and more detailed information to users and may be combined with positioning and guidance

services to help locate the available spaces. This type of system is used in indoor parking spaces

and is more complex and expensive than the entry and exit monitoring systems, as it requires

that each parking space is equipped with sensors and a more sophisticated communications

infrastructure. Various parking space management system proposals are described below. Tang

et al., (2006) proposed a wireless sensor network deployed in indoor car parks that shows the

occupancy status of each parking space. Motes (sensor nodes) equipped with acoustic and light

sensors are located in each space, and periodically notify whether the space is occupied or

available.

Benson et al, (2006) also proposed a network-based wireless sensor system. A communication

link is established by ZigBee and the electromagnetic sensors were developed specifically for

this system. Lin et al., (2006) proposed a vision-based parking management system to manage

an outdoor car park using cameras set up around the parking space, sending information,

including real-time display, to the ITS Centre database. A scientific solution based on a GPS-

based vehicle navigation system and the past and current status of the car park was proposed by

Pullola et al., (2007), who modelled the availability of a car park using the Poisson process. The

author also proposed an intelligent algorithm which helps the driver choose the parking space

with the highest probability of being vacant. Lee (2008) proposed a combination of magnetic

and ultrasonic sensors to control car parks. This system is based on a modified version of the

min-max algorithm for detection of vehicles using magnetometers and an algorithm for

ultrasonic sensors. Srikanth et al., (2009) proposed an intelligent parking management system,

consisting of a wireless network that uses different types of sensors to detect the presence of a

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vehicle in every one of the parking spaces; moreover, the system informs users and guides them

to the location of the available space. The networks sensor nodes communicate by radio

frequency. Yoo et al., (2009) described a system, called S3, which is deployed in school zones,

which is designed to detect and register vehicles driving at excessive speeds or parked in

prohibited zones. This system consists of a wireless sensor network that is divided into two

subnetworks: one to detect vehicles parked in prohibited zones and the other to detect vehicles

travelling at excessive speeds. The sensors used are Anisotropic Magneto-Resistive (AMR)

magnetic sensors, and the wireless communication link is established by ZigBee. Magrini et al.,

(2011) proposed a vision sensors network to monitor available spaces in public car parks, using

distributed network nodes to perform the required processing and analysis of images

Gu et al., (2012) proposed a system for managing parking spaces on public roads. The system

is called Street Parking System (SPS), and uses a three-axis magnetic sensor to detect vehicles

and ZigBee technology for wireless communications, achieving a reliability rate close to 99%

in vehicle detection. Reve and Choudhri (2012) also proposed a similar system, based on a

wireless sensor network and LED display system that indicates the available spaces to drivers

at the car park access points. The sensors are infrared and communications are established by

radio frequency (RF). In the context of the Smart City paradigm. Yang et al., (2012) presented

a prototype Smart Parking Services system, based on Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), for

finding free parking spaces. The proposed scheme consists of wireless sensor networks, an

embedded web server, a central web server, and a mobile phone application. Each parking space

has a light sensor node that detects the status of the parking space, reporting periodically to the

embedded web server via the wireless sensor networks. Using a Wi-Fi network, this information

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is sent to the central web server in real time, displaying the status of the parking spaces on the

drivers mobile device.

Geng (2013) proposed a smart parking system for urban areas. The systems functions include

parking detection, reservation guarantee and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) or Infrastructure-

to-Vehicle (I2V) communication. Considering the requirements of the user, the system assigns

and reserves an optimal parking space combining proximity to destination and parking cost,

ensuring that the overall parking capacity is efficiently utilized. The system was tested in a

garage of Boston University. Tian et al., (2014) proposed an intelligent parking management

system based on License Plate Recognition (LPR), which recognizes the licence plate

automatically at the car park access point and provides vehicle information; experimental results

show that this parking management system can achieve 95% accuracy and can be applied to

real-time implementation. Karunamoorthy et al, (2015) proposed an intelligent parking system

that uses image-processing techniques to solve the problem of unnecessary time consumption

in finding a parking space in commercial car parks. This parking management system provides

information about the available parking spaces, as well as an automated payment system for

registered users.

2.3 PARKING SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES

A number of technologies have been deployed in the endeavor to solve the parking problem.

While some parking solutions are deployed as stand-alone technologies in some situations, in

other situations multiple technologies are combined to achieve a given goal. These technologies

include;

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 i. Camera-based sensor technology

ii. Infrared sensor technology

iii. Ultrasonic sensor technology

2.3.1 Camera-Based Sensor Technology

Access control systems have been developed and installed in various parking lots. At the airport

in Cape Town, an access control point was put in place. It works in such a way that a driver

requests for a ticket at the entrance of the parking by pressing a button. When a ticket is issued,

the driver is granted access to enter the parking bay Katanga Executive. The ticket issued is

marked with a code that records the time of entrance to the bay. At the time of exit, the driver

has to pay for the time the car spent in the bay. Payment is done by inserting the ticket in another

machine which reads the code on the ticket and calculates the amount of time spent. Then a

parking fee is charged according to the time spent. Sensors are used at entrance and exit points

to keep track of the cars in and out. A display board (variable message sign) is used at the

entrance to show whether the bay is full or still has unused slots. This technology helps with the

management of payment of use of the parking bays. It also gives users a general idea of the

number of available parking slots by displaying a message like level 1 full. However, it

doesnt give much help to the driver in finding an exact parking space in the shortest time

possible nor allows localization of his car in a given parking spot using for example Radio

Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.

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2.3.2 Infrared Sensor Technology

In Cavendish shopping mall in Claremont, Cape Town, the access control system is used as

well as another system that checks the status of each parking point. The system uses an infrared

sensor to detect if a car is parked in a place. A light is fitted above each parking point to show

the status. The light operates in the same way as the traffic lights on the road. However, the

meaning attached to the light colors is slightly different. A red light means that there is a car

parked while a green light is used to express a free parking. There is a section designated for

parents with kids. This section has an orange light to show that parking is meant for parents

with children. This section also uses the red and green lights to show whether the parking spot

is free or used. Another section is reserved for the disabled. It is marked with a blue light. This

section also uses the red and green light to show the status of the parking. This system is helpful

to the drivers once they go through the entrance. It is relatively easy for the driver to look ahead

and figure out where there are green lights in the bay. However, this is only possible for the

corridor in which the driver is moving through. The driver has to keep looking until they can

land on a green light. However, there is still a likely flaw that a driver may see a green light yet

find it red and in-use by the time he reaches the spot.

2.3.3 Ultrasonic Sensor Technology

Siemens AG developed a similar system (SIPARK) that uses ultrasound sensors. These are

installed above every single parking to determine whether the parking space is occupied or not

(Siemens AG 2002-2008). This has been used in more than 70,000 parking spaces. The system

is being used with better pay points that accept a wide range of payment options ranging from

cash to non-cash options such as credit cards. In a report by Crowder & Walton (20013), the

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need for intelligent transportation systems (ITS) is examined across a wide range of places.

These include business districts, airports, and transit stations. The report emphasizes that

university premises are yet a new pressure zone with an increasing need for a parking solution.

This report further details the need for real time provision of information to motorists as a

remedy to reduction in traffic congestion. Among the systems examined in this report are: Saint

Paul Advanced Parking Information system (St Paul APIS) in Minnesota, Phoenix Arizona

intelligent parking system, Seattle center APIS, and a few others. In the St Paul APIS (Crowder

& Walton, 2013)static signs are placed in town to direct motorists to where the parking bays

are located and the general condition of the road. The diagram depicted by figure 2.1 below

shows a VMS sign in St Paul town notifying drivers of the road condition. These signs variable

message signs (VMS) have the ability to display different messages as set by the traffic control

staff. The variable message signs are used to show the general status of parking bays. Electronic

signs show messages such as full, closed and open. This system keeps a count of the vehicles

that enter and leave the parking bay. Figure 2.1 depicts a parking guidance and information

system (PGI) at the entrance of a multistoried parking bay.

Figure 2.1: Parking guidance and information system (PGI)

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This system is designed to minimize disruption of the driver and improve on the drivers focus

to quickly find parking. According to the picture above, the driver saves a lot of time by driving

straight to the levels that still have open parking spaces. This system presents some similarities

with the system installed at Cape Town airport where drivers are informed of the status of the

different levels of the parking. In Phoenix, Arizona in particular, a phoenix event parking and

traffic Information system was designed similar to that in St Paul city. Its an improvement on

the system that was in place earlier on called sunburst which was operated by the police to

monitor down town events. It uses Variable message signs to disseminate real time information.

In Seattle Washington, an advanced parking information system (APIS) is used as an intelligent

parking system of the larger Seattle smart Trek Model deployment initiative designed to

improve overall efficiency and performance of the roadways and transportation systems to meet

growing demands. Basic architecture of this includes five elements:

i. Parking facility-monitoring subsystems: monitoring ingress and egress of vehicles

at all three parking facilities.

ii. Parking information signs: provide parking lot occupancy and directional

information to drivers at decision points near the Seattle Center.

iii. Communications subsystem: facilitates communication between the central

computer, vehicle detector system and the parking information signs.

iv. Central computer system: calculates lot occupancies from vehicle detectors,

commands signs to show required message, and allows operator intervention.

v. External interfaces: facilitates communication between the central computer and

external systems including Smart Trek VMS.

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This system focuses on information dissemination to help travelers with pre-trip information of

parking garages (Crowder & Walton, 2013). This system was implemented to provide traffic

information to the University of Washington Cable TV, commercial radio and local transit

authority. All the systems described above have made an immense contribution to the solution

of increasing parking needs in todays ever busy environment. In general, the state of the art of

the discussed systems mainly consists of: parking facility equipment, central computer and

connections as well as signage. The parking equipment consists of vehicle counters and space

monitors on site to monitor activity on site. The central computer then controls VMS by

displaying information to help direct the traffic. The computer can also be configured to send

simultaneous messages by radio frequency, dedicated phone line; Ethernet connection to the

local radio, television or Internet (Crowder & Walton, 2013). However, a lot remains

unaccomplished in the efficiency and dissemination of real time information for motorists.

2.4 VARIOUS TECHNIQUES PROPOSED FOR AN INTELLIGENT CAR PARKING

SYSTEM

Some of the most relevant techniques for realizing an effective Intelligent Parking System are

summarized in this section.

2.4.1 Expert systems

Expert Systems or Agent based technologies can solve the problems associated with distributed

and complex traffic environment. They are also considered to be the main weapon for laying

the foundation of automation mechanism for the Parking Negotiation and Guidance System (Li

& Chou, 2008). Agent has beneficial traits like autonomy, reactivity, adaptability, proactivity

17
and social ability which can be used for solving problems having highly dynamic and interactive

behaviors. Multi-Agent system is a modeling technique. It is used for representation of system

with elements which show intelligence, autonomy, and degree of interaction either with each

other or with environment. Mobile agents can move within the nodes of a network and are made

dynamically during the runtime. They are sent to destination systems for performing different

tasks with the up to date code and algorithm. Mobile agents also result in reduction of data

transmission over the networks. It enhances the system ductility, adjustability and perdurability

(Chen & Harry, 2014).

Some systems do not provide the best possible parking facility as they do not take the parking

fee into consideration. In the absence of the negotiation non the parking fee, the consumers

loose the opportunity of finding a cheaper and better parking place (Li & Chou, 2008). So the

negotiable margin on the parking price has to be taken into consideration for making a decision,

through the Intelligent Agent System which has to select the best possible parking facility for

the driver as described in (Chou & Lin, 2004). The agents are able to plan, move, perform,

check and coordinate for performing their tasks. For the provision of a bargaining platform for

the user; an intelligent parking negotiation and guidance system, which integrates the mobile

agent with multi-system is proposed in. Mobile agent can be used for an active, stable and quick

negotiation between cars and parking facilities. The movement of the agent helps in shorter

negotiation time and decreases the amount of data to be transmitted over the wireless network.

They also present an algorithm for negotiation, which is similar to the negotiations of humans.

A multi-agent system called agent-based intelligent parking negotiation and guidance system

(ABIPNGS) combines mobile agent technology with multi-agent systems and utilizes both

18
stationary and mobile agents. The utilization of agents in transportation systems are discussed

in details in the literature (Li & Chou, 2008; Dia, 2005; Balboa & Pinsona, 2005)

Wang (2012), A multi-phase navigation technique which relies on two-layer traffic map is used

for parking routes negotiation and direction. The system implementation takes place on an

extended FIPA architecture through mobile agent, message queue, agent container and agent

execution environment. It utilizes the interoperability of FIPA standards and ductility of mobile

agents. Through the brilliance, adjustability, and co-action of agents, the entire service

environment can automatically perform the search for the park, bargain the parking fee, book

the parking lot, negotiate the parking rout and direct to the facility. Distributed active parking

guidance information system (APGIS) is discussed by Wang (2012). It supports both the

stationary and mobile agent along with automatic execution of searching for park, negotiating

the parking fee, booking of the parking lot and directions of the parking route without

intervening the drivers and park.

The distributed intelligent motion control of mobile robots is discussed by (Khoukhi, 2010). It

also presents a multi-functional agent system called intelligent system for autonomous robots,

which deals with modeling, planning and coordination functions of a mobile robot. The system

is made up of main control kernel agent, a learning navigation agent for safe trajectory

generation, and allowing the robot to move towards a restricted environment goal. For learning

and keeping successful motion of the robot, an adaptive neutral algorithm is utilized. The third

agent is concerned with positioning of the robot as well as updating the map for the robot. The

fourth agent deals with communication, handling and coordination tasks. Fuzzy maneuvering

19
and Parking Agent, deals with the tasks of parking and movement. A fuzzy maneuvering and

Parking agent is concerned with the movement and parking tasks. For outdoor mobile robot

navigation, a multi-agent system with event driven control approach was adapted by (Zhang &

Zhou, 2007). For the sake of fusion of information and mapping of environment, (Abielmona

& Petriu, 2010; Takahashi et al., 2009) propose a distributed multi agent system. Figure 2.2

shows the ABIPNGS organization model.

Figure 2.2: Agent based parking assistance system

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2.4.2 Fuzzy Logic Based Systems

If there is a process resulting from the human error, then a system which supports the operator;

safely and efficiently is presented in (Kinoshita & Yasunobu, 2006). The system works by

Detecting, Motion Planning, and Supplying information. Fuzzy theory is used for building the

support knowledge and heuristics of the high-level expert human. The method discussed in

(Oyentaryo & Pasquier, 2005) gives a car the capability to independently drive on different

types of roads. It also envisions movements like reverse, parallel parking and three point turns.

For automatically getting a functioning car control system, this approach uses a self-training

system which benefits from human skills. For the sake of training and testing, a car driving

simulator is combined with the GenSoYager Fuzzy Neural Network. For replicating the built in

vagueness of the available information, a Fuzzy Control System is chosen. Then the

implementation of the Fuzzy rule-based system takes place upon the neural network

architecture. It is the main reason for learning, recalling, generalizing and adapting from the

training data. The Neuro-fuzzy system has the ability to reason like human beings as well as it

has expert knowledge.

For reduction of the calculation time, an FPGA based fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is presented

in (Gowan et al., 2006). FLC can be utilized for designing an automatic car back parallel which

has FPGA based controller. Sharafi & Nikpoor (2010), gives a fuzzy approach for control of

backward movement of truck and trailer in dynamic environment. This method is then

broadened to condition in which trucks pathway has obstacles. In the first case, we assume

stationary obstacles. The second condition is mobile obstacles which can make the truck

directed to the parking facility. Ultrasonic and 3D vision sensors can be used for identifying

21
proper parking space for parallel parking. The parking is completed due to the intelligence of

fuzzy logic, after the driver confirms it. Ultrasonic sensor identifies objects and obstacles

longitudinally.

2.4.3 Wireless Sensor Based Systems

A number of low cost sensor nodes make up a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). They arrange

themselves for making an ad hoc network through the wireless communication module present

on nodes. Different types of sensors, computation units and storage devices are present on each

node. For collecting, processing and transmitting information, the functional parts let the

sensors to be installed quickly and easily. They have a bright future since WSNs are easily

installed in the normal environment and they provide the data for positioning and surveillance.

There are two disadvantages associated with the video sensors. The first one is that video

sensors are expensive. Secondly, sensors generate huge data at times; whose transmission via

the Wireless Network is hectic.

Cao & Tang (2006), discussed a WSN-based intelligent car parking system. The system consists

of low-cost wireless sensors which are installed in a car parking facility. Each parking space

has a sensor node for detecting and checking the occupation of the parking facility. Sensor node

is used for detecting the status of the parking field, which is forwarded regularly to the database

through the installed wireless sensor and its gateway. For performing various management

functions such as, finding unoccupied parking lot, auto-toll, management of security and

statistic report; the data base is accessed by the upper layer management system. The prototype

of the system was implemented using crossbow mote. Nodes are loaded with light, sound and

22
acoustic sensors for the WSN-based car park management system. A wide area architecture

used for pervasive sensing networks is proposed. This will allow the users for getting the

information of available parking vacancies on their ways, through distributed accessing

methods. For the detection and recognition of the automobiles, this system uses video cameras,

microphones and motion detectors. All the data of the sensors is processed in networking

environment, which is then posted on web. This information can then be retrieved by the user

from internet. As the data generated by the video camera is huge, a great amount of resources

such as communication bandwidth, processing cycles and energy is required for transferring

and processing the data. But the mentioned resources are limited in a wireless network.

Wireless network based transportation applications are discussed in Traffic Plus Technology

and MIT intelligent transportation system. Automobile sensors are installed on both sides of the

road and onto the road bed for retrieving the required information of the vehicles. These systems

are not architected for car parking management, though they are effective for checking traffic

and road condition. The used hardware in these systems is also expensive and complex. For

accurate and reliable detection of vehicles in parking facility, the use of magnetic and ultrasonic

sensors is proposed in. The modified version of min-max algorithm is used to detect the cars

through magnetometers while an algorithm for ultrasonic sensors is also utilized (Lee, 2008).

There are other solutions as well that focuses on the use of sensor technologies (magnetometers

and video cameras, etc.) for parking lot applications. However, magnetometers are sensitive to

environmental issues; which results in an inaccurate detection at times. We also have to place

the magnetometers close to the cars since it measures the change in magnitude and direction of

23
Earths magnetic field resulting from the presence of the car. Though its possible in the

proximity of the parking lots entrance; but its not possible in upper floors as there is no

entrance marking and the vehicles also move at a higher speed. The solutions based on video

cameras are very expensive and the huge amount of data generated is difficult to be transmitted

over multiple hops in a wireless network. These discrepancies and the movement of other

objects in a parking space including human beings, reduce the applicability of either

magnetometers or video cameras alone for parking lot management. The traffic surveillance

system of utilizes magnetometers for detecting the presence of vehicles along with the

estimation of the speed of vehicles in the proximity of street intersections and parking facilities.

These magnetic signatures help the system classify and re-identify vehicles.

Boda et al., (2007) discussed the design and implementation problems of a reliable WSN system

using magnetic sensors. The magnetic sensors in the parking lots transfers the parking

information to the APs on the road sides. The system can find out the unoccupied parking places

in real time and then forwards that information to the user. A detection scheme relying on

magnetometer signature measurements is proposed and implemented on Mica2 motes. The use

of tiered architecture for the implementation of the car-park management system using the

DSYS25z magnetic sensor boards developed by Tyndall was proposed as part of D-Systems

Project (Barton et al., 2008). The problems associated with wireless communications in parking

lot environment are highlighted, and recommendations of dynamic and robust routing, delayed

retransmissions are proposed on the basis of experimental results for overcoming the problems.

For multi storied parking lots where ultrasonic sensors are connected through a bus style

network for distribution of power and transmission of sensing reports, Sipark PMA is one of

24
the prominent parking guidance systems. The driver, after entering the parking facility, is

directed to parking vacancy through the shortest route by the guidance system.

The serious problem of hard installation and power wastage in existing roadside parking system

of ITS is solved by a smart roadside parking management system based on sensor network. The

sensors present at the nodes are small and they consume low power. They sense the disturbances

in Earths magnetic field for identifying the vehicle. The nodes sleep at regular intervals and

are woken up by the internal microcontroller for gathering parking related information and

communicating with other sensors. This periodic sleeping also helps in saving power. A general

case of implementation is shown in figure 2.3.

Figure 2.3: WSN system with magnetic sensor

25
2.4.4 GPS Based Systems

The information about the location and availability of a parking space near the destination is

provided to the drivers by the current GPS-based vehicle navigation system. The information

of the current state of the parking facility is provided. Thats why they cant guarantee a parking

lot when the driver reaches the facility. A scientific solution based on utilization of the past and

current status of the parking lot is proposed. Poisson process is used for modeling the

availability of a parking lot. An intelligent algorithm which helps the driver in choosing the slot

with maximum probability of being vacant was also presented (Pullola & Atrey, 2007).

Arnott & Rowse (2003) modeled parking into spatial structure, trip generation technology,

technology of parking and travel, and stationary-state conditions. The problem with this

modeling is that it doesnt take traffic congestion into consideration. Chon et al., (2004)

presented a location based system called NAPA (Nearest Available Parking Lot Application)

as shown in figure 2.4. This system helps in locating the parking lots on campus or areas like

airports, but it doesnt provide any information about the availability of vacancy.

26
 Figure 2.4: NAPA architecture

2.4.5 Vehicular communication systems

Rongxing et al., (2010) proposes a new smart parking technique based on vehicular

communication for large parking lots. This scheme provides the real-time parking navigation

service, intelligent antitheft protection, and friendly parking information dissemination to the

driver. The scheme is called SPARK and is defined by using parking lot RSUs for closely

observing and managing the whole parking facility using VANET communication technology.

A general implementation can be seen in figure 2.5. SPARK scheme makes the following

contributions.

i. It provides real time parking navigation to the drivers for finding the vacant parking

space, saving fuel and time.

27
 ii. It provides VANET-based intelligent anti-theft protection. Due to this, all the parked

cars at the parking facility are guarded by the parking facilitys RSUs. Any car which

tries to leave the parking facility illegally will be detected by the RSU.

iii. It arranges friendly parking information distribution service to all the mobile cars.

Figure 2.5: Vehicular communication-based smart parking technique

2.6 SYNCHRONIZATION OF THE ACCESS TO PARKING LOTS

The synchronization of the access to parking lots is an important research issue upon which the

efficiency of a parking system depends. Rachid & Sebastien (2014) report on work done on

synchronization of the access to parking lots through integration of the driving philosophers

paradigm into the car park simulation. The driving philosophers paradigm looks at the situation

28
as a problem that involves a set of processes P and a set of resources R. For example, P = {P1,

P2. (Pn-2), (Pn-1), Pn} and R = {R1, R2 (Rn-2), (Rn-1), Rn}. The processes and resources are

viewed to be happening in a round about where the cars are the processes and the parking lots

are resources. Two types of processes are considered. They include;

Initial processes which represent the processes that have not acquired a resource in

the roundabout, and

Transit process. The driving philosophers paradigm seeks to solve the following

problems.

To ensure that (1) each resource of the roundabout is owned by at most one process, (2) that no

process will starve for too long a period of time, and (3) that no deadlock will occur in the

roundabout. In this approach, an algorithm was developed based on the idea that processes

interact in a synchronous way based on a round computation. Each process goes through three

(3) phases:

Send phase: the process requests resources from other participants.

Receive phase: the process receives and stores the received information in order to

execute the next phase.

Compute phase: the process computes the message to send in the next phase.

Different algorithms were developed using the above mentioned phases. These include: The

serial algorithm: This allows a single process at a time in the round about where the process that

has been waiting for the longest time has priority over the other process. Concur1 algorithm:

This gives to processes in transit the priority over the new processes whenever there are two

29
concurrent algorithms for the same resource. Concur2 algorithm: This gives the new process

the priority over the process in transit whenever there are two concurrent requests for the same

resource. The implementation of this system is done by a car park simulator. A car park

simulator is an application where cars and car parks interact with each other so that each car

finds the closest car park to a target point that has free parking lots. The car park simulation

takes place in an environment described by a map. The system has the following components:

The car: which needs to find parking.

Car Park: The parking bay which has a certain number of parking spots. The car

park broadcasts its availability and only cars that park in paying car parks receive

the information.

Round about: This is a new entity that was added which represents a roundabout in

the map. It interacts with the cars that are entering in and exiting the simulation in

order to ensure the synchronization between the cars.

Simulation center: This doesnt correspond to any physical object in reality. Its main

purpose is to display an overview of the system with all cars and the car parks

In terms of communication, the components previously interacted with each other using

transmission control protocol (TCP) and multicast channels. Currently communication is done

within a limited range. That is to say: Car A receives the message of car B if and only if B is

within range of A. In the above-described work, the processing that takes place is rather tedious.

Cars need to be in range in order to communicate. The phases involved also make it hard for

quick information access on parking. Thus, there is need to improve on intelligent parking with

a system that reduces processing time.

30
2.7 ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF INTELLIGENT CAR PARKING SYSTEMS

Economic analysis is the core study for assessing and exploring the project's feasibility. It plays

an important role in deciding whether to start the project or not. Economic Analysis can be used

to minimize risks and improve investment efficiency. The role of economic analysis is

minimizing the risks and improving the investment efficiency. As intelligent parking service is

a part of ITS, it can decrease the impact of uneven distribution of parking in different parking

facilities. Zhang & Wan (2010) uses the concepts of traffic impact analysis TIA for utilizing the

engineering economy to analyze the advantages of regional parking guidance system.

According to Garcia & Quintero (2012) the economic analysis aims at:

i. Reduction of negative impacts of parking services.

ii. Reduction of investment.

iii. Increasing the social, economic and environmental benefits of the parking facility.

One of the widely used economic analysis technique is Cost-Benefit analysis, which relies on

discounted value benefits and cost for determination and evaluation of the resource allocation

for both public and non-profit sector projects. However, for parking guidance system; we cannot

use traditional Cost- Benefit analysis, as its hard to define and measure the costs and benefits.

Also, there are certain assumptions required for cost-benefit analysis which may not exit for

PGS. Therefore, for more accurate result; the legitimacy of the estimates must be on the basis

of large number of basic data and information.

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 CHAPTER THREE

SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

3.1 INTRODUCTION

A research methodology is a systematic programming approach of well-defined procedure that

should be followed in carrying out a thorough research project. An adequate suitable

methodology would ensure a very detailed research work and ensure that a higher degree of

accuracy and efficiency is adopted. The research methodology used helps to ensure that a

thorough study of the present system is effectively carried out, thus helping the project research

team to completely understand the modus operandi of the present existing system so as to know

the new system should be structured and the functionalities needed in it to address the

seemingly, existing problems discovered.

This helps to know if there should be a total overhauling of the existing system or if only

improvements should be made. Hence, after duly considering the above reasons, the structured

Analysis and Design Methodology (SSADM) is adopted. Due to this fact, there is importance

of carrying out a thorough, adequate and completely comprehensive evaluation of the existing

system with a view top identifying its strengths and weakness

3.2 DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM

To monitor the number of available spaces in the parking zones a low-cost, low-energy WSN

will be employed. This means that a complex roll-out or new cabling infrastructure will not be

required in the zone where the proposed system is deployed. The sensors will detect the passage

of vehicles on the roads into and out of the parking areas located on public roads in real-time.

The authorities and drivers will, therefore, know the occupancy levels of the parking zones at

32
all times. The real-time response is essential because the system would not be practicable if

there was a considerable delay in updating these data. Relaying pseudo real-time information

to drivers avoids them having to spend more time on the road searching for a parking space,

which hinders the circulation of other vehicles and increases fuel consumption, emissions, and

noise pollution. Therefore, the proposed system will enable transport regulators to manage

public parking zones sustainably. In addition, to facilitate a scalable and flexible roll-out in large

urban areas, the system can make use of virtualization and computing paradigms to obtain the

processing and storage resources required by the system architecture. This will enable

comprehensive, centralized handling of the data provided by the sensor network in a control

centre. Figure 3.1 shows the system being deployed on a public road and in a controlled parking

area. The scheme represents the sensors and their direction on the access points and their

communication with the gateway that relays the signal to the data centre. This gateway system

may also provide in situ information on the occupancy level of both areas through an LED

system.

33
 Figure 3.1: System architecture in a closed car park and on a public road.

3.3 ADVANTAGE OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM

The Intelligent car parking system has the following advantage.

i. No more hunting for parking spaces

ii. Space-saving accommodation of vehicles

iii. Reserved greenery areas, playgrounds, etc.

iv. Comfortable and secure parking and access to parking spaces

v. Solutions for almost all parking situations

34
 vi. Top-quality products with exceptional service life and Intrinsic value

3.4 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROPOSED SYSTEM

The proposed system has the following objectives

i. Simple Operation and maintenance

ii. Simple and independent parking

iii. Simple user friendly access interface system

3.5 SYSTEM DESIGN

The design of the proposed intelligent parking system will involve a number of fields that need

to be critically considered if the intelligent parking system is to have useful results. These

include, data capturing from the parking spots by sensing activity at the spot using sun SPOT

motes, channeling the data through a gateway, displaying, storing, and dissemination of the

information. For data sensing and capturing, our study builds upon the intensity of light captured

by sensor technology to detect the presence or absence of a car on a specific parking spot. In

our system, a predefined period of low light intensity on a parking spot expresses the presence

of a car on the spot while higher light intensity represents the absence of a car on the spot. The

Sun SPOT motes are endowed with light sensors which are used in our study to detect light

changes at a parking spot. In Figure 3 below a picture of the Sun SPOT mote. Our design uses

a database management system to store the sensed information in a gateway and allows users

to query the database for real-time information on the spots. Furthermore, the database should

provide information to the visualization components. The visualization of the information

covers three parts. These include display of information to the parking control staff on a

35
mainframe computer (or simply a personal computer), display of information at the parking

entrance to drivers entering the parking, and finally displaying information to the mobile users

who will use mobile devices to access the information. The dissemination of information in this

design seeks to use wireless MPLS network as the backbone for information dissemination and

transfer.

3.5.1 Sun SPOTs

Sun SPOTS are little devices of 41 x 23 x 70 mm which weigh about 54 grams. They are

developed by Sun Microsystems. They are shipped from the manufacturer into two versions:

(1) free range SPOT and (2) base station SPOT. The base station is a Sun SPOT without battery.

It can be connected through USB to a Gateway (computer, PDA, Cell phone) which collects the

information sensed by the free range Sun SPOTs and store this information into databases for

local or remote processing and appropriate decision making on the parking being monitored.

The free range SPOTs are equipped with battery and add-on boards. They are equipped with

parking management software to sense what is happening in the parking and communicate

wirelessly with the base station which is connected to the gateway. A free range Sun SPOT is

shown in Figure 3.2 with and without the lid placed. The devices characteristics are presented

below.

36
 Figure 3.2: Free range Sun SPOT

The different parts of a Sun SPOT mote are depicted by Figure 3.3

Figure 3.3: Sun SPOTs different parts

3.5.2 Sun SPOT Hardware

A Sun SPOT device is built by stacking a Sun SPOT processor board with a sensor board and

battery. The main features of a Sun SPOT Processor Board are

i. 180 MHz 32 bit ARM920T core - 512K RAM/4M Flash

37
 ii. 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4 radio with integrated antenna

iii. USB interface

iv. 3.7V rechargeable 720 mAh lithium-ion battery

v. 32 uA deep sleep mode

The Sun SPOTs processor board uses a 180 MHz 32 bit ARM92 core with 512K RAM and

4M flash. It is built around the IEEE 802.15.4 radio standard for communication in the 2.4 GHz

free ISM band. The battery is rechargeable through its USB interface and goes to deep sleep

mode in which it consumes 32 uA. The main features of the

General Purpose Sensor Board are;

i. 2G/6G 3-axis accelerometer

ii. Temperature sensor

iii. Light sensor

iv. 8 tri-color LEDs

v. 6 analog inputs

vi. momentary switches

vii. 5 general purpose I/O pins and 4 high current output pins

The sensor board has a 3-axis accelerometer to measure acceleration and generally movement

of the device. It also contains an ambient light sensor, eight tricolor LEDs, two push buttons,

six analog input pads, four high current high voltage output pads, and five general I/O pads.

38
3.5.3 Sun SPOT Software

The Sun SPOTs software is built around the Squawk Virtual Machine. Its main features include

Fully capable J2ME CLDC 1.1 Java VM with OS functionality

i. VM executes directly out of flash memory

ii. Device drivers written in Java

iii. Automatic battery management

Sun SPOTs are very flexible to program with very advanced capabilities for such a small device

because they are programmable with J2ME CLDC 1.1 Java VM. This small J2ME (Squawk)

runs directly on the processor without any other OS (Operating System). Developer Tools

i. Use standard IDEs, e.g., NetBeans, to create Java code.

ii. Integrates with J2SE applications.

iii. Sun SPOT wired via USB to a computer acts as a base station.

Sun SPOTs can be used with the standard IDEs like NetBeans to write Java code and deploy it

on the device. It can integrate with J2SE applications as well.

3.5.4 System Flowchart

System flowchart shows in details the flow of data through out an entire system. They can show

all inputs major file processing and outputs for a system and they can document manual

procedures. Using specialized symbols and flow lines, the system flow chart traces the flow of

input and work in a system, the sequence of processing steps, the physical way on which data

are input, output and scored.

39
 Base Mote
station

Light
Receive new threshold = x
value y

check if x
changes
False Identity mote
alarm

Yes No

No If y remains
unchanged for
time more than t

Yes

Is y <x

No Yes
Output message Output message
parking available parking in use

Figure 3.4: Algorithm for Intelligent Car Parking

40
3.6 MULTI PROTOCOL LABEL SWITCHING
Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) was proposed by the Internet Engineering Task Force

(IETF) to achieve Traffic Engineering (TE) and support Virtual Private Network Networks

(VPNs). TE is a traffic management technique allowing the traffic offered to a network to be

efficiently routed through a routed or switched network by effecting QoS agreements between

the offered traffic and the available resources. MPLS uses a connection-oriented routing model

borrowed from the circuit-switching paradigm where the traffic is routed over bandwidth-

guaranteed paths referred to as Label Switched Paths (LSPs). These paths are built through label

swapping; a packet forwarding model where the route followed by the IP packets is defined by

pre-computed labels. These labels are swapped into the core of the network by MPLS routers

referred to as Label Switched Routers (LSRs) to define the next-hop to the destination. Multi-

protocol Lambda Switching MPLS extends the label swapping paradigm to wavelength-routed

networks by assigning labels to wavelengths and switching these labels to setup wavelength-

switched paths referred to as Lambda Switched Paths or LSPs. Generalized Multi-Protocol

Label Switching (GMPLS) extends MPLS to allow the migration from per layer to an integrated

mode of operation where a common control plane is used to control heterogeneous network

elements supporting different routing/switching capabilities. These include IP routers that

switch packets, MPLS routers and ATM switches with layer 1 switching capabilities, SDH

cross-connects with TDM switching capabilities, OXCs with wavelength switching capabilities

and fiber cross-connects that can switch an entire fiber. This mode of operation allows the

efficient use of the high bandwidth provided by the optical technology. GMPLS was proposed

as an extension to MPLS that makes the status of each link and node of a data/optical network

visible to a common network control in order to overcome the immaturity in the current

generation control and data plane technologies leading to complex and time-consuming manual

41
network planning and configurations requiring a group of ``layer experts'' to operate and

maintain a data/optical network. GMPLS has opened the way for automated operation and

management functionalities such as connection creation, connection provision, connection

modification, and connection deletion. This allows the different layers of an IP stack to be

managed by a single network operator.

3.7 ARCHICTECTURAL DESIGN

Figure 3.4 depicts a multi-layer system architecture revealing a wireless MPLS network which

is layered above islands of wireless sensor networks via a Gateway layer that stores the

information collected by the sensor motes into databases. These islands of WSNs are used to

sense what is happening in the parking bays by using the light sensor of a Sun SPOT mote to

detect presence/absence of cars at parking spots. The wireless MPLS network is used to achieve

information dissemination for users who either would like to get a parking place for their vehicle

in a specific parking bay or reserve a parking spot through the internet or using GPRS enabled

cell phones.

42
 Figure 3.5: Architectural Design

3.7 INFORMATION DISSEMINATION USING MPLS

Multiprotocol Label Swapping is a protocol used in connection oriented networks to route

traffic. Starting by the Internet backbone, MPLS has dominated the core of several operators

networks and moved into access networks under the Wireless MPLS (WMPLS) denomination.

In WMPLS, packets are switched from router to router by use of radio wave. Frequencies of the

radio waves in sun SPOT motes can be set and adjusted for each given mote during

43
communication between the device and the workstation. Frequencies can be reused between the

base station and the devices. WMPLS inherits all the functionalities of wire line MPLS and

provides an added advantage for mobile users of the network. Devices in the gateway network

connect to a base station and communicate to the base station by switching packets basing on

the labels attached. In a mobile network, devices hop from one base station to another.

However, for this scenario (intelligent parking system), the motes are stationery in the parking

area. They use the same mechanism as those that would be mobile. The frequencies of radio

communication between the motes and the base station is set prior to deploying those (motes)

in the fields. However, the frequencies can be remotely adjusted using communication from a

workstation through the base station and finally to the mote whose frequency needs to be

changed. The higher the frequency the faster the communication. This also means that there is

more bandwidth available at high frequencies since there is less traffic in communication due

to faster transmission.

3.8 GATE WAY DESIGN

In this scenario, the gateway refers to the means by which sensed information will be channeled

and made available to the users of the parking bay. Various computing resources, such as

protocols and programs will be integrated together to form the IPS gateway. These resources

can be looked at in two categories, that is: information recording and information visualization.

3.8.1 Information recording (MYSQL Data stores)

The gateway involves data stores which are necessary to hold the information about the parking.

This creates the need to design a database specially customized to the needs of the intelligent

44
parking system. IPS-Database design: In order to successfully develop the required database,

entities of the IPS have to be examined, the attributes of those entities identified and the values

of the identified attributes need to be agreed upon. A relational model needs to be designed to

examine the flow of information, avoid redundancy and present information in a manner that

favors all visualization points (that is VMS at the entrance, mobile users as well as display to

the control staff). Entities of the IPS-Database: These are mainly two, namely; parking status

and system status. Attributes of the identified entities:

i. Parking status

Table 3.1: Database Table for Parking Status

Mote Number Value of X Value of Y Time (t) Status Alarm

The values of the attributes are explained as follows: Mote number will be the position of the

mote in the parking. For example, Mote number P5 which represents the parking space five.

The value of X and Y are light threshold values and will be further discussed in implementation

phase. Time (t) will be the time a car spends in the parking area. Status of the parking area will

be either used, reserved or empty. The alarm will show if there is abnormal behavior in the

parking system. For example, if a human being or animal covers the light sensor for a few

seconds, the mote will initially detect a change in environment but if this change lasts for a few

45
seconds then definitely its not a vehicle thats caused that change thus the alarm should be

triggered.

ii. System Status

Table 3.2: Database Table Showing System Status

Mote Number Battery Level

The values of the battery level will have values of fully charged, moderately charged, low

charge and depleted charge.

Figure 3.6: Entity Relationship Diagram

The relationship in the entities showed in the above relational model can be justified as follows:

the parking status can only be generated if the battery levels of the motes are powerful enough

to sustain the operation of the motes in the parking area. The unique identifying field of these

entities is the mote number. The mote number is the best choice of a primary key for each entity.

46
Following the database development procedures, the tables formed in the entities need to be

normalized. The normalized form of the database is shown as follows in the table below:

Table 3.3: Normalized Database Table

Mote Number Value of X Value of Y Time (t) Status Battery level Alarm

This table will be developed in MySQL database to hold the information from the sensing

The code below is an extract of the SQL code that was used to create database and the table that

holds the sensed data:

mysql> CREATE DATABASE data_store; mysql>

CREATE TABLE records (mote_number VARCHAR(15) NOT NULL,
value_of_x INT(5) NULL,
value_of_y INT(5) NULL, time INT(5) NULL,
status VARCHAR(10) NULL,
alarm VARCHAR(10) NULL, PRIMARY KEY(mote_number));

3.8.2 Connectivity of the Database

As the data store in the gateway acts as a bridge between information sensing and information

dissemination, its important to examine the connections at both sides of the data store. That is

the connection between information sensing and the database as well as the connection between

the database and information dissemination.

47
3.8.3 Information Sensing to Data Store Connection

The sun SPOT has the ability to send information to a database. This would happen from the

base station. The base station receives data from other motes through radio connection. Then

the base station sends the gathered information to a workstation where the database store

resides.

3.8.4 Data store to Information Dissemination Connection

This connection is very important as its the only way that users can get hold of the information

about the parking. The management staff of the parking should be able to query the database on

the workstation. This is provided for by SQL which is supported by MySQL. An interface needs

to be built with commands embedded in graphical structure so as to allow easy use of SQL

without the user being exposed to the complex technical back end. The data store should be able

to automatically update the parking entrance. The online users should be able to access the

database by using the web technology. This will be archived by use of a combination of tools.

These include common gateway interface (CGI), HTTP, WMPLS. The common gateway

interface refers to a program that runs on the server. It can be written in various languages.

However, its increasingly being written in Perl programming language because Perl can be

used on many platforms. CGI works in the following way; when a user fills a form to query the

database, the content of the form is copied to the server. Then the server looks for the program

specified in the form and runs the program. The program requests for content from the web

page, assigns contents to the variables, and then the program searches the database to find the

contents of the variables being queried. The query web page will have names of the variables

that are the same names as those of the variables holding data in the database. Once the query

48
is made, the variables are matched and the latest information retrieved. This will be done by use

of MySQL commands at the database. The diagram below shows the connectivity of database

to mobile device users /internet users.

Web user/mobile Browser technology CGI Database

SQL
internet user & interface

Figure 3.7: Database Connectivity

3.9 PARKING SPOT MANAGEMENT USING WSN

The system being designed will be implemented in the virtual environment. In this case, the

only part of the system that will be real is the computer. Thus the motes in the parking area as

well as the base station will be virtual. The data flow from each spot thru the radio, to the base

station and finally to the workstation will all happen on the computer. This will be a direct

simulation of what exactly would happen when this system is implemented in real life. The

diagram below shows the architectural design of the intelligent parking system

49
3.10 DETAILED DESIGN OF AN INTELLIGENT PARKING SYSTEM

Figure 3.8: Design of an intelligent parking system

50
 CHAPTER FOUR

SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

4.1 INTRODUCTION

The sunspots were deployed with build files or jar files. The files were run using a java virtual

machine called squawk. This virtual machine allowed processing of data using the deployed

files. The jar files were developed in net beans, compiled and deployed onto the virtual sunspot.

The sun SPOT development kit was used to store the jar files that were deployed on the sun

spots. The diagram below shows the frame work of the development environment.

4.2 DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT

The diagram below shows the various parts of the development environment that were used in

the implementation of the system described in the design stage.

Figure 4.1: Development Environment

51
Apache Ant enabled command line use of the sun SPOT. Deploying of files on the sunspot

could be done either in command line or by using graphical interface.

4.3 ALGORITHM IMPLEMENTED BY THE MOTES

The system algorithm for intelligent car parking was executed as follows. Initially, light

threshold of the light sensor is set to a value x. The mote then:

i. Listens for any changes in the threshold.

ii. If threshold changes to a value less than x, let the new value be Y. If value = y for less

than five minute, assume that some moving object was at the parking place but not

necessarily a car.

iii. If threshold changes to a value less than X and keeps at new value for more than five

minutes, then that parking slot has been occupied by a car.

iv. If step three is true, proceed to step five, else ignore activity, take no action, return to

(i).

v. Record time t when the change happened.

vi. Record date dd/mm/yyyy when the change happened.

vii. System out print (the parking slot was occupied at time t, on date dd/mm/yyyy)

viii. Listen for changes in threshold again.

ix. If threshold = X ISTRUE (that is to say that the threshold has returned to the initial

value)

x. Record time t and date dd/mm/yy

xi. System out print (car left at time t, on date dd/mm/yy)

xii. Return to step (i)

52
4.3.1 Issues that arise with the above algorithm

i. The algorithm works during day time. If it gets dark, the system could end up recording

that there is a car in parking yet its just night time. The parking bay would then need to

be carefully lit to maintain the normal light threshold when the parking spaces are not

in use.

ii. The threshold value may become less than the initial value and stay in that state for more

than five minutes but it doesnt necessarily mean that there is a car. It could be something

else covering the sport. For example, a leaf that fell from the tree to the top of the spot.

4.4 DEVELOPMENT REQUIREMENTS

In this project, a number of requirements were being needed for successful development,

implementation and deployment. These were categorized into software, hardware,

inputs/outputs as well as the expected size of the system.

4.4.1 Software Requirements

In the category of software requirements, the following needed to be in places:

i. Java development kit (JDK): This environment provided the tools for developing the

software that will run on the sunspot. In this project, JDK version 6 will be used.

ii. Java run time environment (JRE): This environment would allow the compiling and

testing of the developed software before deploying it on the sun SPOTs. In this project,

Java 2 standard edition (J2SE) will be used.

53
 iii. Net beans IDE: This provided an environment with a graphical user interface, code

editor, compiler and a debugger. This provided the java programming tools in a

centralized location and allowed enhanced development.

iv. Apache Ant: This was installed to allow the use of a command line prompt. The above

mentioned software was a prerequisite for installing the software development kit of the

sun SPOT.

v. Sun SPOT SDK: This environment was used in the development of software that would

be run on the virtual machine on the Sun SPOT. The squawk virtual machine differs

from the normal virtual machine of the computer.

vi. The emulator (solarium): This was used to provide the virtual environment. It was

generated from the sun SPOT SDK.

4.4.2 Hardware Requirements

In the real world, the hardware required was Sun SPOT motes, a base station and a computer.

However, in the scope of this project, the only hardware needed was a computer (desktop

/laptop). The computer specifications needed to be at least:

i. Pentium iv and above

ii. 1GB RAM

iii. Processor speed 3.00 GHz

iv. At least 20 GB of hard drive space

54
4.5 INPUTS & OUTPUTS

Inputs: The system read light values, generated the date and time when the value was noted

and determined the status of the parking bay depending on the light value. Therefore, the inputs

of the system were light value, date, and status of the parking bay.

Outputs: The system generated a message which was broadcasted to the base station. The base

station then sent the information onto the workstation.

4.6 SIZE OF SYSTEM

The size of the system depended on how big the parking bay was. For each sun SPOT, a jar file

was uploaded which contained the mid lets needed to perform the functions of the intelligent

parking system.

4.7 PROJECT SCOPE

The system can operate on both windows and Linux platforms. The sunspots run on a java

virtual machine and execute java jar files in order to archive functionality. The jar files can be

deployed from any workstation having a java development environment. This enables the

sunspots to operate with operating systems such as windows and Linux. The study mainly uses

the light sensor of the sunspot to monitor the activity of the parking bays. The sunspot has other

sensors, namely: temperature and movement sensor. This project will run in a virtual

environment as a simulation of the real world. This will be achieved using the emulator of the

sunspot which provides the virtual environment. The emulator will provide an imitation of what

will happen in the real world when the system is implemented. Figure 4.3 below shows a

demonstration of a single mote in action at a stage of monitoring and sensing data. The change

55
in light threshold is recorded and the meaning of that change is processed and displayed.

Diagram of a Sun SPOT sensing change in light threshold

Figure 4.2: Sunspot Detecting used parking space

In the diagram above, a virtual mote is shown with three main parts.

i. The sensor panel: this has sensor control knobs and switches used to adjust the light

values.

56
 ii. LED lights: As seen in the diagram, there are white lights lined up near the top of the

mote. To the right of those light are three black little squares. These are LEDs whose

light has gone out due to the decrease of light as detected by the light sensor.

iii. The output frame: Below the virtual mote is a window showing the output of the mote.

The output shows details of the midlet deployed on the mote. Its then shows the status

of that midlet. For example, after the mid let was deployed, it showed that sensor checker

was running. On the other hand, the virtual mote displays a green label for each midlet

that is running at the time. As seen in the picture, a little green label shows Sensor

Checker. This is the stage when the mote is ready for monitoring the changes in light.

In the output, below the line that shows that the sensor checker is running, the mote

gives outputs caused by the change in light value. As required of the mote, the new light

value was captured and the address of the mote retrieved. The system then determines

the state of the parking, and records the date when that happened. According to the

scenario in the above figure, the light value changed to a value below the set threshold.

Threshold was set to be 600 in this situation.

When the light value increases, the mote senses the change and a number of processes take

place. The code below gives a brief insight on the method used by the light sensor to monitor

the environment. An if statement is used to execute the process when the light value goes

below the set threshold. An else if statement is joined to the if statement to execute the process

when the light value returns to the set threshold or higher. The squawk virtual machine on the

sun SPOT mote uses classes and methods that were built specially for the hardware peripherals

on the mote circuit board. For example, the address of the SPOT is retrieved by use of the radio

57
policy manager and the IEEE address. These are both classes unique to the mote. However, the

Squawk VM uses some of the common classes and methods used by the Java virtual machine

on computers. Such classes include the date and the output methods, that is system.out.print. It

should be noted at this point that the functionality of the squawk VM combines a variety of

resources.

Below is figure 4.3 showing the Sun SPOT detecting free parking space. The scenario when the

car moves away from the parking lot, the Leds are seen to increase in number, which is a sign

of increased light detected by the light sensor. The output changes showing the new light value

and the status of the parking space. The output frame keeps listing the changes as they happen.

The previous output is shown as well as the latest output.

58
 Figure 4.3: Sun SPOT detecting free parking space

4.8 TESTING METHOD

At the design phase, test cases were prepared to test the system with sample data. It includes

expected outputs, interface standards which will later compared with the actuals.

59
 i. After implementing a system program, it must go through unit testing. Unit testing is

done by executing white-box testing on the program according to a test case.

ii. When implementing is complete, perform integration testing to check whether

communications between the modules are functioning properly.

iii. After all the modules are integrated properly, system testing is done to test the non-

functional requirements of the system.

iv. Then the system is implemented in the client site and the client performs user acceptance

testing.

4.8.1 Test Cases

Test case is a testing artifact which should be designed at the test development stage. So the

following test cases were designed and they were executed at each testing level to identify

defects.

4.8.2 Integration Testing

The purpose of Integration testing was to expose the defects in the interface interactions

between integrated components. Bottom- up Integration testing approach was used in this

testing level. So the bottom level units were tested first and move into upper level units step by

step. After test closure once the test meets the exit criteria, the integrated system was ready to

system testing.

60
4.8.3 System Testing

System testing is carried out using the completely integrated system. As this is the last testing

level before showing the system to the users, this testing need to be thoroughly executed. So in

this phase, evaluated the systems compliance with the specified requirements is verified.

4.8.4 Acceptance Testing

Acceptance testing was performed by the client organization in their working environment. This

was used to define acceptability of the system as they were expected and to be prepared for the

delivery. A representative of each identified user groups was participated in the acceptance

testing and at the end of final test round a feedback form was given to evaluate the success of

the project.

61
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 SUMMARY

The study involves a quantitative approach to capture the current problem that occurs in the

existing parking management system. The review of the manual system aided the researcher

identify the user requirements needed in the development of a new parking system using an

intelligent approach. The design of the intelligent parking system was developed based on the

review of the existing system. The design focused the use of a light sensor of a Sun SPOT mote

to detect presence absence of cars at parking spots and a wireless MPLS network to achieve

information dissemination for users who either would like to get a parking place for their vehicle

in a specific parking bay or reserve a parking spot through the internet or using GPRS enabled

cell phones. This existing parking system is manual where one has to search car parking spaces.

The new system will indicate the available car park spaces using a light sensor of a Sun SPOT

mote at the entry point of the car park. In-surface sensors have used to resolve this problem.

5.2 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this study suggests that there is a lot of potential in the use of a Sun SPOT device

which should be further examined as far as intelligent parking is concerned. There is a

likelihood of developing the next generation parking systems that are highly efficient. This is

all possible due to the robust functionality of the sunspot mote. It has a processing ability which

can accommodate a number of functionalities. The scope of how much the sunspot can do

remains a question of creativity and invention. This research presents one of the most service

oriented systems used nowadays. The use of Sun SPOT device and wireless network has been

62
successfully used in creating intelligent car parking system and further in testing and in

implementation of the new intelligent parking management. Currently, management

information system plays an important role in our lives. Many systems are still poorly designed.

This research had focused on improving the car parking system using information technologies

to implement an intelligent car parking system and thereby reduce the problems that exist in

manual parking system. Sensor notification was used to solve the problems faced by users and

this technology enabled the system to ease the problem of locating vacant parking bays and

thereby reduce waiting time and avoid the hassle of locating vacant parking lots.

5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS

This research had given focus in improving the existing manual car parking system by using

technologies to implement high level based intelligent car parking system to reduce the

problems that exists. Using sensor notification to inform the main computer about the status of

the park should be incorporated within the existing car parking systems. Another possible work

that can be done is in the design and implementation of intelligent car parking system is by

allowing the system to be web based where parking bay bookings could be made from handheld

devices and home PCs and notebooks.

63
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APPENDIX A

Outputs

Snap SPOT Detecting Used Parking space

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Snap Spot Detecting Free Parking Space

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APPENDIX B

Source Code

public void thresholdExceeded(ILightSensor light, int val)

{ if (val< 600) { Date parkedDate = new Date();
//getting the spot address IRadioPolicyManager addressInstance =
Spot.getInstance().getRadioPolicyManager();
IEEEAddress spotAddress = new IEEEAddress (addressInstance.getIEEEAddress());
String id = spotAddress.asDottedHex();
System.out.println("The value of Light now is: " + val); System.out.println(" The spot address
is : " + id);
System.out.println("Car was parked on " + parkedDate);
System.out.println("parking slot occupied");
System.out.println("XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" + "\n"
+"XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX");
}else if (val > 600)
{ Date parkedDate = new Date();
System.out.println("The value of Light now is: " + val); System.out.println("Car left parking
slot on " + parkedDate);
System.out.println("parking slot free");
System.out.println("XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX");

72