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Do you ever stop to really think about how technology makes things very convenient in your life? Or do you just take things for granted, like most of us do?
For example, have you ever considered how much technology is at work all the time in your car? It’s particularly useful when it comes to parking. In fact, gizmos, gadgets and sensors have come to make the entire experience of parking your car a lot more pleasant.
It actually is quite stressful parking your car, especially in the street or a parking garage. This is great, because you definitely want to know your car will be in the parking space when you come back. That is the clue to secure parking.
Quicker and easier methods to pay
Gone are the days when the most efficient way to pay for parking in a lot or garage was to produce some coins for the cashier. Technology has advanced so that you get a ticket when you go into a parking area, then pay via a machine on the way out.
New developments in streamlining the parking system for parking garages and lots are working so that you won’t even need to visit the pay machine. The system will simply read your car’s details off the license and charge you via your credit card for the parking.
More efficient access
The pandemic taught us all the potential dangers of touching things others have touched, including the button to gain access to a parking area. It was quite a quick technological step to create touchless systems that will issue a card when you break the beam.
To park on your business’s premises, or at college, you will most probably simply need to wave your hand over a sensor and the parking boom will lift.
License recognition
There are now technological systems in place that will read and recognize the license plate of your car and link it to a particular parking bay. This is useful in knowing where the car is all the time, which can keep your car safe. If there is an issue with your car, then the system can go back and trace the movements of your car.
It’s also useful to keep track of how long your car’s been parked in a particular spot, particularly if it’s a limited time zone. If you park in a metered spot in the street, technology allows you to enter your car license into the machine and the time and payment happen automatically.
Sensor guide
Parking can be a stressful experience, especially when it is in small confines. What happens if you hit the car behind or in front of you? What happens if you park too close to another car and can’t get out through the driver’s door?
Technology has taken away so much of this type of stress, with the sensors that cars have, often all around. Thanks to the ultrasound space detectors at the back, and often sides, of the car, you know when something is too close. You can also use the rear camera in your bumper when it comes to reverse parking.
Coming out of a parking bay backwards can be stressful. What happens if there is someone or a car behind you? Sensors that send out a tone when they detect something close change all of that.
Automated parking
Imagine dropping your car off at the parking garage, waving it goodbye and just leaving it there while you go shopping. In the meantime, thanks to special sensors and controlling software, your car will dutifully park itself in a particular bay, in an automated parking system.
This is the future of parking. If your car can park itself, it’ll save you time and will mean not looking for a space, then maneuvering into it, often with difficulty. Parking has become a pleasure, thanks to technology.
Charge on the go
With the increasing number of electric cars on the road, parking isn’t only about where you leave your car, but about where you can leave and charge your car.
Technology in cars is always advancing, perhaps most quickly with electric cars. One of the innovations is batteries that charge as you are driving. This can be part of a smart braking system – as the car brakes, power goes back into the engine to charge the car.
Ongoing charging means less need to park and charge. In turn, this means there need to be fewer parking / charging spaces available, which means more parking space for gas-powered cars can be created. The result of all of this is that you won’t have to spend so much time hunting for a parking space.
It also means less driving around aimlessly, which means fewer carbon emissions in the long run.
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