Systems and methods for collecting vehicle parking statistics for traffic analysis

Abstract

Example implementations include aspects for collecting vehicle parking statistics by a building management system for traffic analysis. An indication of a vehicle entering or exiting a parking area, can be received from a sensor. Information related to the indication can be stored in a data store of vehicle parking statistics based at least in part on whether the vehicle is entering or exiting the parking area, where the information includes a time associated with the indication. One or more of a first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at a period of time, along with a location value indicating a location of an entrance to, or exit from, the parking area can be provided to a traffic analysis system based on the stored information.

Description

Docket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR COLLECTING VEHICLE PARKING STATISTICS FOR TRAFFIC ANALYSISCROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 711,511, entitled "SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR COLLECTING VEHICLE PARKING STATISTICS FOR TRAFFIC ANALYSIS”, filed October 24, 2024. ’Hie entirety of the application is incorporated by references herein.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The described aspects relate to collecting vehicle parking statistics in a parking area.BACKGROUND

[0003] Commercial or residential buildings can include parking areas, such as parking lots or parking garages, which can utilize sensors to track vehicle entry to and / or exit of the parking area. The sensors can log information related to vehicle entry or exit, such as an indication of a motion event, a timestamp associated with the event, vehicle identification information, such as a read license plate number or vehicle characteristics, video of the event, etc. The logs can be analyzed after the fact for various purposes, such as for analyzing parking area occupancy over a period of time, conducting investigations involving vehicles that entered or exited the parking areas at certain times, etc. In addition, commercial or residential buildings can include building management systems that manage automated features of the buildings or parking areas, such as access control, power consumption, security’ event detection and alerting, etc.

[0004] Navigation systems and associated software have become integral components of modern vehicles and personal devices, providing users with real-time guidance, mapping, and routing information. These systems typically utilize a combination of global positioning system (GPS) technology, digital maps, and various data sources to determine a user’s current location and to calculate optimal routes to a desired destination. Navigation software may be embedded within vehicle infotainment systems or installed as applications on smartphones, tablets, and other portable devices. In operation, navigation systems continuously monitor the position of the vehicle or device using GPS signals and update the displayed route as the user progresses toward the destination. TheDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)systems are capable of recalculating routes in response to user deviations, road closures, or other changes in travel conditions. In addition to basic routing, many navigation systems incorporate features such as turn-by-turn directions, estimated time of arrival (ETA) calculations, and points of interest (POT) searches,

[0005] One function of advanced navigation systems is the analysis of traffic conditions to enhance route planning and travel efficiency. Traffic analysis is typically performed by aggregating data from a variety of sources, including traffic cameras, user-reported incidents, and historical traffic patterns. This data is processed to identify current and predicted traffic congestion, accidents, roadwork, and other factors that may impact travel times. Based on the analyzed traffic data, navigation software can provide users with real-time traffic alerts, suggest alternative routes to avoid congestion, and dynamically adjust ETAs.SUMMARY

[0006] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0007] According to an aspect, a computer-implemented method for collecting vehicle parking statistics by a building management system for traffic analysis is provided that includes receiving, by the building management system and from a sensor, an indication of a vehicle entering or exiting a parking area, storing, by the building management system, information related to the indication in a data store of vehicle parking statistics based at least in part on whether the vehicle is entering or exiting the parking area, wherein the information includes a time associated with the indication, and providing, by the building management system and to a traffic analysis system and based on the stored information, one or more of a first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at a period of time, along with a location value indicating a location of an entrance to, or exit from, the parking area.

[0008] In another aspect, an apparatus for collecting vehicle parking statistics by a building management system for traffic analysis is provided including one or more memories; and one or more processors communicatively coupled with the one or moreDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)memories and configured to perform one or more methods described herein. In another aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided herein that stores computer executable instructions for performing one or more methods described herein.

[0009] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or more aspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspects may be employed, and this description is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more example aspects of the present disclosure and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain their principles and implementations.

[0011] Fig. 1 is a diagram of an example of a computing device that provides a building management system for collecting parking event information from one or more sensors of one or more parking areas and sending parking statistics to a traffic analysis system, in accordance with aspects described herein.

[0012] Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of collecting vehicle parking statistics and / or sending the vehicle parking statistics to a traffic analysis system, in accordance aspects described herein.

[0013] Fig. 3 is a block diagram of examples components of a computer device that may implement one or more of the features of the building management system of FIG. 1DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances,Docket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)well known components may be shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

[0015] Aspects described herein relate to collecting vehicle parking statistics for traffic analysis. For example, a vehicle parking area, such as a parking lot or parking garage, can include a sensor to track vehicle entry and / or exit to the parking area. The sensor can include a motion sensor, license plate recognition (LPR) sensor, camera, etc., and can send an event to a communicatively coupled device when a detection event or read event occurs for a vehicle. For example, the parking area can include a first sensor at an entrance of the parking area and a second sensor at an exit of the parking area (and / or one or more other sensors at other entrances or exits of the parking area). In one example, the sensor can be communicatively coupled to a building management system of a commercial or residential building associated with the parking area, and the sensor can send detected event or read information to the building management system (e.g., in addition or alternatively to logging the information). In other examples, the building management system can request event information from the sensor, such as a number of events occurring within a period of time, a current count of events, etc.

[0016] In an example, the building management system, or other system receiving the detected event or read information from the sensor(s), can derive a number of vehicles in the parking area at a given point in time based on the detected event or read information. For example, the building management system can provide such information to a traffic analysis system for performing traffic pattern analysis, vehicle routing around the parking area, etc. The traffic analysis system can include a system that detects or analyzes traffic patterns, a system that provides a vehicle navigation service that an application executing on a vehicle infotainment system, mobile device, etc. can use to receive route guidance or other route information (e.g., traffic alerts) along a route from a specified starting point to a specified ending point for displaying on an interface, and / or the like. For example, the traffic analysis system can be operated by a different service or software provider than an entity corresponding to the building management system, and / or the traffic analysis system can subscribe to receive the parking area information from the building management system.

[0017] In an example, the building management system can provide, to the traffic analysis system, an indication of a number of vehicles entering or exiting (or currently parked in) a parking area at a period of time, a location of the parking area (e.g., global position system (GPS) coordinates or oilier location indicia of the parking area), etc. For example,Docket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)the building management system can provide historical information to the traffic analysis system or can provide predicted information (e.g., which can be predicted based on the historical information), to the traffic analysis system. The traffic analysis system, for example, can perform traffic analysis (e.g., including providing users with real-time traffic alerts), vehicle routing (e.g., including suggesting alternative routes to avoid congestion), adjustment of estimated time-of-arrival (ETA), and / or the like based on the information.

[0018] For example, the traffic analysis system can obtain the information and can determine times when entry to an entrance (e.g., ingress) of the parking area and / or exit from an exit (e.g., egress) of the parking area are expected to include a threshold number of vehicles (such to impact traffic in the area). During such times, for example, the traffic analysis system can detect traffic patterns to be heavy in the area of the parking area and / or can generate one or more outputs, such as traffic alerts or updated ETAs, rerouting of traffic to avoid the parking area entrance during times when a number of vehicles entering the parking area is expected to achieve a threshold and / or to avoid a parking area exit during times when a number of vehicles exiting the parking area is expected to achieve a threshold, etc. In another example, the traffic analysis system can obtain realtime data, such as a current count of vehicles in the parking area, which can additionally or alternatively be used to determine traffic pattern and / or route vehicles. For example, if the count of vehicles in the parking area at a present time does not achieve a threshold, the number of vehicles expected to exit the parking area may be decreased, which may alter the detected traffic pattern and / or affect routing of the vehicles around the parking area.

[0019] In this regard, for example, the traffic analysis system can receive the parking area information for providing traffic updates, routing or rerouting information, etc. to alert to or avoid traffic around the parking area during times of high entry or exit volume. This can improve routing capabilities and traffic management achieved by the traffic analysis system, which can improve user experience when using the traffic analysis system or associated navigation service or software (e.g., on a vehicle infotainment device, personal electronic device, such as mobile phone, tablet, or other computing device, etc.).

[0020] Turning now to the figures, example aspects are depicted with reference to one or more modules or components described herein, where modules or components in dashed lines may be optional.Docket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)

[0021] Fig. 1 is a diagram of an example of a computing device 100 that provides a building management system 102 for collecting parking event information from one or more sensors of one or more parking areas and sending parking statistics to a traffic analysis system 104, in accordance with aspects described herein. The traffic analysis system 104 can communicate -with one or more client devices 106 to provide information regarding detected traffic patterns, traffic alerts in an area of the client device(s) 106, routing or rerouting of a path from a starting point to an ending point provided via the client device(s) 106, ETA predictions, etc.

[0022] For example, the parking area 110 can include one or more sensors 112 that can be monitored by the building management system 102 to receiving information related to activity at an entrance to, or exit from, the parking area 110. For example, the one or more sensors 112 can include one or more cameras, motion detectors, license plate recognition (LPR) sensors, etc. For example, LPR sensors can detect license plates on vehicles and read the alphanumeric characters on the license plate (e.g., as the vehicle is positioned in a line-of-sight or the LPR sensor and / or is moving through a designated area that can be captured by the LPR sensor). LPR sensors can employ one or more cameras to capture an image of a license plate, and / or optical character recognition (OCR) to read the characters in the image. An LPR sensor can notify a software driver executing on a computing device of the license plate read, including the characters discerned from the image. An LPR sensor can be coupled to the computing device for communicating license plate reads to the software driver executing on the computing device. The LPR sensor, or other sensors, can couple to the computing device via a wired or wireless communications interface, such as a communications port (e.g., a serial port, universal serial bus (USB) port, a Bluetooth connection, etc.). In addition, the LPR sensor and / or software driver can record time and / or date information associated with a license plate capture or read.

[0023] In a specific example, where the sensor(s) 112 include one or more LPR sensors for reading license plates of vehicles entering and / or exiting the parking area 110, the LPR sensor or an associated driver can provide license plate read information to the building management system 102 (or the building management system 102 can monitor the LPR sensor or an associated driver for license plate read information). For example, the LPR sensor can include a camera for capturing images of license plates of vehicles. The LPR sensor can include or can be coupled with a computing device, which is not shown and can include one or more processors or memories, for executing a driver thatDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)can communicate with the camera. The driver can perform optical character recognition (OCR) of the image to obtain a license plate alphanumeric value, and / or notify one or more applications of the license plate read and / or the alphanumeric value. In this regard, for example, building management system 102 can communicate with the LPR sensor and / or the associated driver to receive license plate read information. The license plate read information can include the license plate number, one or more regions associated with the license plate (e.g., a state, county, etc.), a time and / or date associated with the license plate read, etc.

[0024] The LPR sensor can be or can include an edge camera and / or a recorder device, which can be communicatively coupled to the building management system 102. In any case, for example, the LPR sensor can send the actual notification that an LPR event has occurred (e.g., the detection of a license plate) to the building management system 102 and / or can send the contents of the license plate (the license plate number), time or date information, etc,, to the building management system 102. For example, the LPR sensor can publish a meta stream that includes the notification and / or the contents and / or the time or date information to the building management system 102 or the building management system 102 can subscribe to the meta stream published by the LPR sensor to receive the notification of read events and / or contents and / or time or date information. In any case, a read by the LPR sensor can indicate entry- of a vehicle into parking area 110 and / or exit of a vehicle from parking area 110, based on which building management system 102 can log entry or exit and / or maintain a count of vehicles in the parking area 110.

[0025] Computing device 100 can include a processor 120 (and / or multiple processors) and / or a memory 122 (or multiple memories) configured to execute or store instructions or other parameters related to performing one or more processes, executing the building management system 102 and / or its associated components, etc. For example, one or more processors 120 and one or more memories 122 may be separate components communicatively coupled by a bus (e.g., on a motherboard or other portion of a computing device, on an integrated circuit, such as a system on a chip (SoC), etc.), components integrated within one another (e.g., one or more processors 120 can include the one or more memories 122 as an on-board component), and / or the like. One or more memories 122 may store instructions, parameters, data structures, etc, for use / execution by one or more processors 120 to perform functions described herein. In addition, for example, computing device 100 can include multiple computing devices distributedDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)across a network (e.g., in a network or cloud-based deployment), where each of the computing devices can include one or more functions described herein.

[0026] For example, building management system 102 can include a sensor monitoring component 130 for monitoring event (e.g., motion event) or read (e.g., license plate read) information provided or published by one or more sensors 112 in the parking area 110. For example, sensor monitoring component 130 can monitor the one or more sensors 112 based on receiving information from the sensors 112, by monitoring an associated meta stream, by requesting information from the sensors 112, etc. Building management system 102 can also include a logging component 132 for logging information related to received monitoring information, such as a count of vehicles entering the parking area 110, a count of vehicles exiting the parking area, a count of vehicles parked in the parking area 110, etc., which may include an associated timestamp or period of time associated with the information. Building management system 102 can also include a statistic providing component 134 for providing vehicle parking statistics to a traffic analysis system 104, based on the logged or stored information, for use in detecting traffic patterns, routing or rerouting client device(s) 106, etc. As described herein, the vehicle parking statistics can include historical statistics or associated trends related to certain time periods (e.g., certain times of day for certain days of the week, etc.) and / or can include real-time data, such as a number of vehicle currently parked in a lot.

[0027] In one example, sensor monitoring component 130 can monitor information received or recorded by one or more sensors 112 at an entrance to, or exit from, a parking area 110. For example, sensor monitoring component 130 can monitor motion events from a motion detector sensor or camera, license plate reads from a LPR sensor, etc., which can indicate entry to the parking area 110 (e.g., for information from a sensor at an entrance to the parking area 110) or exit from the parking area 110 (e.g., for information from a sensor at an exi t from the parking area 110). The information received or recorded by the one or more sensors 112 can be published to a meta stream that is monitored by the sensor monitoring component 130 or can otherwise be sent from the sensor(s) 112 to the sensor monitoring component 130. The information may include an indication of the event that occurred, an image, a license plate number, a timestamp (e.g., and / or date stamp) of when the event occurred, vehicle description information, and / or the like, depending on the type of sensor.

[0028] In an example, logging component 132 can log or otherwise store information, related to the information from the one or more sensors 112, in memory / memories 122.Docket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)For example, the logged information can include the information received from the one or more sensors 112, which can be queried by statistic providing component 134 to determine parking statistics, or information formulated based on the information received from the one or more sensors 112. For example, logging component 132 can log an indication of a count or number of vehicles that entered the parking area 110, or exited the parking area 110, at a certain period of time or within a duration of time defined by a starting time and ending time, such as a count of vehicle per hour, and / or can store this information tracked over a period of time in history (e.g., over the last week, month, year, etc., over each day of the last week, month, year, etc., and / or the like). This can enable predicting a count of vehicles entering and / or exiting the parking area 110 at a future period of time. In another example, logging component 132 can log an indication of a count or number of vehicles currently in the parking area 110 (e.g., based on incrementing the count based on data from a sensor 112 at an entrance to the parking area 110 or decrementing the count based on data from a sensor 112 at an exit of the parking area 110).

[0029] In an example, statistic providing component 134 can provide parking statistics to the traffic analysis system 104 based on the logged or stored information. For example, statistic providing component 134 can provide the historical entry’ and exit counts for periods of time to allow the traffic analysis system 104 to predict traffic patterns at a future time period. In another example, statistic providing component 134 can predict the entry and exit counts for a future time period based on stored historical entry and exit counts (e.g,, predict the future entry and exit counts for a similar period of time, such as a similar hour of a similar day of the week). In yet another example, statistic providing component 134 can provide a real time current count of vehicles in the parking area 110 to the traffic analysis system 104, which may impact the predicted count of vehicles entering or exiting the parking area 110 at a future time. In addition, for example, statistic providing component 134 can provide, to the traffic analysis system 104, an indication of a location of the parking area 110 (e.g., a GPS location), or of the entrance or exit of the parking area 110, to allow the traffic analysis system 104 to generate traffic patterns, alerts, routing / rerouting, etc. for or near the location based on the parking statistics for that location.

[0030] For example, building management sy stem 102 can communicate with the traffic analysis system 104 to provide the parking statistics over one or more networks (e.g., the Internet), cloud-computing systems, etc., and / or may provide the parking statisticDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)information based on a subscription from the traffic analysis system 104. For example, the subscription may define which data the statistic providing component 134 can provide to the traffic analysis system 104, how often the statistic providing component 134 can provide the information to the traffic analysis system 104, a granularity of period of time corresponding to the data provided to the traffic analysis system 104, etc. In this regard, for example, statistic providing component 134 can provide parking statistics (e.g., as historical data for a period of time and / or as real time parking area counts) periodically, by publishing the statistics to a meta stream, that the traffic analysis system 104 can consume. In this or other examples, statistic providing component 134 can provide parking statistics to the meta stream, or to the traffic analysis system 104 directly, based on a request from the traffic analysis system 104, and / or the like,

[0031] In an example, building management system 102 can provide, to the traffic analysis system 104, vehicle counts or parking statistics without providing license plate numbers, images of the vehicles, or other information that may be received by the sensor(s) 112. Thus, for example, building management system 102 can filter the data generated by the LPR sensor before providing the data to the traffic analysis system 104 for anonymizing data by removing personal identifying information (PII) or sensitive information while still providing useful information to a community for the improved management of roads or associated traffic. The building management system 102 and / or traffic analysis system 104 can leverage the raw counts and / or time of vehicles entering and exiting the parking area 110 to provide data services for real time trends on usage statistics, which can benefit local traffic patterns recommendations, traffic management, and notification services, which may not typically be available outside of a parking management solution. In one specific example, the traffic analysis system 104 can use the real time data (e.g., of a number of vehicles currently in the vehicle parking area) to adjust a prediction of the number of vehicles that may be leaving the parking area at a certain time. For example, the real time count of vehicles may be used as ratio to number of vehicles in historical entry / exit data for a time period to predict number of vehicles leaving the vehicle parking area at an upcoming time,

[0032] Referring to Fig. 2, in operation, computing device 100, or the associated building management system 102, may perform a method 200 for collecting vehicle parking statistics and / or sending the vehicle parking statistics to a traffic analysis system, such as via execution of certain instructions by one or more processors 120 and / orDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)memory / memories 122, which may execute or implement components of the building management system 102, as described above.

[0033] At block 202, the method 200 includes receiving, by a building management system and from a sensor, an indication of a vehicle entering or exiting a parking area. For example, sensor monitoring component 130, e.g., in conjunction with computing device 100, one or more processors 120, memory / memories 122, building management system 102, etc., can receive, from the sensor (e.g., one or more sensors 112 of the parking area 110), the indication of the vehicle entering or exiting the parking area 110. For example, sensor monitoring component 130 can receive the indication as a detected event (e.g., motion event from a motion sensor or camera) or read event (e.g., from a LPR sensors), etc., based on occurrence of the event, by reading the event from a meta stream published by the one or more sensors 112, based on requesting information from the one or more sensors 112, etc. For example, the indication can include an indication of the event, a time associated with occurrence of the event (e.g., time the event is detected or license plate is read), an image or license plate number associated with the event, etc.

[0034] At block 204, the method 200 can include storing, by the building management system information related to the indication in a data store of vehicle parking statistics based at least in part on whether the vehicle is entering or exiting the parking area. For example, logging component 132, e.g., in conjunction with computing device 100, one or more processors 120, memory / memories 122, building management system 102, etc., can store information related to the indication in a data store (e.g., in memory / memories 122) of vehicle parking statistics based at least in part on whether the vehicle is entering or exiting the parking area. For example, logging component 132 can store the information in a log file or in a database including events associated with the one or more sensors 112. In addition, logging component 132 can store time information associated with the event, which may include a timestamp received with the event indication, a time the event indication is received from the one or more sensors 112, etc. This can allow for subsequent retrieval of the information as associated with a period of time. For example, the data store can be queried where a query can identify one or more of the sensor(s) 112 for which event information is requested and / or a period of time for which the event information is requested.

[0035] In another example, logging information can store other information based on the indication, such as counts of vehicles detected by each sensor over a period of time. For example, logging component 132 can increase a read count for a given sensor 112 basedDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)on the indication where the count can correspond to a period of time. In any case, logging component 132 can store information related to the indication to allow for obtaining count information of detected events or reads by a given sensor 112 over a specific period of time, which can correspond to a count of vehicles entering or exiting the parking area 110 during the period of time.

[0036] At block 206, the method 200 includes providing, by the building management system and to a traffic analysis system and based on the stored information, one or more of a first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at a period of time, and / or a location value indicating a location of an entrance to or exit from the parking area. For example, statistic providing component 134, e.g., in conjunction with computing device 100, one or more processors 120, memory / memories 122, building management system 102, etc., can provide, to the traffic analysis system 104 and based on the stored information, one or more of a first count of vehicles entering the parking area 110 (e.g., as historical or predicted information), or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area 110 (e.g., as historical or predicted information), at a period of time, and / or a location value indicating a location or other identifier of the parking area or of an entrance to or exit from the parking area. For example, statistic providing component 134 can provide raw count data to the traffic analysis system 104, which can include each detected event for a sensor 112, a timestamp for the event, and / or the sensor location. Using this information, the traffic analysis system 104 can predict future traffic on roads nearby or otherwise associated with a location of the sensor 112.

[0037] In another example, statistic providing component 134 can provide requested count data to the traffic analysis system 104, which can include collecting counts of vehicles detected by one or more sensors 112 during a specific period of time indicated in the request, and providing the collected counts along with a location of associated sensor(s) 112. In another example, statistic providing component 134 can provide, to the traffic analysis system 104, a current count of vehicles in the parking area 110 (e.g., based on incrementing the count when an event is detected by a sensor 112 at an entrance of the parking area 110 and decrementing the count when an event is detected by a sensor 112 at an exit of the parking area 110). In yet another example, statistic providing component 134 can predict counts of vehicles entering or exiting the parking area 110 based on historical counts or events stored in the logging information (e.g., by averaging historical counts in similar periods of time, such as in similar hours of similar days of the week overDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)a past month, number of months, year, etc.). In this example, statistic providing component 134 can provide, to the traffic analysis system 104, the predicted counts along with associated locations of sensor(s) 112 at which the counts occurred and / or for which the counts are predicted in the future period of time,

[0038] In another example, statistic providing component 134 can indicate the period of time (e.g., the starting time and ending time of the period of time) to the traffic analysis system 104, such as where the statistic providing component 134 periodically provides the counts to the traffic analysis system 104. Moreover, in some examples, statistic providing component 134 can provide, to the traffic analysis system, an indication of whether a count, or associated sensor 112 or sensor location, corresponds to a sensor at an entrance of the parking area 110 (and thus a count of inbound vehicles) or a sensor at an exit from the parking area 110 (and thus a count of outbound vehicles).

[0039] In addition, for example, in providing a current count of vehicles parked in the parking area 110, statistic providing component 134 can provide a count from a first sensor 112 at an entrance of the parking area 110, e.g., for a current day, and historical statistics from a second sensor 112 at an exit of the parking area 110, e.g., for one or more previous days. This can allow for predicting the number of vehicles that may exit the parking area 110 at certain times, such as by applying a proportion of vehicles at different time based on the historical statistics to the count of vehicles entering the parking area 110. In any case, for example, the information stored by logging component 132 and / or provided by statistic providing component 134 can include data showing parking area locations, volume of traffic (e.g., historically or as predicted for a current time or a previous period of time), etc., which may be through subscription offered and managed by the statistic providing component 134 and / or building management system 102 or another system. Traffic analysis system 104 can relay or reformulate this information for presenting to client device(s) 106 for traffic alerts (e.g., real time or predicted), routing / rerouting a travel path, etc.

[0040] In yet another example, traffic analysis system 104 may route vehicles (via associated client device 106) that are within the parking area 110 to exit the parking area 110 to different exits based on the counts of vehicles and / or predicted count of vehicles entering or exiting the parking area 110 at various entrances / exits, a count of vehicles in the parking area 110, etc. Similarly, for example, traffic analysis system 104 may route vehicles (via associated client device 106) that have an indicated an end point of travel path as ending at the parking area 110 to different entrances of the parking area 110 basedDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)on the counts of vehicles and / or predicted count of vehicles entering or exiting the parking area 110 at various entrances / exits, a count of vehicles in the parking area 110, etc.

[0041] Referring to Fig. 3, a computing device 300 may implement all or a portion of the functionality described in Fig. 1-2, in accordance with aspects described herein. For example, the computing device 300 may be or may include at least a portion of the building management system 102, traffic analysis system 104, or any other module or component described herein with reference to Figs. 1-2. The computing device 300 may include one or more processors 302 which may be configured to execute or implement software, hardware, and / or firmware modules that perform some or all of the functionality described herein with reference to Figs. 1-2. For example, the processor(s) 302 may be configured to execute or implement software, hardware, and / or firmware modules that perform some or all of the functionality described herein with reference to the building management system 102, traffic analysis system 104, or any other module or component described herein with reference to Figs. 1-2.

[0042] The processor(s) 302 may be a micro-controller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), and / or may include a single or multiple set of processors or multi -core processors. Moreover, the processor(s) 302 may be implemented as an integrated processing system and / or a distributed processing system. The computing device 300 may further include memory / memories 304, such as for storing local versions of applications being executed by the processor(s) 302, related instructions, parameters, etc. The memory / memories 304 may include a type of memory usable by a computer, such as random access memory’ (RAM), read only memory’ (ROM), tapes, magnetic discs, optical discs, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. Additionally, the processor(s) 302 and the memory / memories 304 may include and execute an operating system executing on the processor(s) 302, one or more applications, display drivers, etc., and / or other modules or components of the computing device 300.

[0043] Further, the computing device 300 may include a communications module 306 that provides for establishing and maintaining communications with one or more other devices, parties, entities, etc. utilizing hardware, software, and services. The communications module 306 may carry communications between modules on the computing device 300, as well as between the computing device 300 and external devices, such as devices located across a communications network and / or devices serially or locally connected to the computing device 300. In an aspect, for example, theDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)communications module 306 may include one or more buses, and may further include transmit chain modules and receive chain modules associated with a wireless or wired transmitter and receiver, respectively, operable for interfacing with external devices.

[0044] Additionally, the computing device 300 may include a data store 308, which can be any suitable combination of hardw are and / or software, that provides for mass storage of information, databases, and programs. For example, the data store 308 may be or may include a data repository for applications and / or related parameters not currently being executed by processor(s) 302. In addition, the data store 308 may be a data repository for an operating system, application, display driver, etc., executing on the processor 302, and / or one or more other modules of the computing device 300.

[0045] The computing device 300 may also include a user interface module 310 operable to receive inputs from a user of the computing device 300 and further operable to generate outputs for presentation to the user (e.g., via a display interface to a display device). The user interface module 310 may include one or more input devices, including but not limited to a keyboard, a number pad, a mouse, a touch-sensitive display, a navigation key, a function key, a microphone, a voice recognition module, or any other mechanism capable of receiving an input from a user, or any combination thereof. Further, the user interface module 310 may include one or more output devices, including but not limited to a display interface, a speaker, a haptic feedback mechanism, a printer, any other mechanism capable of presenting an output to a user, or any combination thereof.

[0046] Some further example aspects are provided below.

[0047] Clause 1 is a method for collecting vehicle parking statistics by a building management system for traffic analysis including receiving, by the building management system and from a sensor, an indication of a vehicle entering or exiting a parking area, storing, by the building management system, information related to the indication in a data store of vehicle parking statistics based at least in part on whether the vehicle is entering or exiting the parking area, where the information includes a time associated w ith the indication, and providing, by the building management system and to a traffic analysis system and based on the stored information, one or more of a first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at a period of time, along with a location value indicating a location of an entrance to, or exit from, the parking area.

[0048] In Clause 2, the method of Clause 1 includes w here storing the information related to the indication includes incrementing the first count of vehicles entering the parkingDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)area as stored by the building management system, or the second count of vehicles exiting the parking area as stored by the building management system, where the first count or the second count correspond to the period of time.

[0049] In Clause 3, the method of any of Clauses 1 or 2 includes where providing the one or more of the first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at the period of time includes querying the stored information to obtain the first count or the second count for the period of time,

[0050] In Clause 4, the method of any of Clauses 1 to 3 includes providing, to the traffic analysis system, a time value indicating a start time and end time of the period of time.

[0051] In Clause 5, the method of any of Clauses 1 to 4 includes providing, to the traffic analysis system an indication that the first count relates to inbound vehicles during the period of time or an indication that the second count relates to outbound vehicles during the period of time.

[0052] In Clause 6, the method of any of Clauses 1 to 5 includes where providing the one or more of the first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at the period of time includes providing the first count for a current day and providing the second count for one or more previous days.

[0053] In Clause 7, the method of any of Clauses 1 to 6 includes where the sensor is a LPR sensor that provides the indication as a read event indicating an alphanumeric license plate number.

[0054] Clause 8 is an apparatus including one or more processors, one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, and instructions stored in the one or more memories and operable, when executed by the one or more processors, to cause the apparatus to perform any of the methods of Clauses 1 to 7.

[0055] Clause 9 is an apparatus for including means for performing any of the methods of Clauses 1 to 7.

[0056] Clause 10 is one or more computer-readable media including code executable by one or more processors, the code including code for performing any of the methods of Clauses 1 to 7,

[0057] The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, software executed by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are within the scope and spirit of the disclosure andDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software, functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a specially programmed processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations.

[0058] Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general -purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of computer-readable media.

[0059] The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims, wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.” The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some”Docket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)refers to one or more. Combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or ( “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, C, or any combination thereof’ include any combination of A, B, and / or C, and may include multiples of A, multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such as “at least one of A, B, or C,” “one or more of A, B, or C ' “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more of A, B, and C,” and “A, B, (. or any combination thereof’ may be A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinations may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. The words “module,” “mechanism,” “element,” “device,” and the like may not be a substitute for the word “means.” As such, no claim element is to be construed as a means plus function unless the element is expressly recited using tlie phrase “means for.”

[0060] As used herein, a processor, at least one processor, and / or one or more processors, individually or in combination, configured to perform or operable for performing a plurality of actions is meant to include at least two different processors able to perform different, overlapping or non-overlapping subsets of the plurality actions, or a single processor able to perform all of the plurality of actions. In one non-limiting example of multiple processors being able to perform different ones of the plurality of actions in combination, a description of a processor, at least one processor, and / or one or more processors configured or operable to perform actions X, Y, and Z may include at least a first processor configured or operable to perform a first subset of X, Y, and Z (e.g., to perform X) and at least a second processor configured or operable to perform a second subset of X, Y, and Z (e.g., to perform Y and Z). Alternatively, a first processor, a second processor, and a third processor may be respectively configured or operable to perform a respective one of actions X, Y, and Z. It should be understood that any combination of one or more processors each may be configured or operable to perform any one or any combination of a plurality of actions.

[0061] As used herein, a memory, at least one memory, and / or one or more memories, individually or in combination, configured to store or having stored thereon instructions executable by one or more processors for performing a plurality of actions is meant toDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)include at least two different memories able to store different, overlapping or nonoverlapping subsets of the instructions for performing different, overlapping or nonoverlapping subsets of the plurality actions, or a single memory able to store the instructions for performing all of the plurality of actions. In one non-limiting example of one or more memories, individually or in combination, being able to store different subsets of the instructions for performing different ones of the plurality of actions, a description of a memory’, at least one memory, and / or one or more memories configured or operable to store or having stored thereon instructions for performing actions X, Y, and Z may include at least a first memory configured or operable to store or having stored thereon a first subset of instructions for performing a first subset of X, Y, and Z (e.g., instructions to perform X) and at least a second memory configured or operable to store or having stored thereon a second subset of instructions for performing a second subset of X, Y, and Z (e.g., instructions to perform Y and Z). Alternatively, a first memory’, and second memory', and a third memory’ may be respectively’ configured to store or have stored thereon a respective one of a first subset of instructions for performing X, a second subset of instruction for performing Y, and a third subset of instructions for performing Z. It should be understood that any combination of one or more memories each may be configured or operable to store or have stored thereon any one or any combination of instructions executable by one or more processors to perform any one or any combination of a plurality of actions. Moreover, one or more processors may each be coupled to at least one of the one or more memories and configured or operable to execute the instructions to perform the plurality of actions. For instance, in the above non-limiting example of the different subset of instructions for performing actions X, Y, and Z, a first processor may be coupled to a first memory storing instructions for performing action X, and at least a second processor may be coupled to at least a second memory’ storing instructions for performing actions Y and Z, and the first processor and the second processor may, in combination, execute the respective subset of instructions to accomplish performing actions X, Y, and Z Alternatively, three processors may access one of three different memories each storing one of instructions for performing X, Y, or Z, and the three processor may in combination execute the respective subset of instruction to accomplish performing actions X, Y, and Z. Alternatively, a single processor may execute the instructions stored on a single memory’, or distributed across multiple memories, to accomplish performing actions X, Y, and Z.

Claims

Docket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method for collecting vehicle parking statistics by a building management system for traffic analysis, comprising:receiving, by the building management system and from a sensor, an indication of a vehicle entering or exiting a parking area;storing, by the building management system, information related to the indication in a data store of vehicle parking statistics based at least in part on whether the vehicle is entering or exiting the parking area, wherein the information includes a time associated with the indication; andproviding, by the building management system and to a traffic analysis system and based on the stored information, one or more of a first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at a period of time, along with a location value indicating a location of an entrance to, or exit from, the parking area.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein storing the information related to the indication includes incrementing the first count of vehicles entering the parking area as stored by the building management system, or the second count of vehicles exiting the parking area as stored by the building management system, wherein the first count or the second count correspond to the period of time.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein providing the one or more of the first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at the period of time includes querying the stored information to obtain the first count or the second count for the period of time.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising providing, to the traffic analysis system, a time value indicating a start time and end time of the period of time.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising providing, to the traffic analysis system an indication that the first count relates to inboundDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)vehicles during the period of time or an indication that the second count relates to outbound vehicles during the period of time.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein providing the one or more of the first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at the period of time includes providing the first count for a current day and providing the second count for one or more previous days.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the sensor is a license plate recognition (LPR) sensor that provides the indication as a read event indicating an alphanumeric license plate number.

8. An apparatus for collecting vehicle parking statistics by a building management system for traffic analysis, comprising:one or more memories; andone or more processors communicatively coupled with the one or more memories and configured to:receive, by the building management system and from a sensor, an indication of a vehicle entering or exiting a parking area;store, by the building management system, information related to the indication in a data store of vehicle parking statistics based at least in part on whether the vehicle is entering or exiting the parking area, wherein the information includes a time associated with the indication; andprovide, by the building management system and to a traffic analysis system and based on the stored information, one or more of a first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at a period of time, along with a location value indicating a location of an entrance to, or exit from, the parking area.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to store the information related to the indication including incrementing the first count of vehicles entering the parking area as stored by the building management system, or the second count of vehicles exiting the parking area as stored by the buildingDocket No.: SAC-24-8436-WO (039636.08177)management system, wherein the first count or the second count correspond to the period of time.

10. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to provide the one or more of the first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at the period of time including querying the stored information to obtain the first count or the second count for the period of time.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to provide, to the traffic analysis system, a time value indicating a start time and end time of the period of time.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to provide, to the traffic analysis system, an indication that the first count relates to inbound vehicles during the period of time or an indication that the second count relates to outbound vehicles during the period of time.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the one or more processors are configured to provide the one or more of the first count of vehicles entering the parking area, or a second count of vehicles exiting the parking area, at the period of time including providing the first count for a current day and providing the second count for one or more previous days.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the sensor is a license plate recognition (LPR) sensor that provides the indication as a read event indicating an alphanumeric license plate number.

15. A computer-readable medium storing instructions for collecting vehicle parking statistics by a building management system for traffic analysis, wherein the instructions are executable by a processor to perform any of the methods of claims 1 to 7.

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