Arduino Smart Parking Lot

ARDUINO: SMART PARKING LOT

A smart parking lot using arduino directs entering cars on to the availability of free slots and also directs the car to the nearest free slot, This helps in reducing the time put in for parking and hence improving efficiency. 

HOW IT WORKS:

The project consists of various IR sensors installed in all the parking slots, This helps to determine if the slot is free or occupied. This information in constantly communicated to the Arduino Board. Another sensor is used to detect the incoming car, once an incoming car is detected the LCD display turns on and the arduino board checks for free slots if slots are available the directions are displayed on the screen else the car is asked to turn back.

THE HARDWARE:

1. Arduino UNO

2. IR sensors (as required)

3. LCD Display Screen

4. Connecting Cables (as required)

The PROJECT:

Its quite a simple idea, consider we have 4 slots each slot will have an IR sensor near it to find out if the slot is occupied or not. Another IR sensor will be installed at the entrance to sense an incoming car. Give a code such that when a new car enters the Arduino Checks for empty slots and displays the result.

THE SCHEMATICS:

Connecting the LCD Screen:

Connecting the IR Sensor:

After completing the connections it is just matter of finding the right code, Consider the examples below: 

Sample code for LCD:

LiquidCrystal lcd(12, 11, 5, 4, 3, 2);

void setup() {
  // set up the LCD's number of columns and rows:
  lcd.begin(16, 2);
  // Print a message to the LCD.
  lcd.print("hello, world!");
}

void loop() {
  // set the cursor to column 0, line 1
  // (note: line 1 is the second row, since counting begins with 0):
  lcd.setCursor(0, 1);
  // print the number of seconds since reset:
  lcd.print(millis() / 1000);
}

For a detailed understanding on connections and coding watch this video:

Sample code for IR Sensor:

int a;
void setup()
{
  pinMode(3,INPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600);
  Serial.println("WELCOME");
}
void loop()
{
  a=digitalRead(3);
  
  if(a==HIGH)
  {
   
    Serial.println("INPUT HIGH");


    }
else
{
Serial.printil("INPUT LOW");
}
}

For more details watch the below video:

This is the basic idea to create the project, You can also check out my code using the link below:

My Source Code

Feel free to develop and add new ideas to the project.

Leave any doubts and suggestions in the comments section and make sure to share your ideas with everybody.