PROBLEM

Participating in a 2 day Makeathon sponsored by Direct Line and hosted by Makerversity in Somerset House. Parking Pin is a response to solving 2 of UK's top 10 daily emergencies: 'Not finding where to park' and 'Being stuck in traffic'.

• 20 million unused off the street private parking spaces in the UK.
• 45% increase in the number of cars in the next 20 years.
• £93m spent in parking fines each year in the UK.
• Council only closed loops on public parking.
• Expensive rates.
  • Sluggish apps, slow payment processing.
  • 30% of car emissions is people trying to find a space.

INTERVENTION

• An integrated app service and cost effective sensor that allows :
  • Owner to monetize on their unused private parking capacity.
  • Drivers can access double parking capacity at competitive rates.
• Sensor allows for a totally passive learning system
  • Monitors of availability, automating the service with minimum hassle for the owner.
  • Monitors trends in utility for optimisation.
• Integration of parking capacity data with navigation app services (Googlemaps) can create smarter route optimisations.

The concept of 'Parking Pin' was demonstrated through a fully functioning app prototype and sensor.

Design Process & Research