Dahua Smart Parking Solution deployed in high-tech City of Innopolis
James Thorpe
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Located in the Republic of Tatarstan, Innopolis is the first Russian city for IT professionals which started urban life just five years ago. It was created literally “from scratch”. Its entire infrastructure, economy, education and services were built based on high-tech principles: to be innovative and to serve the people. Innopolis Mayor Ruslan Shagaleev, matching his city, is just as young, energetic and focused on the introduction of high-tech innovations for the benefit of the city and its residents. He loves Dahua Technology’s Smart Parking Solution, achieving the digital transformation of the city’s municipal parking lot.
Background
The municipal parking lot in the city used to be a regular underground parking lot. In order to get inside, residents either manually press a button at the door or swipe an access card on the card reader. No other services were available.
Solution
The Dahua Smart Parking Solution implemented in Innopolis brings innovations to the city, while benefiting its citizens with convenience. It includes the following features:
High-efficiency entrance control
The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) application for license plate recognition replaced the previous manual parking access control, greatly improving the efficiency of the process. The Dahua ANPR camera installed at the entrance of the parking lot can accurately capture and recognise license plates of pre-registered residents or visitors on the allow-list set by the user. Once the information is matched, the garage door will open accordingly.
Parking space detection
Underground parking is an enclosed area that provides very limited space for vehicle manoeuvring. For the Innopolis parking lot, the Dahua smart system guides and informs the driver about free parking spots in advance. This is done through two-level navigation: LED signs and parking spot detection cameras.
Two-level navigation is realised using both software and hardware, including cameras equipped with a colour indicator. To put it simply, if the place is free, it is highlighted with a green light and red light if it is occupied. The same principle applies to the central traffic lane. Green light indicates the availability of parking spots in the next lane. If all car parking spaces in the lane are occupied, the red light turns on.
In addition to colour, the indicator also shows the number of available parking spaces in each direction. Based on a built-in AI algorithm, the number of available parking spaces in each zone is automatically calculated. The results are displayed on the screen. The search is also simplified by the light indication of parking spots availability.
In total, seven display colours are supported and the parking lot owner can customise them independently. For example, if you need to highlight the locations of VIPs, you can assign them with a blue colour. And if a parking space is occupied, their location can be highlighted in yellow. These are typical scenarios that are more suitable for commercial parking lots such as shopping malls and entertainment centres, instead of private home parking. Nevertheless, the basic delivery of the solution initially supports all seven display colours, giving the owner more flexibility in grouping parking spaces according to different criteria.
Finding a car
The Dahua Smart Parking Solution also utilised several find-your-car terminals for customers to easily locate the parking location of their vehicles. This can be done using touchscreen terminals located in different parking areas. By entering a license plate, the system can locate the vehicle and provide its images to confirm. If a person does not understand where the specified point is, the system will show him/her on the screen the best route from the terminal to his/her car.
Comprehensive surveillance
Each detector is also a video camera that can be used in conjunction with storage devices to provide customers with comprehensive video surveillance of what is happening in the parking lot. Lost objects in the parking area, crowds of people and illegal parking behaviours are also automatically detected. Its integrated surveillance functions include real-time video recording with preview and playback, which can provide relevant evidence in case of disputes or incidents.
Data storage and safety
The protection of personal data, databases of license plates, etc. are responsibilities of the parking lot owner. One striking feature of the Dahua Smart Parking Solution is a single centralised software package that is installed on one server, making the system more secure. At the same time, access to the video surveillance data is only allowed for people with IT system administrator authorisation.
Expandable platform functionality
The integration of the Dahua Smart Parking Solution with the payment system is planned to be implemented in the next stage of the project. In general, the issues of monetization of parking spaces are in the mainstream of interests of the city authorities. The Dahua Smart Parking Solution supports various types of parking spaces, allowing usage of different payment options. The parking operator can also utilise the parking data of various vehicles to develop, for example, a premium service strategy with reasonable rates.
Results
“Innopolis is a symbol of modern Tatarstan and its advanced technologies. The launch of a high-tech project, which is unique for the entire Russian Federation, is becoming a landmark event for the republic,” said Dias Safin, Head of the Regional Office of Dahua in the Volga Federal District. “This is the optimal solution for a densely populated modern city where parking problems are severe.” Safin emphasised.
After the implementation of Dahua Smart Parking Solution, the parking doors open automatically if a car belongs to a registered tenant or if a car on the allow-list stops in front of the gate. In addition, the system also helps to locate the most convenient free parking space. Using geolocation system, it pins from where the car has stopped and refreshes statistics of the recorded movements of the car. When the car owner decides to leave the parking lot again, the system can offer him several options to find another parking space if necessary.
The Dahua Smart Parking Solution also provides advanced functions for parking lot owners and city authorities. For example, BI-analytics capabilities allow them to analyse user behaviour when parking, as well as calculate the average parking time, peak time, vacancy rate, the most popular parking floors, etc.
“The ability to use business intelligence primarily depends on the business objectives of the owner. What does he want to get as an end result? Does he want to unload his parking lot? Or does he need to optimally allocate zones for VIPs? Does he want to make the most of the tenants of the parking space? Built-in BI-analytics will help to solve the problem in the best way possible.” Safin explained.
