Customer’s requirement
In Trentino Alto Adige, a large hospital required to automate 4 parking spaces, for different use and operation. In particular, they required a smart system that allows to the staff to quickly enter and exit, according to work shifts, for visitors to take advantage of season tickets and concessions, and a controlled goods access. All of this should be integrated with the Customer's management and telephone systems.
The project
Thanks to an innovative and economically advantageous proposal, Software Link won the contest and the contract.
The system included 4 parking spaces managed by a single web console, “multi-tenant” in the cloud, each of them with different features and rules and all of them integrated with Customer’s management system.
Then it was decided to use an entirely VOIP intercom system to allow easy integration with the customer's telephone framework. We proposed an “Hybrid” solution to meet the customer's expectations, including and integrating the best of technology based on paper tickets and on reading license plates.
The control and management software were installed in a remote datacenter, located 40 kilometers away from the parking. On top the Customer chose Oracle as DBMS. The system also had to integrate a system of variable message panels with a color graphic matrix to provide the most disparate information at the entrance and exit of the parking. The system had to able to manage at least 2000 transits per day.
The System realized
The System was realized with our ParkO Enterprise Line including high-speed barriers.
Visitors Parking is managed in a hybrid mode and the exit is shared with the Employee’s Parking. At the entrance the car is identified by the front license plate reading (the driver is never filmed) and if it’s not a subscriber, a paper ticket is issued in ISO format and customized with recognized license plate print.
This allows to pay at the pay point using the ticket, avoid remembering car’s license plate, an annoying operation. Moreover license plate reading allow to manage subscribers with virtual carnet made by minutes of parking and it is possible to fix the “Lost Ticket” Problem equally, by putting license plate in the pay point, thus paying the right tariff. The recognition rate has reached a value over 99.8%, regardless light or weather condition; all of this was possible thanks to an unusual camera positioning, the quality of cameras used and the heuristics present in ParkO System. Vehicles can exit exclusively by front license plate reading, so as to allow rapid outflow of vehicles. The use of high-speed barriers together with the fast recognition and ParkO monitoring software, allow the transit of vehicles avoiding stopping them. Employee Parking has a dedicated entrance and only the ones on duty are allowed to enter, thanks to the interface with Customer’s system.
In addition, each employee can declare several license plates, but they cannot be used at the same time. The Entrance is exclusively regulated by front license plate reading and this enabled for a drastic reduction in access time and the elimination of entry queue that blocked ordinary roads. The exit is shared with Visitors Parking but these two categories are easily discriminable, because of license plate reading.
The Management Parking also makes use of license plate reading, allowing very low management and maintenance costs.
For goods, license plates reading is only used at the entrance for safety reasons, as the area is a sensitive access to the Hospital.
Final result
The result was fully achieved, allowing to solve several problems due to the previous system, despite many initial set-up difficulties. Thanks to the use of RGB matrix point variable message panels, it was possible to convey messages to users, already at the entrance to the car park, with obvious benefits in the management of the site.
The Customer said to be very satisfied with the result achieved and it may extend ParkO system to other sites.
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