Optex Launches a Wireless Parking Space Availability Management System

Optex Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, President & CEO: Toru Kamimura, hereinafter “Optex”) will launch a thoroughly verified and tested wireless parking space availability management system in the autumn of 2019. This system makes visible the availability of spaces in parking lots adjoining facilities such as tourist attractions, shopping malls, event venues, and roadside stores. The system provides information on the available spaces in an entire parking lot, and specific information on which parking spaces are available. This information provides even more convenience to drivers, and also helps staff at the parking lots of these facilities to smoothly guide cars in to and out of traffic. It can also help to ease congestion and confusion within the parking lot, and assist with its management by limiting lost opportunities to attract customers.

Wireless Parking Space Availability Management System

Many of the parking lots adjoining facilities such as tourist attractions, shopping malls, event venues, and roadside stores, are free to use; this equates to over 5 million free parking spaces in Japan. These free parking lots are overflowing with cars on the weekends and during events and festivals, and drivers are often exhausted even before they reach their intended destination just worrying about if there will be any parking spaces available, and if so, where exactly in the parking lot these available spaces are. For facilities that allocate staff to guide vehicles through the parking area to prevent congestion and confusion, the lack of available staff due to a decline in the working population and soaring personnel costs that increase management expenses have become serious issues.

Optex has developed a wireless parking space availability management system, which uses vehicle detection sensors that are installed wirelessly above ground in each parking space to provide a clear picture in real time of the availability in a parking lot. This enables drivers to check the parking space availability status at the parking lot entrance, and also frees them from having to drive around looking for the available spaces by indicating exactly where they are.The system will also help parking areas to cut back on the number of staff needed to guide incoming cars to available spaces.

Image of System in Use

he Optex wireless parking space availability management system does more than just change the availability display sign at parking areas; it can be linked to an overriding system, and used in systems that allow users to check parking space availability information remotely using a PC or smartphone. By enabling drivers to check in advance the availability of parking spaces, parking lots can effectively direct drivers to another facility if there are no spaces available there. This can also reduce any lost opportunities to attract customers who have given up on entering a parking lot after seeing a long line of cars waiting to get in or too many cars inside the area.
Additionally, the system can alleviate congestion on the roads surrounding the parking area due to cars waiting to enter. This will also lessen the inconvenience to nearby residents, and subsequently reduce the risk of receiving any administrative directives.

The Optex wireless parking space availability management system comprises wireless devices, which do not require costly and troublesome underground laying and wiring work. This enables the system to be installed and operational in a short period of time, and makes it easily installable in existing parking areas as well. These features greatly lower the hurdle of installing a parking space availability management system in parking areas.

Features：Simple Post-Installation at Existing and Temporary Parking Lots

1. Vehicle detection sensors featuring a wireless communication module can be directly anchored on the ground’s surface, and fixed in place with an adhesive. The sensors acquire information on the presence of a vehicle by communicating with a wireless gateway.The sensors can be installed and fixed on a variety of surfaces, from asphalt and concrete to unpaved gravel.
   * The availability indicators and guiding lights require wiring work.
2. The vehicle detection sensors are battery operated, and do not require any wiring work.
   The battery life is about five years, so frequent maintenance is not required. The battery can also be replaced, so it reduces the cost of having to replace the whole device.
3. The signals from sensors installed in each parking space can be transmitted by each zone via the wireless gateway, which enables the information on parking space availability in each area (block) and floor to be acquired and displayed.
4. We have drawn on our experience in developing and installing vehicle detection sensors for coin-paid parking lots, and designed these sensors that are especially environmentally resistant for use outdoors.

Image of Sensors in Use

We are making the Optex parking space availability system widely accessible to parking lots, and helping these facilities resolve issues of staff shortages and general management. This system can also play a part in realizing a convenient and safe car-oriented society by providing parking space availability information to drivers.