When Otto, one of the world’s largest e-commerce companies, wanted a technological answer to solve their parking problems, they turned to innovative security solutions provider Videte IT project. Videte IT delivered it’s Smart & Safe solution using Hikvision products.
Otto was adding two new buildings at its group HQ in Hamburg, Germany, which included a car park 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, and to seamlessly integrate into the existing security system whilst also accurately monitoring parking for management purposes. This required intelligent detection and analysis to provide improved traffic flow and parking space information (utilisation rate) immediately. Another requirement asked for the implementation of a mobile app, so that employees could plan their arrival beforehand.
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 lots are occupied and 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 the information about how many parking spaces are to the entrance parking guidance terminal (DS-TPM400-P). The parking guidance terminal also allowed coloured lights showing parking status – red for occupied and green for available. This can also be configured, with seven colours available to allow different status indications – for example VIP parking space, electronic car 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 lot efficiency by combining all of this information, which provides a valuable resource for management. It works to analyse vehicles to improve parking space detection accuracy. The system can also support multiple reports for easier management, such as: hourly, daily, monthly, annual reports to show which time is the busiest or shows as full. It can also show usage of the car park and average parking time. Importantly, 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.
