Intelligent Parking Management System

Using RFID
Priyanka Singh and Kunal Gupta

Abstract In India the parking management system we have is manually controlled.

This causes long queues for parking and trafc in the road in search for a free
parking slot. So we need a system which saves peoples time and reduces the
emission from the vehicles. This can be done by the use of RFID technology in our
parking management system. With RFID technology we can automate our parking
management system and reduce long queues for parking vehicles. In this paper we
have implemented the RFID technology into the parking management system using
Arduino for connections and Visual Studio with SQL Server Management Studio
for database.
Keywords Parking management
SQL server

RFID technology
Arduino
Visual studio

1 Introduction
RFID is Radio Frequency Identication (RFID) which is a wireless use of electromagnetic elds for transferring data. It is widely used in many elds for better
and efcient performance. RFID is also used for automatically identifying and
tracking tags attached to many objects. Currently in India the traditional parking
system is implemented. In this system a lot of man power is used for identication,
managing, and ticketing for parking. The trafc in India is too crowded. So an
efcient and flawless system is required for managing the trafc which is caused by

Priyanka Singh (&)
Kunal Gupta

Computer Science and Engineering, Amity University, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
e-mail: priyankasinghjan@yahoo.com
Kunal Gupta
e-mail: kgupta@amity.edu
Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016
M. Pant et al. (eds.), Proceedings of Fifth International Conference on Soft
Computing for Problem Solving, Advances in Intelligent Systems
and Computing 436, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-0448-3_41

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Priyanka Singh and Kunal Gupta

the search of a free parking slot. With the use of RFID in parking management
system our system will become automatic. RFID is a fast, reliable, and does not
require physical sight or contact between reader/sender and tagged object. RFID is
similar to bar code identication, only difference in them is that bar code needs the
tag to be in the line of sight of the reader. There are two modules for the implementation of RFID in parking management system: hardware module and software
module.
Components used in hardware module are: RFID reader, RFID tag, Barriers
(Motor Shield), Display device (LCD Shield), IR sensor, LED device (Basic
Shield), a GSM Shield, and computer system. Components used in software module
are: Visual Studio 2010 with SQL Server Management Studio.
Arduino: Arduino is an open source physical computing platform based on a
simple microcontroller board and provides a development environment for writing
software. The programming is done in Arduino IDE which is open source software.
The board of Arduino can be assembled or purchased. An Arduino board consists
of an 8-bit AVR microcontroller and other associated components.
RFID components: RFID reader and RFID tags. They are broadly classied
into two parts, passive RFID and active RFID. The passive RFID range is smaller
and the active RFID range is larger. For our project we need an active RFID reader
and tags. The cost of active RFID is expensive so for our prototype we used passive
RFID Reader and tags. The tags contain electronically stored information. Every
tag has a unique number. This system can also be implemented for toll roads. It will
maintain the flow of the trafc and will avoid the long queue for the toll payment.
The payment can be done automatically when the vehicle is identied and the user
will not have to stop.

2 Related Work
A literature review on Parking Management System using RFID is done. In [1, 2],
Shilpa et al. proposed a method by which they can reduce queues at parking lots.
There are two modes of paymentsprepaid and postpaid. Vehicles have passive
RFID Tags. Fees are deducted based on entry and exit timings. SMS or email is sent
for alert for balance deduction and if low balance. In postpaid a bill is sent at users
home at the end of the month. If the user fails to pay their tags are barred. Drawback
with this system is tags collisions. To avoid this anti-collision protocols are used.
This makes it scalable system. The system is managed by cloud computing. An
application is made to access and manage the backend of the system.
There are many risks involved in using RFID in any system. Many risks are yet
not known. In [3], Karygicmnis et al. discussed about RFID which is widely used in
mostly every eld and the key feature is the automation done by it. Until now risks

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in RFID are not completely known. Due to this it is tough to manage the risks
involved with RFID systems. Risks are divided into three parts. They are
network-based risks, business process risks, and business intelligent risks [4, 5].
Each part has many risk elements and contributing risk attributes. They gave
security features for many attributes which are important, for example, data condentiality, authentication of user, optimizing protocols.
In [3], Yuejun et al. discussed about the RFID Structure. It contains integrated
circuit and antenna. When there is more than one tag in the range of RFID reader to
read, it creates problems in the RFID-based system and it also reduces the performance of the system. In RFID technology there is no need for the line of sight of
the tag with reader to read the ID from the tag. The passive RFID tags are used
more commonly due to the lower costing. But it only responds once for the readers
signal. This limits the design of wireless communication protocol. When a large
amount of tags are read simultaneously it causes collision. The reader is not able to
differentiate between the unique numbers. ALOHA algorithm and Binary tree
splitting algorithm are used to solve collision problem. In ALOHA algorithm if
there is a collision the sender transmits wait signal and retransmission is done after
some xed time. In binary tree splitting algorithm the range of the tag is checked.
The algorithm splits the collision tags into two subsets and further narrows down
each part into two parts whenever collision is occurred. This algorithm is better than
ALOHA.
In [4], Hong et al. discussed about the implementation of RFID System on the
parking management for motorcycle. In this paper, they have implemented a system
using visual basic language and MySQL for the database. PHPMyAdmin is used
for integration of database. The database les manage update edit and store
information about the user parking vehicle in the parking lot. A parking application
is also available for checking of parking information. This feature is also on mobile
application. The distance between the reader and the host computer is very large so
a USB hub is used. This system helps in fast search for the free parking spot for the
motorcycle.

3 Proposed Work
In the proposed system we have only two levels. First one is Entry level and second
is Exit level. The registered tag values are stored in microcontroller of the Arduino
board and in the database. In the database other details of the user are also stored.
The RFID reader sends 1 bit of data at a time to Arduino serially. So to avoid tag
collision the range of the RFID reader should be maintained. Only one vehicle with
only one tag should be allowed in front of the RFID reader.
At the entry level, the vehicle with the RFID tag enters in the range of the reader
to read the tag unique number [8]. If the user is already registered with the parking
system he will be allowed to enter and park the vehicle [9]. A green color LED will

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glow to indicate that the user is allowed to enter. The same massage is also being
displayed in the LCD screen along with the number of vehicles. Side by side in the
computer system the tag value is read from the COM port where the serial value is
read from the RFID tag [10]. It sends a mail to the user with the attachment of the
receipt of details stored in database along with the time of the check-in in the
parking lot. But if the user is not registered he can take a temporary card and enter
the parking lot. They will not get any notication mail or message as they will be
given a predened temporary card and the payment option will be manually like in
the traditional parking system.
At the exit level, the vehicle again will come in the range of RFID reader. The
reader reads the tag unique number, opens the barrier and at the same time in the
computer system the parking fees is deducted from the account, also a mail is
generated and sent to the user. There will be same components at both levels.

4 Implementation
In this project we have done embedded coding in Arduino IDE, interfacing coding
in Microsoft Visual Studios 2010 [11]. There are many modules in this project.
At entry level rst module is to read the value from the RFID reader. Next module
is to compare it with the already stored tag values to match if the user is already
registered or not. Last module is when match is found, the barrier opens, a green
signal is showed and Access Allowed signal is displayed in the LCD shield.
Algorithms for these modules are as follows.

4.1

Algorithm for Reading Tag Value

In this algorithm the data is read from the RFID tag through the serial port. In my
system it reads from COM3 [12, 13]. The reader reads tag value bit by bit. The tag
value is of 12 bits. Therefore, we have a counter to check if all the values are stored
in the new variable (Fig. 1).

4.2

Algorithm for Comparing Registered Tag

to the New Tag Value

In this algorithm the new value stored in previous algorithm is compared with the
registered values. Until a match is found the algorithm compares the new value with
every tag value stored in the microcontroller (Fig. 2).

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Fig. 1 Algorithm for reading tag value

Fig. 2 Algorithm for comparing tags

4.3

Algorithm for Display and Opening Barrier

When Match Found

The vehicle is authenticated and is to be allowed to pass the barrier into the parking
lot. The interfacing is done with LCD shield, LEDs, and IR sensor in this (Fig. 3).

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Fig. 3 Algorithm for function when match found

4.4

Interfacing of the Visual Studios with the SQL Server

The tag value from the RFID is also taken from the same port used by Arduino [14].
The database is accessed and the registered tags are retrieved to compare the tags.
A receipt is created at every match found and sent to the user (Fig. 4).

5 Results
The proposed system is fully automated except at the time of recharging of account
because someone is required to enter the amount into parking systems database.
The Windows Application is automatic at both Entry and Exit level. When the
COM3 sends the value to the application it checks if the tag is already registered. If
it is a mail is sent to the users account (Figs. 5 and 6).
The system automatically detects value and search the database for the match
and perform function when match is found. This makes the system autonomous.
This windows application is to be running at both Entry and Exit level.

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Fig. 4 Algorithm for interfacing with database

6 Conclusion and Future Scope

Intelligent parking management uses RFID technology to uniquely identify a
vehicle. This helps avoiding the wait time at the Entry level and Exit level in the
parking lot. This system can be implemented in the existing systems. Only a small
costing is needed at the initial level. But as the personnel costing is reduced it will
be benecial after few years. The Active RFID readers and tags are to be used for
the greater distance. But a larger range Passive RFID reader and tags can also be
used depending on the requirement.
One of the parking features is not yet implemented, i.e., capturing images.
Images of under the vehicle, of the driver, and of the license plate are to be taken to
store more information in the database in order to maintain the security.

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Fig. 5 Windows application

reads tag from port

Fig. 6 Windows application

nds match in database

The payment in proposed system is done from the parking system database (credit
system). In future the users details will be connected to users bank account and
the parking fee will be deducted directly from the users bank account.

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