iParking - a real-time parking space monitoring and guiding system

Shortage and imbalance of parking spaces have become serious problems in recent years. Drivers may choose nearby illegal area for parking when available parking spaces are all out of sight. To mitigate problems such as illegal parking, iParking, a real-time parking space monitoring and guiding system, is proposed in this paper. The paper lays emphasis on roadside parking. In the proposed system, the availability of parking spaces is recognized through image analysis, where the images come from the event recorders embedded in cars on the roads. Upon receipt of a parking request, the system searches for a nearest parking space, and then directly navigates the requesting driver to the available parking space. The system is expected to benefit all drivers and the government, and to improve safety and traffic on the roads.