Parking is one of the modern-day headaches of city dwellers and commuters alike. Finding a space can take a long time, and this is especially frustrating when you are trying to start your working day. When Otto, one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, wanted a technological answer to this problem, they turned to innovative security solutions provider Videte IT project. Videte IT delivered its Smart&Safe solution using Hikvision products.
Challenge
Otto was adding two new buildings at its group HQ in Hamburg, Germany, which included a car parking facility. From the beginning, management wanted a car parking solution that made parking simple, efficient, and safe for employees. Drivers often go into a car park and drive around endlessly trying to find a space. This wastes valuable employee time and frustrates them, all adding up to a bad experience.
Otto also needed the solution to be easy to manage, easy to operate, seamless to integrate into the existing security system, and accurately monitor parking for management purposes. This required intelligent detection and analysis to provide improved traffic flow and parking space information (utilization rate) immediately.
Another requirement asked for the implementation of a mobile app so that employees could plan their arrival beforehand.
Of course, as with most new structures, there was also a need for security that linked seamlessly into the existing systems.
Solution
A Hikvision indoor parking guidance system was installed as part of the project build. The system detects all available parking spaces using parking cameras (DS- TCP345D) installed throughout the structure. Each camera can see six spaces in the car park and so they can see if there is a vehicle in each one. This information is sent to a guidance terminal, which will calculate how many parking spaces are occupied and how many are available. The terminal will also send this data to a Deep Learning analysis server (DS-TPS100), which in turn, updates the parking guidance screens. This means drivers can easily find an available spot.
Drivers can see clear signposting when they enter to take them immediately to the next available space, using parking guidance display indicators (DS-TVL121) throughout the car park. The analysis server provides information about how many parking spaces are at the entrance parking guidance terminal (DS-TPM400-P). The parking guidance terminal also allowed colored lights showing parking status – red for occupied and green for available. This can also be configured, with seven colors available to allow different status indications – for example, VIP parking space, EV space, and disabled space. This terminal also had a built-in switch function to provide power to the 32 cameras, making installation easier.
The Deep Learning analysis server improves parking facility efficiency by combining all of this information, which provides a valuable resource for management. It works to analyze vehicles to improve parking space detection accuracy.
The system can also support multiple reports for easier management, such as hourly, daily, monthly, and annual reports to show which time is the busiest or shows as full. It can also show the usage of the car park and the average parking time.
Last, but not least, the cameras also provided surveillance, securing the car park as well and streamlining it.
Timo Koch, Videte IT’s Head of Technology and Pre-sales, and Tobias Bauer, Videte IT’s General Manager, say: “We built a parking system that made parking management so much easier around AI technology using Hikvision products. These provided a higher detection accuracy rate than others, and make the solution scalable for the future.”
With the help of Hikvision and Videte IT, this car park removes one of the modern headaches for Otto employees, streamlining the hunt for a space. The AI solution also provides vital information to the management team – effectively delivering a win-win scenario.
About Hikvision
Hikvision is a world-leading provider of security products and solutions. Featuring an extensive and 
highly skilled R&D workforce, Hikvision manufactures a full suite of comprehensive products and solutions for a broad range of vertical markets. In addition to the security industry, Hikvision extends its reach to smart home tech, industrial automation, and automotive electronics industries to achieve its long-term vision. Hikvision products also provide powerful business intelligence for end users, which can enable more efficient operations and greater commercial success.
