Intelligent car parking facilities in the digital age

FROM THE OUTSIDE, car parking may seem a relatively simple operation - but those in the industry know it has many variables and permutations that impact upon a site’s ease of use for customers and clients - overall profitability for management and owners.

Regardless of whether a site is under a management or lease agreement, whether it caters for public accessibility or corporate arrangements, logistics and real time adaptability are key to optimisation.

While the age of technology we now live in has certainly impacted the car park industry with ticketing and revenue collection, digital security monitoring and end-user smart phone apps, a new tool is here to make it easier to monitor operations in real time and collect the data that drives decisions for tomorrow, today.

Foresense Technologies is that tool.

Foresense Technologies is an industry leader in the collection of visitor presence data and the analysis of how people act – and interact – on-site in real world settings to provide real-time analytics of traffic in and around any physical location.

In a similar way to how behavioural data is utilised online through careful analysis of aspects such as dwell time, session duration, and unique and return visitations, the Foresense platform collects data through sensors integrating with visitors’ smartphones allowing accessibility in real time so highly-informed, proactive decisions can be executed as trends are actually emerging.

The Foresense platform offers an AI powered solution to gain an unprecedented level of insight into flow of vehicle traffic and individual persons as they utilise and interact with the car park layout and its facilities.

As a complete journey mapping solution, individual user data is collected including total time spent on site, and the breakdown of time spent within different zones such as entry/exit points, payment facilities, vending machines, restroom facilities and on each level or thoroughfare as they look for a suitable bay.

This offers a revolutionary new way to guide commercially based decisions with more detailed, quantifiable data to improve operational KPIs and efficiencies.

With full customisation and dovetail integration into existing apps and management software, the car park experience can be taken to a whole new level with true real time interaction for both management and end user.

The ability to link the network across multiple sites under ownership or management - cross city, country or continent – allows macro trends and cross efficiency references to be revealed and realised.

And with Foresense, management reporting becomes instantaneously accessible with an innate ability to drill-down into a wide range of user defined parameters rather than an exercise in hindsight.

Optimise facility layout and design, parking attendant booths, signage and staffing levels across peak demand periods.

And as we learn to live with COVID, Foresense can also complement existing digital tools to monitor and log users as enter and exit the facility to assist contact tracers and keep everyone safer.

Utilise existing digital screen assets in a new way for targeted messages based on user profile as they pass by during their visit – and with a direct line of communication via push notification technology, citing new opportunities for informational messaging direct to smartphones are now possible.

Updates, delays, emergencies and hazards can be automatically relayed in real time to digital signage - and directly to user smartphones and integrated in-vehicle systems including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Detailed individual profiles are built over time to identify the habits of casual, frequent and infrequent visitors and offer incentivisation for increased usage of the facility.

Foresense goes beyond simply logging vehicles as they enter and exit, identifying exactly how many people in each car and deducing possibilities for their visit to the area.

For example, a full vehicle in a CBD area during peak traffic may indicate a car pool arrangement for work. Two people arriving in an entertainment precinct prior to mealtimes may indicate they are there to visit restaurants or cafes.

This AI profiling presents new opportunities for marketing and advertising purposes, inbuilt to the platform.

Specifically target facility users with discounted parking offers outside of peak times when bays are available, to increase revenue.

Finecast highly targeted individualised marketing for local businesses, events and attractions – sales and new product lines in retail, upcoming concerts and shows, discounts and deals for food and hospitality are just some of the possibilities in a specifically localised target market with minimised advertising wastage.

Because the platform is accessible in real-time, attendants can be deployed immediately when and where issues first develop to reduce queuing and waiting times, to keep movement flowing, alleviate congestion and negative user experiences.

For VIP and valet customers, ensure that staff are alerted to their presence in advance, offering a more timely, personalised service.

The technology can also complement existing security surveillance systems. The AI platform detects loitering, erratic behaviour and unauthorised entry, alerting security staff in real time.

Foresense can even monitor personal safety of staff and facility users. For example, a person may appear to have stopped moving from facility entry points to their car bay indicating injury, assault or collapse.

And as we learn to live with COVID, Foresense can also complement existing digital tools to monitor and log users as enter and exit the facility to assist contact tracers and keep everyone safer.

Whether assets operations are under a management or lease agreement – whether a site is focussed on corporate services, business subscriptions or public access, Foresense Technologies is an integral part of the future of car parks.

It offers facility staff and users alike a far more streamlined experience with less hassle and increased safety. It offers a powerful array of AI guided analytical tools to improve efficiency and revenue margins for managers and site owners.

Foresense is changing the way decisions in many industries are guided.

Today, it can shape car parking operations for tomorrow.