Cross Zlín, a pioneer of traffic and parking solutions, based in the Czech Republic, has recently completed a new airport project: at the Leos Janacek International Airport, parking has completely changed, thanks to its new smart parking system: a remarkable upgrade that will benefit both the drivers and the airport, and also travel agencies.
The workflow of the parking system also includes our professional license plate technology, including our Carmen® FreeFlow ANPR software and our ParkIT ANPR cameras – both fully integrated into the cross-parking platform.
Ingredients for a Smart Parking System
The system includes multiple components, working fully in synchrony: entry terminals, payment kiosks, exit terminals, automatic sensors, image capturing, and license plate recognition. Let’s see the process – when a vehicle approaches the barrier…
- the entry loop detects that a vehicle is present
- it activates the terminal that provides guidance to the driver and issues a ticket, including a unique barcode and date/time of the arrival
- as the driver collects the ticket, the barrier automatically opens
- later, when the driver is ready to exit the airport, he/she can pay for the parking at a payment terminal
- after paying the parking fee, the vehicle approaches the exit barrier, where a camera is installed, which reads its license plate and evaluates whether the parking fee is paid. If yes, the barrier receives a signal, it opens and the vehicle can leave the parking lot.
As you can read, the whole process is automated and requires no human assistance, of course except from the driver. But the system offers even more than an automated access control.
Special Functions
One of the additional benefits is the special booking function, which is certainly welcomed by travel agents and their customers. This feature allows them to generate time-limited parking cards with QR codes, that are offered to tourists to facilitate their parking directly at the airport. The parking card itself can take the form of a paper coupon or be delivered only electronically, even to a mobile phone.
The arrival and departure terminals are equipped with external scanners, where you can just scan the QR code of the respective parking card, whether it is printed or displayed on the phone or tablet. This greatly speeds up the check-in at the entrance or the exit from the parking lot.
Benefits of License Plate Recognition
LPR, also known as ANPR – Automatic Number Plate Recognition – works nearly the same way in every project: it automates the plate data capture process and eliminates manual work. But the reason why such technology is applied is always different. Here, we show a few examples – benefits that drive our customers’ projects:
- Security: In vehicle access control systems, ANPR is a way to enhance physical protection. Access can be managed purely based on the license plate, and on the other hand, having all entry/exit data linked to plates gives a data source for future use, when a specific vehicle has to be searched.
- Payment: ANPR cameras are also used for automating payment processes. Having the license plate data digitally and measuring parking time using the entry and exit time stamps can be the perfect input for the billing system.
- Saving resources, time… and money: as the security staff does not need to register license plates manually, corporations save valuable human resources, their time, and, in the end, money. It’s not only about saving: ANPR offers real convenience, performing automatically what has been done manually earlier. It’s good for the drivers, and good for the owner. Win-win, as we often say.
Products Available for Similar Systems
Since the installation of the above parking access control system for the Leos Janacek International Airport, ParkIT cameras have been succeeded by an even smarter, more compact Adaptive Recognition product, the Einar vehicle access control camera, which can provide onboard ANPR via Carmen® Cloud subscription, further reducing installation and operation costs.
For more ANPR-related success stories, make sure to check out our case studies page.
