Abstract

We all have had the experience of driving around a parking lot of shopping malls
and airports only to find out that there are still no empty spots to park in. This experience
is not only frustrating but time consuming. Our senior design team will implement the
work of a past senior design team. We propose to build a device that will make this
struggle of finding a vacant parking spot an issue of the past. Our device will detect and
keep track of all the vacant parking spots in the parking lot.
Cameras will be installed on selected lamp posts and will use a microcontroller
attached to each camera to send the image data to a local PC within wireless range. The
PC will then analyze the images from the camera using an edge detection algorithm.
These cameras will continually transmit images of the parking lot to the PC. The images
from all the cameras will be compared to a reference image to determine which parking
spaces are vacant. After determining which parking spaces are vacant, the information
will be delivered to motorists either via a large display or, if there is a ticket system
already in place, vacant spaces will be printed on the ticket.
The deliverables of this project will be a finished product that consists of one
camera and one microcontroller connected wirelessly to a PC. The PC must be able to
determine which parking spaces are vacant based on images received from the cameras.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES..........................................................................................................................................2

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2: Project Expenditure for Design Team using option 1..........................................6

Table 3: Project Expenditure for Private Enterprise using option 1...................................6
Table 4: Project Expenditure for Design Team using option 2 Error: Reference source not
found
Table 5: Project Expenditure for Private Enterprise using option 2..........Error: Reference
source not found
Table 6: Project Expenditure for Design Team using option 3 Error: Reference source not
found
Table 7: Project Expenditure for Private Enterprise using option 3...................................8

LIST OF FIGURES

Scene
Parking Lot
Figure 1. Scenario diagram
I. Introduction

A. Problem Background
Often times when people go to public places especially the airport, shopping mall,
and stadium, it is always very difficult to locate a vacant parking spot. In most cases,
people will have to drive around for several minutes just to find a place to park. This
problem becomes even worse during the holiday. Many of these establishments try to
solve this problem in less effective ways. Some hire people who physically search and
direct drivers to vacant parking slots. Others have people watching the parking lot with
the security cameras to find any empty parking slots in the parking lot.
Also, in most paid parking lots, whenever the lot is near capacity it could be very
difficult to locate the few remaining vacant spaces. If the parking lot is not so big, the
parking attendant could walk around to locate any vacant parking spots. But in places like
the airport where the parking lot is really big, the drivers have to locate the vacant
parking slots on their own.

B. Problem Statement
Our team proposes an efficient low cost solution to this problem. We will make a
device that will locate any vacant slots in a parking lot (Figure 1). The device will be
made up of several cameras attached to a personal computer. The cameras will be
installed in the parking lot. They will send images to the computer on a regular interval.
These images will then be analyzed by the computer to determine which parking slots are
empty. This product will alleviate the problem of finding a place to park in public places.
Even in paid parking lots, it is not good enough just to know that the parking lot is at
capacity. Our proposed product will show the vacant slots and their location. Therefore
the attendant will not have to walk around the parking lot to find the vacant slots.

C. Constraints on the Solution

Most of the constraints on the solution are imposed by economics. These
constraints affect cost, time to develop and complexity. In order to implement a solution
to this problem, there are several factors that must be considered. Each factor puts a
different type of constraint on the solution i.e.

a. Parking lot size

The size of the parking lot will determine how many cameras will be
required. The more cameras are installed, the more images will have to be
analyzed by the computer. This will affect the time it will take the computer to
analyze the images will also increase.

b. Weather condition
This is a very important factor because it directly affects the images taken
by the camera. On a bright sunny day, the image captured by the camera will be
different from an image of the same parking lot on a cloudy rainy day. Or if it is
snowing, and the entire parking lot is white then the result of the image analysis
from the computer might be that the parking lot is full. These differences in
weather conditions will confuse the camera.
 c. parking lot type
There are two main types of parking lots. The first type is open. These are
the parking lots that do not have any type of covering. These are generally easier
and cheaper to monitor. They usually require fewer cameras because the camera
can be placed at a higher elevation thus covering more area of the parking lot. The
weather conditions are a more important factor in open parking lots.
The second type is closed parking lots. These are usually buildings with
several floors of parking space. These are more difficult to monitor because they
require more cameras because the distance of the cameras from the ground is
limited by the ceiling of the garage.

d. illumination
Besides all the factors mentioned above, the illumination of the parking lot
introduces another problem. Variations in the intensity of illumination will affect the
results of the analysis from the computer. If the parking lot is open it will rely on sunlight
for illumination during the day. Since the intensity of sunlight varies throughout the day
the device has to be adaptive. If the parking lot is a closed type, the problem is a bit easier
because the artificial illumination has a constant intensity. Therefore images captured by
the camera will always have the same brightness.

II. Method of Solution

Our design uses cameras to take images, a microcontroller to process the images
and a pc to use the information from the microcontroller and send the results to the
external interface. We will be using an algorithm for this procedure that was developed
by a previous Design Team. Our focus is on creating the actual system from this
previous research and developing a useable product.

Edge detection technique

Edges are areas with strong intensity contrast in an image. Therefore edges will
have higher pixel intensity values than those surrounding it. Edge also has one
dimensional sharp of a ramp and calculating the gradient of the image will highlight its
location. A pixel location is declared an edge location if the value of the gradient exceeds
some preset threshold. Once a threshold is set, we can compare the gradient value to the
threshold value and detect an edge whenever the threshold is exceeded. We will rely on
an edge detection technique developed by a previous Senior Design Team.
The image captured by the camera will be divided into small segments; each
segment will represent a parking lot spot. Then each of these frames will be an entry of a
dynamic array stored into the processing device memory. We will implement an
algorithm that will iterate through the second dynamic array and determines which entry
corresponding to an empty lot spot. The algorithm will match the empty lot spot entry to
their Id stored into a table. The id and the necessary description will be delivered to the
external interface. For the real time processing necessary we will be using C to create the
program which will apply the algorithm to the images. The first part, which will reside in
the microcontroller, will process the image and send it to the main computer. The main
computer will then determine the empty lots, processing the images and matching the Ids
and send the result to the external interface.

System Options
Our design is dependent on the use of one of three options for the system. Our
first choice is to have a wireless connection from a camera directly to the main PC. This
option would rely on an internal microcontroller in the camera to make the connection to
the computer and process and transfer the image data needed. Another option is to have
the camera connected to a simulation board or a microcontroller and then a wireless
connection to the PC. This alternative requires a compatible port interface between the
camera and the secondary component. It also is necessary that the component has an
embedded wireless transmitter. In lieu of these alternatives we could connect the camera
to a simulation board and then connect the board to a separate transmitter. Then the
transmitter can communicate with the PC. This is the most complicated system in
regards to the software that will be required, but may be necessary for economic reasons
and practicality.
Our duty is to determine which option will be the best and cheapest method and to
implement it. We require the design to be as cheap as possible while being completely
effective. The use of the microcontroller may be affected by the size of the data we are
transmitting and the amount of transfers we are making in a time period. We must also
find a compatible interface between the simulation board and the camera. There must
also be reliable wireless communication between the board and the PC in the office
location.

User interface Alternatives

The user interface alternatives are the different ways of getting the parking
information across to the user. Some of these user interface alternative have been
mentioned, such as human, ticket system, voice and display on the screen.
One of the alternatives is having a person direct every customer to the vacant
parking spots. The other alternative is having a ticket system on the parking lot. The
location of the vacant spot is printed on the ticket. Third alternative is having sound
system to tell the costumer where or which direction is the open spot. There may also be
a way to send the data to each car which has a blackberry, GPS device or a Wifi device.
However, the most convenient alternative is having a display saying how many and
which spot is open on the entrance of the parking lot so that every customer should an
easy access to park their cars. Which alternative is selected depends on the existing
services of the parking lot. But in our deliverable we will use a display to show the
parking information.
III. Project Management Timeline
Scheduling of time and resources is a major part of the project. In order to
evaluate the development and progress of our project, a Gantt chart has been produced.
The chart provides an overview of the project timeline from start to finish. See appendix
for a more detailed chart

ID Task Name Start End Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

1 Initial pre-proposal 2-Oct 25-Oct

2 Final pre-proposal 25-Oct 27-
Nov
3 Proposal- written and oral 29- 6-Dec
Nov
4 Research & Development 3-Nov 21-Mar
5 Progress report 2-Feb 3-Mar
6 Device testing and 18-Jan 16-Apr
debugging
7 Final report 25-Mar 16-
May
Table 1: Project Timeline

It is also important to note that some of the milestones listed in Table 1 and the
Appendix pertaining to deliverables do not have specific dates assigned to them by the
ECE department as of this time. We have used approximate due dates for the future
reports and presentations and will update these accordingly when the dates are finalized.
IV. Economic Analysis
In order to be successful product a complete analysis of the project cost and the
return on investment is needed.

Project Cost
We are making two types of cost analysis for the three options of our project. The
first is out of pocket cost analysis and the second is private sector cost analysis. Tables 2
thru 7 list the estimated cost to our design teams prototype based on our 3 different
design options.

Expense Quantity Price per Unit Total Cost

Software
Compiler 2 0 0
Matlab 1 0 0

Hardware
Computer PC 1 0 0
Camera 1 350 350
Labor (hr) 1152 25 28800
Total Cost 29150
Table 2: Project Expenditure for Design Team using option 1. A wireless connection from a camera
directly to the main PC.

Expense Quantity Price per Unit Total Cost

Software
Compiler 2 197 394
Matlab 1 500 500

Hardware
Computer PC 1 2000 2000
Camera 1 350 350
Labor (hr) 1152 30 34560
Total cost 37804
Table 3: Project Expenditure for Private Enterprise using option 1. A wireless connection from a
camera directly to the main PC.
Expense Quantity Price per Unit Total Cost
Software
Compiler 2 0 0
Matlab 1 0 0

Hardware
Computer PC 1 0 0
Camera 1 350 350
Microcontroller 1 500 500
Labor (hr) 1152 25 28800
Total Costs 29650
Table 4: Project Expenditure for Design Team using option 2. A camera connected to a simulation
board or a microcontroller and then a wireless connection to the PC.

Expense Quantity Price per Unit Total Cost

Software
Compiler 2 197 394
Matlab 1 500 500

Hardware
Computer PC 1 2000 2000
Camera 1 350 350
Microcontroller 1 500 500
Labor (hr) 1152 30 34560
Total costs 38304
Table 5: Project Expenditure for Private Enterprise using option 2. A camera connected to a
simulation board or a microcontroller and then a wireless connection to the PC.

Expense Quantity Price per Unit Total Cost

Software
Compiler 2 0 0
Matlab 1 0 0

Hardware
Computer PC 1 0 0
Camera 1 350 350
Microcontroller 1 500 500
Transmitter 1 200 200
Labor (hr) 1152 25 28800
Total Costs 29850
Table 6: Project Expenditure for Design Team using option 3. A camera to a simulation
board/microcontroller, then a connection from the board to a separate transmitter that will communicate
wirelessly to the PC.

Expense Quantity Price per Unit Total Cost

Software
Compiler 2 197 394
Matlab 1 500 500

Hardware
Computer PC 1 2000 2000
Camera 1 350 350
Microcontroller 1 500 500
Transmitter 1 200 200
Labor (hr) 1152 30 34560
Total costs 38504
Table 7: Project Expenditure for Private Enterprise using option 3. A camera to a simulation
board/microcontroller, then a connection from the board to a separate transmitter that will communicate
wirelessly to the PC.

Sales and Profit Analysis

From table 7 it will cost at most, $38,504 over a 9 month period to manufacture
the product. Using this option, our product will be sold with an initial cost per unit of
$2,800. This package will include a personal computer, our software, and a
camera/microcontroller/transmitter unit. Additional camera/microcontroller/transmitter
units can then be purchased at $1000 each. Assuming each client needs an average of 10
cameras. A projected sale of one sale per month over 9 month period will yield total
revenues of $106,200. The profit is about $67,696.

V. Improvement Options

There is a lot of room for improvement and optimization of this product. This
could be marketed separately as upgrades to our current implementation. One of such
upgrades is the use of mobile cameras instead of the stationary one we are currently
proposing. The cameras will rotate to predetermined angles before capturing the image.
This will increase the coverage of each camera by 300% thus cutting down the total
number cameras required and total cost of the product. But this upgrade option will
require extra hardware for each camera to rotate it. This upgrade will be very effective in
closed type of parking lots where the range of the cameras is limited by the ceiling of the
garage.
In paid parking lots, the computer software could be improved to keep track of
how long a parking spot has been occupied. All changes in the status of each parking slot
are recorded. If the status of any slot stays in occupied longer than it is supposed to, the
parking attendant is alerted. This option will be very useful at the 24 hour parking lots.
The attendant does not have to walk through the entire parking lot to give a ticket to any
violators.

VI. Societal and Ethical Impact Analysis

The only ethical concern that may arise from the development of this product is
that it will reduce the number of parking lot employees. But more people i.e. the drivers,
and the remaining employees will benefit from the product. Therefore from the utilitarian
standpoint which says that it is more ethical to do the greatest good to the greatest
number of people, it is more ethical to build our product.