Project Summary

Project Description

The Parkit.city project proposes a game-changing innovation in the field of smart parking solutions by implementing thousands of battery-free, low-cost sensors in the city of Edinburgh. These sensors will provide real-time information about parking spot occupancy and environmental conditions to both the public and the city council. This will be made possible through a smartphone application that drivers can use to find a free, available parking spot. The project will involve a challenging test campaign in the old city of Edinburgh, where thousands of sensors will be installed and tested. This will ensure that the system can work as expected in a real-world environment and that the sensors can withstand environmental conditions.

Our innovation offers a number of key benefits, including cost-effectiveness, sustainability, and privacy compliance. Traditional camera-based systems for monitoring parking spots are typically more expensive, as they require connection to the council's existing infrastructure, such as power supply and internet connection. Our system, in contrast, is completely autonomous, using energy only from small solar panels, and requires no connection to any external infrastructure. This makes it much more cost-effective to install and maintain in the long term. Additionally, our sensors are privacy-compliant, as they do not rely on capturing images of vehicles or individuals.

In terms of sustainability, our battery-free sensors are not only more cost effective than traditional solutions, but they also eliminate the need for regular maintenance, such as battery replacements. This makes our solution more sustainable in the long term and contributes to the net-zero target for Edinburgh and the fight against climate change.

The specific need we propose to address is the daily pain point of finding a vacant parking spot in the city. This can be a source of stress and frustration for many drivers and results in wasted time, fuel, and increased carbon emissions. By providing real-time information about parking spot occupancy through the smartphone app, our innovation aims to reduce the time and fuel wasted searching for a spot, benefiting both drivers and the city council. Furthermore, the sensors also measure temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure, providing important information about the microclimate and air quality of each neighborhood.

We are going to develop a new prototype from scratch that can work in extreme weather conditions (which will ultimately make it more feasible for global implementation) and started to gather information about the installation procedure and licenses required from the council.

In summary, the Parkit.city project offers a game-changing solution to the challenge of finding a free parking spot in the city. By developing a battery-free, low-cost smart parking sensor, we propose a cost-effective, autonomous, and privacy-compliant solution that has the potential to create new markets or disrupt existing ones. This technology can be used globally and has the potential to improve the overall quality of life while also providing important data to the city council and other organizations.