Parking: Efficient parking network system by GPRS

If you are on the road in Munich and have the right equipment, the city's parking garages will inform you about free capacity.

Siemens developed the system in cooperation with Setrix, and also operates the technology. The system has improved capacity utilization at the Munich parking garages by notifying motorists of unoccupied parking spaces well in advance. And because it is relatively inexpensive, the system has sparked the interest of other cities.

In the past, parking guidance systems were always difficult and expensive to install because of the numerous cables that had to be laid to transmit signals to roadside information panels and link the parking garages. In contrast, the new system in Munich uses transceivers from Setrix, a company that receives financing from Siemens Venture Capital. The transceivers use the mobile radio standard GPRS to send data via the Internet to the control center, where a PC manages the entire system. The parking garages transmit information on occupied spaces directly to the transceivers, which then forward the data to digital information panels installed along the city's thoroughfares. The data is transmitted via radio, so the panels can be set up wherever desired.

In addition to the integration of all the parking guidance system's components, Siemens is also responsible for the system's operation. The system is very cost-efficient, and the elimination of underground work alone saved the city of Munich about €500,000. The solution is also inexpensive to run, because it requires fewer computers than a system with wires and cables and because the data transmission fees can be invoiced on a flat-rate basis.

Related news: Foursprung, P4MR, parking, GPRS

Source: physorg.com

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