The current issues in public parking lots, such as slow parking, slow payment, difficulty finding parking spaces, and locating vehicles, have become social problems. The Cortex-A9 core M6708-T series core board integrates its own advantages to achieve a series of fully automated functions such as quick vehicle entry and exit, start and stop, positioning, and payment. It will provide a comprehensive solution to parking problems and a fast user experience.
With the progress and development of society, the increase in transportation tools has caused traffic congestion and even chaos in cities, bringing great inconvenience to people’s lives. As shown in Figure 1, the difficulties faced by car owners mainly include the following aspects:
Figure 1 Disadvantages of Traditional Parking Management
To address the concerns of car owners, intelligent parking management platforms are built in public places such as communities and commercial buildings to achieve the goal of convenient, fast, and safe entry and exit for parking users, ultimately realizing information-based, effective, and stable management.
Figure 2 Objectives of Intelligent Parking Pre-Implementation
The overall solution for intelligent parking lots mainly includes four components: entrance and exit control, security monitoring, user management, and backend data management, as shown in Figure 3. Next, we will briefly introduce several construction plans.
Figure 3 Overall Design of Intelligent Parking Lot
1.1 Intelligent Parking Lot – Vehicle Entry and Exit Control System
Zhiyuan Electronics adopts the Freescale I.MX6 series dual-core/quadrupole Cortex-A9 processor M6708-T series core board. The specific application scheme is shown in Figure 4, which involves cameras, display screens, voice playback, gate control, as well as parking space management, vehicle guidance, billing encryption, and human-computer interaction, all of which can be controlled by the M6708-T series core board. The actual application interface can be designed with reference to Figure 5.
Figure 4 Cardless Video Entrance and Exit System Application
Figure 5 Basic Application Interface Diagram of M6708-T Core Board in Intelligent Parking Industry
1.1.1 Advantages of Using M6708-T Series Core Board
1. Strong Video Stream Processing Capability
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When there is a high traffic volume, it is easy for the front vehicle to obstruct the license plate of the rear vehicle. By using video license plate recognition, select images where the license plate is not obstructed for recognition to obtain the best license plate.
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By selecting suitable license plate images from the video stream for recognition, it avoids situations where the captured vehicle images are too large or too small, leading to unrecognizable license plates.
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In complex environments (such as at night), by analyzing multiple frames of images from the video stream, select the better images for recognition to obtain the best license plate and parking space information.
2. Dedicated LCD Display Interface, Superior Audio and Video Processing Performance
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The M6708-T series core board hardware is designed to support multimedia and audio/video stream processing functions, supporting 1080p decoding for image processing and recognition, and 3D acceleration in the processor’s background.
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LCD display, video stream processing, and audio output can occur simultaneously without interference.
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The LCD display can output multiple channels stably; the simple dual-core version supports dual video sources simultaneously; the quad-core version supports three video sources. It achieves multimedia functions such as parking guidance, human-computer interaction, and advertising screens simultaneously.
3. Large Capacity Storage and Expansion Supports Various Storage and Applications
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4GB onboard storage easily accommodates various billing software: entrance and exit billing, central billing, self-service payment machine billing, mobile payment, and license plate recognition software storage and burning.
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32GB memory card expansion and SATA2.0 hard disk expansion support large capacity for file backup, monitoring storage, and advertising machine audio and video recording.
4. Supports 4G and Gigabit Ethernet Data Transmission
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The 4G wireless interface and gigabit Ethernet interface support dual network redundancy, ensuring normal system operation and communication even in the event of a network interruption. The control unit uses the IoT-3968 expansion gateway to maximize network resource utilization.
5. Supports Both Wired and Wireless Data Transmission
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Wired data transmission supports: RS232, RS485, CANbus, gigabit Ethernet, hundred-megabit Ethernet, DI, DO, USB-Host, SATA-2.0, etc.
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Wireless data transmission supports: 4G/3G, GPRS, Bluetooth, WIFI, RFID, ZigBee, LoRa, GPS, BeiDou positioning, etc. It has two application forms: onboard modules and antennas, and miniPCIe interfaces and antennas.
1.1.2 Automatic Barrier Control
The “Cardless Video Entrance and Exit System” triggers the main and auxiliary cameras to take pictures when a vehicle reaches the entrance and enters the video recognition range or when the ground loop detects a signal. The video license plate recognition software automatically recognizes the license plate number through the video stream. Video stream recognition quickly analyzes all images in the video stream and intelligently selects the best image for recognition, screening multiple recognized license plate numbers to select the best result as the recognition result. Meanwhile, the data is uploaded to the control center through wired or wireless forms, and the barrier automatically rises, allowing the driver to enter. After entry, the barrier automatically closes, and the parking timer for that vehicle begins in the billing management system.
As shown in Figure 6, the control unit in the system architecture can use the Freescale I.MX6 series dual-core/quadrupole Cortex-A9 processor core board for overall control.
Figure 6 Video Entrance and Exit System Architecture Diagram and Product Effect Diagram
The barrier’s lifting and lowering are controlled by the relay isolation output port DO of the control unit. The high and low limit signals of the lifting and lowering rod are collected by the optical isolation input port DI and sent to the controller for processing.
In case of sudden failure or accidents with the barrier, manual control can be switched automatically. Wireless control by staff can be realized using WIFI modules and Bluetooth modules.
PCIE-WIFI is an industrial-grade Wifi module carefully launched by Guangzhou Zhiyuan Electronics. As shown in Figure 7, this module uses the design from Zhengji Technology Co., Ltd. ZW6201, which can meet data collection or higher-level user interaction requirements for consumer electronics and industrial control applications.
Figure 7 PCIE-ZW6201 WIFI Module
ZLG9021P0-1 is a low-cost, low-power, small-sized Bluetooth 4.0 BLE module. This module uses a half-hole process to lead out I/O, helping customers bypass complex RF hardware design, development, and production, speeding up product launch. A complete software development platform can meet rapid development needs, reduce software investment, and shorten development cycles. This module quickly bridges electronic products and smart mobile devices and can be widely used in various electronic devices with such needs.
Figure 8 ZLG9021P0-1 Bluetooth Module
The automatic barrier supports motor clutch, manual fast operation during power outages, and automatic reset when power is restored. The barrier has a return function when it encounters obstacles. Wired remote control is optional; it can be equipped with a low-temperature automatic heating circuit.
1.1.3 Card Reading and Issuing Control
This can be divided into contact and non-contact solutions.
The ZLG600 series card reading module solution can be adopted. The ZLG600A series RFID read-write card module is developed based on the Fudan Micro platform and operates at 13.56MHz. This series complies with ISO14443 and ISO7816 standards, supporting operations of Mifare cards, CPU cards, and contact SAM cards. Users do not need to understand the underlying registers; a few simple serial commands can achieve RFID read-write card functions, making it easy and convenient to integrate contact/non-contact IC card technology into products.
Figure 9 ZLG600 Integrated Circuit Card Reader
For non-contact card reading and issuing solutions, within a range of 2m to 50m from the barrier machine, non-contact card reading can be achieved through the Bluetooth wireless module carried by the control unit.
The barrier machine integrates a card issuer device, enabling functions such as upgrading, recharging, querying, and issuing parking cards.
1.1.4 Parking Space Detection Control
How to solve urban vehicle passage and parking is two major issues in solving urban traffic problems. Expanding and tapping urban parking resources, solving parking problems, and establishing an intelligent traffic management system that combines static parking with dynamic traffic is an inevitable trend in contemporary traffic management. Currently, provinces and cities are also accelerating the intelligent transformation of on-street parking and commercial parking lots, achieving intelligent management of parking lot spaces and dynamically and effectively improving parking space management efficiency.
Parking space detection control can also be realized through wired and wireless solutions.
Through ground magnetic sensors, vehicle positions can be detected. Information can be accessed through RS485 or CANbus buses to the control unit for centralized management.
Figure 10 Ground Magnetic Parking System Architecture Diagram
The parking space junction is equipped with indicator lights to indicate the current vehicle position and traffic status.
In the intelligent management system of parking lot spaces, the information transmission wiring of ground magnetic detectors and intelligent parking locks is very difficult, and wireless transmission is an absolute advantage solution. Even many wired ultrasonic parking detectors are gradually adopting wireless alternatives to achieve system unification. In terms of wireless transmission, the LoRa solution has more advantages in this field:
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Wireless communication effectively solves the problems of construction wiring, installation, and maintenance inconvenience in outdoor parking lots, with advantages such as easy installation and maintenance, no wiring during construction, saving construction costs, and shortening construction periods.
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LoRa wireless spread spectrum technology has a receiving sensitivity of -148dBm, and communication distances can reach 8km, greatly reducing the number of gateways and construction costs.
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LoRa uses ISM band wireless communication technology. In practical applications, the installation methods of ground magnetic/parking locks and vehicle chassis can have strong interference effects on wireless communication. It integrates digital spread spectrum, digital signal processing, and forward error correction coding to effectively ensure stable and reliable wireless communication and anti-interference capability.
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Ultra-low power design, powered by batteries, can last 3-5 years.
Figure 11 Application Example of LoRa Wireless Module ZM470SX-M in Smart Parking Products
The control unit can use Zhiyuan Electronics’ LoRa module as the central host to communicate in real-time with the sub-units installed in each parking space.
Figure 12 Application of LoRa Wireless Module in On-Street Parking
Figure 13 Application of LoRa Wireless Module in Parking Lot Space Management
1.1.5 License Plate Detection and Recognition
License plate detection and recognition can use an IP camera, with the control unit providing an interface for communication to recognize license plate information, etc.
Figure 14 IP Camera Smart License Plate Recognition
The control unit controls the spotlight through the relay isolation DO port to ensure license plate recognition in harsh environments.
1.1.6 Information Display Control
The parking lot has a lot of information that needs to be displayed. A split-screen control display solution can be adopted.
At the entrance barrier, an LED dot matrix screen can be used, as shown in Figure 15, controlled by the RS485 interface. It displays welcome messages and license plate information feedback when vehicles enter.
Figure 15 RS485 Interface LED Dot Matrix Screen
HDMI displays can play 1080P videos, displaying the number of available parking spaces, occupied spaces, and corresponding guidance information in the parking lot. It can also play advertisements.
Figure 16 HDMI Interface Vertical Advertising Guidance Screen
At the card reading and issuing point, an LVDS display can be used to operate the human-computer interface, supporting USB touch screens. It displays card information, vehicle owner information, fee records, and deduction information.
The control unit provides an I2S interface and basic voice processing chip, with optional amplifier and recording playback solutions, enabling voice prompts, intercom, and billing notifications.
1.1.7 Parking Guidance Control
Ultrasonic, infrared, ground sensing, and proximity coil sensors can be used to collect vehicle passage detection at the barrier through the optical isolation digital input DI of the control unit.
The number of free parking spaces, parking status of free spaces, fixed parking status, and available free space information can be collected through ground magnetic sensors at each parking space and concentrated through RS485 bus communication with the RS485 isolation port of the control unit. After processing by the control unit, it is displayed on the HDMI guidance screen in the parking lot in graphical interface form and updated in real-time.
The “Video Parking Guidance System” uses image processing technology. In the design, a video parking detection terminal and a parking space status indicator light are installed at each parking space as front-end collection and detection devices; two parking spaces share a regional video controller. The regional video controller identifies the collected parking space and vehicle information, drives the parking space indicator light to switch to the corresponding color in real-time, and uploads the license plate photo and parking space information to the application server through the network switch, updating the electronic map and saving it. Each parking lot sets up a data server to manage the license plate images of that parking lot; a guidance screen is set at the passage, indicating the number of available spaces for drivers to find empty parking spots.
Figure 17 Video Parking Guidance Workflow
Figure 18 Video Parking Guidance System Architecture Diagram
1.2 Intelligent Parking Lot – Security Control System
1.2.1 Security Detection
The control unit provides a MIPI-CSI camera interface, and the analog interface of the monitoring camera can communicate well through Zhiyuan Electronics’ camera adapter board. The control unit supports 32G storage card expansion, and the quad-core version core board controller supports SATA-2 hard disk expansion. It can achieve large-capacity storage for monitoring videos and other information.
Camera-Demo is an accessory board developed by Guangzhou Zhiyuan Electronics. This board uses the ADV7180 analog-to-digital decoding solution, which can sample four channels of analog camera signals at different times and convert them into digital signals, processed through the CSI interface connected to the CPU. It is mainly used for the CSI camera function of industrial control motherboards.
Figure 19 Camera-Demo Camera Expansion Board
1.2.2 Alarm System
The central control unit provides relay-isolated DO interfaces. When the CPU receives danger information, it triggers the alarm system, such as alarm indicator lights and bells. In addition, the control unit provides an I2S interface for recording and playback functions, enabling voice alarm prompts to remind personnel during incidents.
In the event of a safety incident in the parking lot, the control unit collects danger information and quickly backs up the real-time processed information via USB, SD, SATA, etc., or backs it up online. The standard DragonShang U9501P 4G wireless module promptly reports danger information to the parking lot management.
1.2.3 Communication Management
The control unit using the M6708-T core board can achieve wired communication, such as network, RS232, RS485, CANbus, DI/DO, and other forms of communication. Zhiyuan Electronics’ IoT-3968 can be configured as its gateway device.
Zhiyuan Electronics has launched the IoT-3968L intelligent wireless gateway for the industrial internet field, based on ARM9, designed with two MiniPCIe interfaces, and offers various optional wireless interface modules (using MiniPCIe design, including Wi-Fi, ZigBee, LoRa, GPRS, 2G/3G/4G, etc.), facilitating customers to quickly build suitable intelligent IoT gateway products for their industries.
Figure 20 IoT-3968L Intelligent Wireless Gateway
Similarly, this control unit can also achieve various forms of wireless communication, such as Bluetooth (sticker postage hole), 4G (miniPCIe), WIFI (miniPCIe), LoRa (miniPCIe), ZigBee (miniPCIe optional), GPRS (miniPCIe optional), BeiDou/GPS (sticker postage hole optional). It can realize remote control of various devices, recognize and monitor vehicle parking spaces, and manage them centrally.
The ZM516X series ZigBee wireless module is a low-power, high-performance ZigBee module developed by Guangzhou Zhiyuan Electronics based on the NXP JN5168 chip. It provides a complete application integration solution based on the IEEE802.15.4 standard ISM (2.4-2.5GHz) band. It supports FastZigBee, ZNET, JenNet-IP, ZigBee-PRO, RF4CE, etc., and can be quickly applied in industrial control, industrial data collection, agricultural control, personnel positioning in mining areas, smart homes, smart remote controls, etc.
Figure 21 ZM516X Series ZigBee Wireless Module
PCIE-SIM800G is an industrial-grade GPRS module launched by Guangzhou Zhiyuan Electronics. This module uses the SIMCom SIM800G design, is compact in size, and can meet IoT data collection or consumer electronics and industrial control applications.
Figure 22 SIM800G Industrial-grade GPRS Module
The control unit adds an ESAM communication encryption solution to ensure communication security.
1.2.4 System Maintenance
The control system supports wired or wireless system upgrades, remote monitoring, etc., to ensure the maintainability of software facilities.
A complete UPS power supply solution is provided, achieving power failure detection and 15s power failure endurance under extremely low PCB area occupancy, maintaining the system’s emergency plan.
1.3 Intelligent Parking Lot – User Management System
1.3.1 User Management
The user management system software can achieve information storage and encryption, ensuring the security management of user information. The management system is prepared for user classification and permission queries, achieving user information classification.
The intelligent management system for parking lot spaces (nodes include: wireless parking ground magnet, wireless ultrasonic sensors, wireless parking locks) uses the LoRa wireless module ZM470SX-M / ZM433SX-M for its wireless transmission part. Due to the special nature of the application environment of the above products, ZLG Zhiyuan Electronics also provides customers with various assistance services in antenna layout to shorten the R&D cycle and effectively guarantee the overall competitiveness of the products.
Figure 23 Application of LoRa Wireless Module ZM470SX-M in Smart Parking Products
In addition, the management system also opens management permissions for administrators, backend operation permissions, and other usage support.
1.3.2 Billing Management
The system software supports various billing modes and billing management. It can achieve standardized billing.
The control unit can be equipped with ZLG Zhiyuan Electronics’ micro printer, controlling the ticket printing function of the booth or smart card reader through the serial port.
ZYTP58-II is a thermal micro printer control module. This module is compatible with the commonly used 58mm printer mechanism, supporting wide voltage printing, over-temperature protection, paper shortage detection, and other functions. It is controlled by serial commands, easy to operate, shortens the user’s development cycle, and accelerates product launch, making it the first choice for thermal printer mechanism drivers.
The system supports paper ticket methods through the printer, reducing card loss: temporary parking users press a button at the entrance, and the system automatically prints a ticket. The parker can use the paper ticket for parking location, reverse query, and payment, and supports automatic recovery at the exit. It also provides information on insufficient printing paper and insufficient temporary card stock.
Figure 24 ZYTP58-II Second Generation Micro Printer Control Module
1.4 Intelligent Parking Lot – Backend Data Management System
1.4.1 Data Center Host
The firmware and application programs support information storage and calculations, establishing a data storage management center in the server’s backend. It can achieve communication interaction between various levels and objects, managing the permissions of the entire system. The data center host system and its subsystems have maintainability, upgradability, and environmental reliability.
The powerful backend data management system can back up the large amounts of data generated during use in real time, providing data support to customers through platforms such as APP or WeChat official accounts.
1.5 Intelligent Parking Lot – Integrated System Solution
The future all-video intelligent parking lot will serve as a comprehensive solution to parking problems, possessing excellent advantages in integrating parking lot system resources, achieving a series of complete, fully automated functions from quick vehicle entry, quick parking, to quick vehicle finding and payment when the car owner returns to the parking lot. This will effectively solve social issues such as slow parking, slow payment, difficulty parking, and difficulty finding vehicles caused by a large volume of vehicles in parking lots, including those in shopping malls and airports, optimizing parking lot resources.
1.5.1 Product Failure Analysis
For car owners, product safety has become increasingly favored by users. While meeting basic functional requirements, there is growing attention to the system’s high reliability, high maintainability, and emergency plans. Product quality is the lifeline of enterprises. Failure analysis can not only improve quality but also provide useful information for enterprise technology development and transformation, greatly enriching the technical content of products and customer satisfaction.
Table 1 Product Function Failure Analysis
1.5.2 Environmental Adaptability
All devices in the parking lot undergo practical simulation tests of harsh application conditions through Zhiyuan Electronics’ EMC laboratory, safety laboratory, and environmental laboratory. Each discrete component can meet the minimum industrial grade three standard for EMC, possesses good electrostatic resistance, lightning surge resistance, electrical transient group pulse resistance, and extremely low EMI conduction interference; it has an industrial-grade environmental adaptability of -40℃ to +85℃, providing practical guarantees for the reliability and safety stability of the entire system.
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