SmartParking
SmartParking is future's parking solution developed by ToP Tunniste. The system allows an easy and simple street side and garage parking payment with NFC enabled mobile phones and NFC tags.
SmartParking's benefit is user-friendly way to pay parking fees without coins, tickets, phone calls or SMS. At street side parking the user simply touches NFC windshield tag with NFC phone, followed then by touching location NFC tag. And thats all, the parking has started! Parking fee can be charged as post payment on mobile phone or credit card invoice. Also pre-payment is possible. With NFC technology, also street side parking supervision is simplier be more simple as the traffic wardens can use NFC mobile phones to checks whether paymnet is done or not. Touching the vehicle's NFC tag with warden's mobile phone checks the parking status fro back-end system.
The street side parking fee can be linked to parking time. Drivers do not have to quess the assumed parking time, neither worry about running out of parking time. With the help of SmartParking solution, it is possible to get statistic information about user's parking behavior like which street side areas are occupied most. In the future vehicles could be guided to parking lots and places with instructions provided to users' mobile phones.
SmartParking offers new possibilities and services to companies and consumers. Company can direct their marketing to parking places as well as consumers can choose to get well directed offers at certain place and time.
Pilot in Finland Autumn 2007
In September and October 2007, 50 users tested SmartParking in city of Oulu, Finland. Traffic wardens and local garage authority company took part to SmartParking trial to build up a real-life future parking environment. SmartParking trial was part of SmartTouch project to collect user experience and opinions of different user groups. It was also a techical testbed. ToP Tunniste developed and hosted SmartParking pilot in co-operation with city of Oulu, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and TeliaSonera. Project was partly funded by Tekes (Finlands funding agency for technology and innovation).
SmartParking trial was a proof of concept and technology without doubts. SmartParking is easy solution for paying parking fees and also excellent tool for traffic wardens. NFC technology also proved to be ready for business to consumer solutions.
User feedback showed that making the payment through NFC phone is easy. Also the traffic wardens were grateful and thought that this solution was better then any other technology before.
To watch SmartParking video, click here (mpg, 12 MB).
SmartTouch (Browsing through Smart Objects around you, 2006-2008) is a European wide ITEA project. SmartTouch developes and demonstrates new and innovative mobile services, which are as easy and intuitive use as touch. The user interface is based on Near Field Communication (NFC) technology and creates opportunities for new, user-friendly applications, transactions and communications.
Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that evolved from a combination of existing contactless identification and interconnection technologies. Products with built-in NFC dramatically simplify the way consumer devices interact with one another, helping people speed connections, receive and share information and even make fast and secure payments.