Computer Vision and Imaging in Intelligent Transportation Systems

8Video‐Based Parking Management

Oliver Sidla and Yuriy Lipetski

SLR Engineering GmbH, Graz, Austria

8.1 Introduction

The task of the automatic parking management is becoming increasingly essential nowadays. According to a report by Idris et al. [1], the number of annually produced cars has grown by 55% in the past 7 years. In fact, most large cities have a problem of insufficient availability of parking space. Finding a vacant parking space in a busy city business district, commercial area, near touristic sights, stadiums, exhibition halls, etc., is often a challenging task. Having no manner of assistance, a driver can spend a lot of valuable time searching for a parking lot. The result is an unnecessary waste of gas, increased emissions, and traffic [2, 3] with all its negative consequences. Moreover, when looking for a parking spot in vain, people can eventually either double park or block exits, bus stops, etc. In addition, a direct safety issue may also arise—while searching for a parking space, drivers are distracted and so have a higher probability to produce accidents.

Traffic caused by vehicles searching for a parking place can account for up to 35% of all vehicles in central business districts of cities such as New York, London, or San Francisco. According to Ref. [4], half of the fuel consumed in San Francisco is spent by vehicles trying to find a parking space. An automated free parking space detection system that operates in real time could make use of existing parking areas ...