Street Parking Guidance via Statistical Availability Models
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Solution Overview
Problem
Drivers face difficulties in locating street parking spots, leading to frustration and societal issues like traffic congestion, fuel consumption, and pollution, due to the inefficiency of existing methods for identifying and accessing available parking spaces.
Innovation Solution
A facility that provides guidance for finding street parking by determining the probability of spot availability in different segments using observations and statistical models, generating recommended routes and predicting search time, accessible through mobile devices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If drivers search for parking spots manually without guidance systems, then they can find parking eventually, but the time required to locate available spots increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-collecting parking availability data through surveys and observations, building statistical models in advance, and preparing recommended routes before the driver actually needs to park. This allows the system to provide immediate guidance when queried, rather than requiring real-time manual searching.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary facility (the parking guidance system) that mediates between the driver and parking spots. The facility collects data through surveys, processes it through statistical models, and provides processed information (recommended routes) to drivers, eliminating the need for direct manual searching.
2Reliability
If drivers search extensively for available parking spots, then they may find available spaces, but fuel consumption and pollution increase due to unnecessary driving
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by collecting actual parking availability data through surveys and observations, processing this feedback through statistical models to update probability estimates, and using these updated estimates to generate improved recommended routes. This continuous feedback loop increases reliability while reducing unnecessary searching.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical system of manual driving and visual searching with an information-based system using statistical models and data processing. Instead of physically searching through neighborhoods, drivers receive computationally-derived recommended routes based on processed availability data.
3Measurement precision
If the parking guidance system collects and processes extensive data from multiple sources, then the accuracy of parking availability predictions improves, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex data collection and processing task into distinct components: survey data collection, observation data collection, statistical model building, and route recommendation generation. Each component handles a specific aspect of the data pipeline, making the overall system more manageable despite processing extensive data from multiple sources.
Data Source
AI summary
A facility for providing guidance for locating street parking is described. The facility receives an indication of a geographic location with respect to which provide parking guidance, and determines an effective time for which to provide guidance. The facility then provides parking guidance relating to the indicated location at the effective time for a use.