Automatic parking operation: problems and solutions.
If there are traffic rules and technical means for this, then there must be rules for road standing and, accordingly, equipment for this. That is, there must be areas and buildings for parking cars, there must be a system for informing drivers about the location of such facilities and the availability of free spaces there. At the same time, such facilities must function with maximum throughput and reliability (low dependence on power failure and failure of individual units), with a minimum number of service personnel. The principles of constructing equipment and equipment for parking must allow, even in the absence or low reliability of connecting lines, to ensure their operation as elements of a single system.
At the same time, it should not be forgotten that a fair process of collecting money for using parking lots should be ensured (in compliance with the above requirements). In other words, the equipment should automatically ensure the recording of time spent, work with clients of different categories and according to different tariff plans. It should not be forgotten that the systems should use equipment and devices for collecting money that are permitted by the tax authorities.
In addition to the actual streamlining of the process of parking iron horses, the operation of parking lots will at least partially help in solving the problem of suppressing urban terrorism: in the allocated territory it is easier to control cars as a potential carrier of sabotage and terrorist means (STM). And for office and entertainment and retail facilities, parking can play the role of a kind of buffer in the general security system.
All of the above is most clearly demonstrated in Moscow (although sometimes in a distorted form). A properly constructed system of automated paid parking, including so-called intercepting ones, can provide not only convenience for drivers, but also a stable income for the city budget.
When considering individual elements of parking equipment and the features of its use, it is advisable to dwell on a number of points of fundamental nature.
Requirements for a barrier as the main and only means of blocking passage. First of all, the warranty as a kind of confirmation of the quality of the product by the supplier must be at least 2 years from the date of launch. Range of operating temperatures (especially for operation in open parking lots). High speed — up to 1.5 sec. and stable operation in conditions of intensive traffic (with a large number of operating cycles before wear), no lubrication points and no need for maintenance, protection of the boom and mechanism from breakage during a criminal collision with a car, followed by returning to its original state in a few seconds (and without any devices, consumables and tools), the possibility of electrical backup at low cost. When the barrier is used as part of automated equipment, it is desirable to have a connector in the standard barrier controller for connection to a PC for the purpose of automatic control (tracking and alarming in emergency situations). The design of the mechanism and the barrier post must be such as to, on the one hand, exclude external interference in the operation of the barrier, and on the other hand, in emergency situations and with only one lock, have the ability to change the position of the boom.
The next point. It should be recognized that the process of driving a car through a barrier is not similar in algorithm to the standard process of passing through a doorway. Therefore, the electronic «brains» of the equipment must evaluate the behavior of the car (normal passage, an attempt to pass, abnormal movement as a method of deceiving the system in order to extract benefits, an attempt to pass one after another, etc.). And depending on this, form a reaction of the system: restrict passage, block the issuance (return) of a parking ticket, inform the duty officer.
Parking ticket. Since single-use parking tickets are actually consumables, it should be possible to choose the type of media: a paper ticket with an applied barcode, a ticket with an encoded magnetic strip, reusable tokens with a built-in rewritable microcircuit. Moreover, the media should meet the requirements for a specific parking lot, for example, registration of discounts, registration of so-called congress cards, transfer of a ticket from a single-use category to a reusable category, etc.
A small lyrical and technical digression on the topic of parking lots that serve mostly permanent (long-term) users, such as tenants of an office and shopping center. Access can be provided by a driver card or by a card assigned to a specific car. In order to exclude possible abuses (in particular, the possibility of a second car entering with another driver of the tenant who has such rights), the second option is preferable. In this case, the problem of a single entry and subsequent exit of guest cars is also solved quite simply. The second option allows you to set an individual tariff plan for each car. The problem of blocking passages in case of loss (theft) of a parking ticket is simply solved: it is enough to enter the information into the system in a timely manner — and when the ticket is recognized at the points of passage or payment, traffic will be stopped, the ticket will be automatically withdrawn and an alarm will be given.
If necessary, the system can be equipped with a function for storing a freeze frame of a car at the entrance and automatically presenting it at the exit for comparison. In the future, it is possible to either erase the first image from the system's memory or save this pair (for subsequent analysis of the operator's work and dealing with clients). In the case of preliminary input of data on the car and drivers, it is possible to conduct checks at the entrance.
And finally, the last remark. From the point of view of long-term benefits, it is advisable to use automatic cash terminals as payment devices, which provide the entire payment cycle in an unmanned mode: acceptance (rejection) of banknotes, payment calculation, printing of a cash receipt and fiscal reporting, issuing change. Since the problematic part for such terminals is the process of replenishing the compartments for issuing change and collecting accumulated banknotes (as payment for staying in the parking lot), it is advisable to use such cash terminals, which automatically accumulate and sort the received banknotes by denomination for their use in issuing change. Thus, the number of approaches of the collection service is sharply reduced, and the safety during operation increases.
In conclusion, it should be noted that despite the apparent simplicity of the solution to the problem of organizing the work of automatic parking, in fact, individual work with each specific object is required. And the peculiarity of searching for the same DTS (important for underground parking), the fight against thefts from cars, automation of traffic control in conditions of limited visibility (in particular, on ramps) require a more detailed discussion.
At the end of the article, a list of issues is given that are usually subject to consideration at the initial stage of work with parking (parking lot, parking) and an automated parking system (APS):
1. Design of parking lots depending on their types.
1.1 Requirements for transport schemes.
1.2 Location of entrances/exits.
1.3 Location and types of ramps.
1.4 Location of parking spaces.
2. Selection of APS equipment.
2.1. Standard functions of modern equipment for access to parking areas:
Technical information carriers;
Working with temporary clients;
Working with regular clients;
Automatic and manual cash register;
Management levels;
Counting parking spaces;
Dividing parking areas into zones;
Integrated routing system;
Integrated number plate recognition system;
Integration of safety devices (high-speed gates, etc.) into the APS.
2.2. APS functions used in the above types of parking.
2.3. Features of the arrangement of APS devices.
2.4. Determining the number of necessary devices.