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Revamping Intelligent Parking Solutions: A Case Study

Technology Category
  • Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Database Management & Storage
  • Processors & Edge Intelligence - Embedded Operating Systems
Applicable Industries
  • Buildings
  • Renewable Energy
Applicable Functions
  • Product Research & Development
  • Quality Assurance
Use Cases
  • Advanced Metering Infrastructure
  • Smart Parking
Services
  • Hardware Design & Engineering Services
  • Testing & Certification
The Challenge

The client, an Australian company with a long history of building intelligent parking solutions, was faced with the challenge of modernizing their existing embedded solutions to improve efficiency and user experience. The primary solution that required modernization was the solar-powered parking meter. The client aimed to make it more energy-efficient and enhance its usability by enabling it to use a touch screen. The second solution was a legacy safe cabinet that also needed to be made compatible with a touch screen. The client required deep embedded engineering expertise to find new approaches to solving the challenges they faced during modernization, such as with the UI, and make the process as efficient as possible.

About The Customer

The customer is an Australian company that specializes in building intelligent parking solutions. They have a long history that began with the development of their first parking meter decades ago. Since then, they have been designing, manufacturing, and operating parking equipment and software across Australia and New Zealand, as well as within Asia and the USA. They were looking to modernize their existing secure storage product and develop a new version of the parking meter to improve efficiency and user experience.

The Solution

The solution involved improving the UI design, microservices, and security of the legacy embedded application. The team developed custom configurations, including rule-based configuration, alarms, web integration, and hardware interactions within Linux. The safe cabinet was equipped with a user record synchronization feature, and access was configured on the web part, where new users were added and various permissions were distributed. The team significantly rewrote and improved the solution’s existing microservices architecture, and rebuilt the UI architecture to a newer format from MVC to Flux. A hardware simulator was developed to enable testing on the desktop environment. Additionally, a brand-new solution was developed that uses the microservices architecture for an intelligent next-generation parking meter powered by solar energy. The device uses the 3G signal to connect with the web and allows users to view the balance and paid parking time.

Operational Impact

  • The modernization process of both solutions led to significant operational improvements. The quality of the services provided by the client was enhanced through the modernization of the legacy security storage product and the development of a new smart parking meter solution. The operational efficiency of the new parking meter was boosted by optimizing solar energy consumption. This resulted in an increased duration of device operation. The client was also able to facilitate market growth by developing the new parking meter for the Malaysian market and preparing for the development for other countries. The solutions developed also improved user experience, with features such as the ability to view the balance and paid parking time.

Quantitative Benefit

  • Improved quality of provided services by modernizing the legacy security storage product and developing a new smart parking meter solution

  • Boosted operational efficiency of the new parking meter by optimizing solar energy consumption

  • Facilitated market growth by developing the new parking meter for the Malaysian market and preparing for the development for other countries.

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