Vehicular Parking Sensing Using Aggregate Availability Statistics
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current parking space availability monitoring systems in urban areas are inefficient, relying on costly fixed sensors that fail to effectively address congestion and travel delays caused by parking issues, and do not provide adequate data for municipal decision-making or traveler guidance.
Innovation Solution
A vehicular information system that collects and translates sensor data from vehicles into aggregate parking statistics, including counts and historical averages, to provide approximate parking information, which can be communicated to servers and used for dynamic pricing and enforcement, improving traveler decisions and parking management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If fixed sensors are installed in the ground or on parking meters to monitor parking space availability, then real-time identification of individual available parking spots is achieved, but installation and operation costs become very large (millions of dollars to cover a small percentage of total parking spots)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses mobile vehicles as moving copies of fixed sensor stations. Instead of installing permanent sensors at every parking spot, the system deploys sensors on vehicles that temporarily assume the monitoring function as they pass through parking areas, thereby copying the fixed sensor functionality with mobile units
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive fixed sensor infrastructure with cheaper mobile sensing platforms. The sensing vehicles are temporary, movable resources that provide monitoring services without requiring permanent installation, reducing overall system cost while maintaining monitoring capability
2Loss of information
If fixed sensors are deployed city-wide to cover all parking spots, then comprehensive parking data is collected, but the fixed cost for installation and operation becomes prohibitively large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the sensing system universal by using multi-functional vehicles that can serve both as transportation and as mobile sensor platforms. The same vehicle infrastructure performs multiple roles, eliminating the need for dedicated fixed sensor installations at every location
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from static fixed sensors to dynamic mobile sensors. The sensing capability moves with traffic flow, adapting its position and coverage area dynamically, which allows comprehensive data collection without requiring fixed infrastructure at every parking spot
3Reliability
If real-time monitoring of individual parking spots is implemented, then accurate parking availability information is provided, but the system complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial monitoring action by having vehicles monitor parking spots only when they pass by, rather than continuously monitoring each spot. This partial action is sufficient to gather statistically meaningful data without requiring permanent fixed sensors at every location
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a method and system that receives sensor information from each of a plurality of sensors. Each sensor in the plurality is associated with a vehicle. The sensor information includes location coordinates of each vehicle in the plurality. The sensor information associated with each vehicle in the plurality then is translated to parking statistics information. In one embodiment, the translation is based on an aggregate of sensor information corresponding to the plurality of vehicles. The system then communicates parking statistics information to the vehicle.