Inspiration
It is a big hassle to find parking spots for commuters and they often have to circle around for minutes before finding a spot, not even knowing if there is space in the first place. This invention would save them a lot of time, fuel, and space, as one would be able to find available spots from a common spot as opposed to needing to circle the lot multiple times. Would also assist tourists as they are unfamiliar places, and this invention would reduce their hassle tremendously.
What it does
Our project focused on the Smart City initiative, utilizing electronic devices to monitor parking deck occupancy to make finding a parking spot easy for drivers.
How we built it
Utilizing UC-SR04 Ultrasonic sensors, LEDs, and an SSD1306 OLED Screen to sense and display open parking spots in a parking deck. An OLED screen placed in front of the parking deck displays if a certain parking spot is open or occupied. Green and red LEDs are placed above each parking spot displaying whether a spot is occupied, making it easier for drivers to visually find open parking spots. Also, our sensors are powered through solar panels that are located on top.
Challenges we ran into
One major challenge that we ran into was how to best use the pins available on the ESP-32 to power the sensors and LEDs.
What's next for Smart Parking
Currently each parking spot has its own sensor, and utilizing less sensors would bring the cost down dramatically and make the circuitry simpler. An app/website can be created to show what parking spots are taken, and track the peak hours of the parking deck.
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