Integrated Approach in the Design of Car Park Occupancy Information System (COINS)

Abstract

In large parking areas such as those at mega shopping malls or stadiums, drivers always have difficulty to find vacant car- park lots especially during peak periods or when the parking lots are almost full. A solution to reduce the drivers' searching time for vacant car-park lots will greatly save time, reduce cost and improve the traffic flow in the car park areas. In this paper, a research project which was developed to acquire car-park occupancy information using integrated approach of image processing algorithms is presented. Motivation for developing this system came from the fact that minimum cost is involved because image processing technique is used rather than sensor-based techniques. Security surveillance cameras which are readily available in most car parks can be used to acquire the images of the car park. This solution is much cost effective than installing sensor on each parking lot. This project is called as Car-Park Occupancy Information System (COINS), and it was tested using simulation model and also in real-case scenarios.