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Abstract
The purpose of this utility application is to automatically remind the users where their vehicle is parked. Using many sensors and features of the Apple iPhone, we can track changes in users’ behaviors and their surrounding such as air pressure, physical movement, connection proximity, and coordinate position. These allow for detecting not just the parking position, but also altitude and interior approximation within parking structures. Using a periodic assessment loop, this application silently waits for changes, remaining out of sight of common user activity. During an assessment, nearby connections, user position, and activity readings are evaluated. If a significant event, such as getting in a car or driving into a known parking location occurs, relevant methods are initiated, allowing for greater accuracy and ultimately a better user experience.
Anyone who drives knows the struggle of searching for a parking spot for their vehicle. Finding the location of your parked car could even be more stressful. You may end up with walking up and down the stairs of a parking garage, wandering through a shopping center lot, or walking several blocks in the street only to remember the location of your car. Even once the car is located, it may be covered in tickets or impounded because of parking regulations. This scenario is especially true when users find themselves in a new city or in an unfamiliar part of the town. This application offers solutions to all of the cases mentioned above. An overview map displays nearby locations. Parking meters can be started to estimate fees and trigger alerts when time is low. When hunting for the tracked vehicle, directions can be requested through the application.
Currently this application demonstrates the algorithms necessary to track a user’s vehicle through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection proximity. Utilizing Apple’s monitored regions, locations of interest allow for significant awareness by waking the application and performing relevant readings. Indoor position is determined using altitude readings, position plots, and headings with known location schematics. Users can save their personal locations and access features such as the building rendering, parking meter, and guided directions. A possible industry implementation of this application is the monitoring of businesses’ lots, allowing parking demand prediction along with restricting availability.
Publication Date
2017
Disciplines
Computer Engineering | Engineering
Faculty Advisor/Mentor
Eyuphan Bulut
VCU Capstone Design Expo Posters
Rights
© The Author(s)
Date of Submission
May 2018