Abstract:
A method for use in the management of vehicle parking in a vehicle parking area having a plurality of vehicle parking spaces, the method comprising determining the locations of vacant vehicle parking spaces; and displaying the locations of vacant vehicle parking spaces to people seeking to park vehicles.

Description:
The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/555,915 filed on 2 Nov. 2006 now abandoned. The U.S. application Ser. No. 11/555,915 is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/933, 585 filed on 3 Sep. 2004 now abandoned. The U.S. application Ser. No. 10/933, 585 claims benefit of priority from Singapore application No. 200305650-4 filed on 3 Sep. 2003. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to vehicle parking. In particular, it relates to apparatus and method for locating, identifying and tracking vehicles in a car park. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A driver encounters many problems while parking vehicles in a huge car park. For instance, in a crowded huge multi-story car park, it is difficult for a driver to remember where his/her vehicle is parked. Often it is a frustrating experience to search for his/her vehicle. Quite often, it is difficult for a driver to locate an empty parking space to park his/her vehicle in a huge car park, despite being informed that numerous parking spaces are available. Precious time is wasted by drivers when he/she cannot remember where the vehicle is parked or not being in a position to trace an empty parking space. The present car parking systems are not efficient enough for a car park operator to ease the problems mentioned above. Slow vehicle retrieval and delay in searching for empty lots results in problems, such as delayed exit of vehicles, increased car park jams, less effective parking capacity, and poor car park utilisation. Furthermore, motorists are at great inconvenience, and may even result in discouraging others from parking in such car parks. For the car park operators, these problems translate directly to revenue loss. This in turn, reduces the revenue of the shop keepers or businessmen who are present in a building having such a car park. 
     Presently, some car parks have addressed the above problems to some extent. Some car parks provide empty lot information. For example, a car park is divided into many different zones and vehicle detection sensors are installed between each zone to count the numbers of vehicles coming in and going out of a zone. These vehicle sensors provide information to derive the number of vehicles parked inside each zone. Other systems involve the installation of vehicle detection sensors (infra red, proximity, or light sensors, etc) for each parking lot, thus providing parking lot availability information. However, the existing car park systems have many drawbacks, including inability to determine when specific lots become available, high infrastructural costs, high per car park lot equipment, high installation and maintenance costs. Moreover, existing methods are based on the principle of counting of vehicles or the occupation of lots. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for use in the management of vehicle parking in a vehicle parking area having a plurality of vehicle parking spaces. The method comprises determining the locations of vacant vehicle parking spaces and displaying the locations of vacant vehicle parking spaces to people seeking to park vehicles. 
     In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for use in the management of vehicle parking in a vehicle parking area having a plurality of vehicle parking spaces. The method comprises determining one or more identifying features of each of a plurality of vehicles located in vehicle parking spaces, receiving a request to locate a specific vehicle with at least one of said one or more identifying features, determining one or more possible locations for said specific vehicle based on said at least one of said one or more identifying features and the determined one or more identifying features of each of a plurality of vehicles, and displaying said one or more possible locations in response to said request. The one or more identifying features may comprise one or more of: the number plate, the color, the make and the model of a vehicle. 
     In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for use in the management of vehicle parking in a vehicle parking area having a plurality of vehicle parking spaces. The apparatus comprises a detection unit for determining the locations of vacant vehicle parking spaces and a display unit. The display unit displays the locations of vacant vehicle parking spaces to people seeking to park vehicles. The detection unit may comprise a plurality of camera elements and an image processing unit for processing images obtained by the camera elements, each camera element surveying one or more of the vehicle parking spaces. Each camera element may be arranged such that different cells of an image from the camera element is associated with one vehicle parking space, and the image processing determines the location of the vacant vehicle spaces based on individual cells of the images. The display unit may comprise one or more audio display devices and/or one or more visual display devices. The display unit may be arranged to communicate with one or more remote devices for facilitating displaying the locations of the vacant parking spaces. The remote devices may comprise on-vehicle devices. 
     In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for use in the management of vehicle parking in a vehicle parking area having a plurality of vehicle parking spaces. The apparatus comprises a first detection unit for determining one or more identifying features of each of a plurality of vehicles located in vehicle parking spaces, an interface unit for receiving a request to locate a specific vehicle with at least one of said one or more identifying features, a processing unit for determining one or more possible locations for said specific vehicle based on said at least one of said one or more identifying features and the determined one or more identifying features of each of a plurality of vehicles, and a display unit for displaying said one or more possible locations in response to said request. The system may further comprise a second detection unit for determining the locations of vacant vehicle parking spaces. The display unit further displays the locations of vacant vehicle parking spaces to people seeking to park vehicles. The first and second detection units may be implemented in a single detection unit. The one or more identifying features may comprise one or more of: the number plate, the color, the make and the model of a vehicle. The first and/or second detection units may comprise a plurality of camera elements and an image processing unit for processing images obtained by the camera elements, each camera element surveying one or more of the vehicle parking spaces. Each camera element may be arranged such that different cells of an image from the camera element is associated with one vehicle parking space, and the image processing determines the location of the vacant vehicle spaces based on individual cells of the images. The display unit may comprise one or more audio display devices and/or one or more visual display devices. The display unit may be arranged to communicate with one or more remote devices for facilitating displaying the locations of the vacant parking spaces. The remote devices may comprise on-vehicle devices. 
     In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for automatically providing the occupancy status of specific, individual car park spaces, and identifying the vehicles that occupy them. The method comprises processing one or more images of the car park spaces to provide information regarding the locations and numbers of empty and occupied car park spaces, and guidance information to their locations and processing one or more images of the vehicles occupying car park spaces, to identify one or more of their features, thereby to enable the accurate locating of the vehicles, and to provide guidance information to their locations. Processing one or more images of the vehicles occupying car park spaces may comprise processing said images of the vehicles to determine one or more of: the number plate, the color, the make and the model of the vehicle in each image. 
     In accordance with a sixth aspect of the present invention there is provided a computer readable data storage medium having stored thereon computer code means for instructing a computer to execute a method for use in the management of vehicle parking in a vehicle parking area having a plurality of vehicle parking spaces. The method comprises determining the locations of vacant vehicle parking spaces and displaying the locations of vacant vehicle parking spaces to people seeking to park vehicles. 
     In accordance with a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable data storage medium having stored thereon computer code means for instructing a computer to execute a method for use in the management of vehicle parking in a vehicle parking area having a plurality of vehicle parking spaces. The method comprises determining one or more identifying features of each of a plurality of vehicles located in vehicle parking spaces, receiving a request to locate a specific vehicle with at least one of said one or more identifying features, determining one or more possible locations for said specific vehicle based on said at least one of said one or more identifying features and the determined one or more identifying features of each of a plurality of vehicles, and displaying said one or more possible locations in response to said request. 
     In accordance with an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer readable data storage medium having stored thereon computer code means for instructing a computer to execute a method for automatically providing the occupancy status of specific, individual car park spaces, and identifying the vehicles that occupy them. The code comprises processing one or more images of the car park spaces to provide information regarding the locations and numbers of empty and occupied car park spaces, and guidance information to their locations, and processing one or more images of the vehicles occupying car park spaces, to identify one or more of their features, thereby to enable the accurate locating of the vehicles, and to provide guidance information to their locations. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention is further described by way of non-limitative examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  shows a System Concept Diagram of an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  shows an example embodiment of a high level process flow diagram for use with the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example embodiment of the invention complementing an integrated deployment of a Car Park System; and 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a computer system in accord with a preferred embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The System Concept Diagram  100  of an embodiment of the invention is presented in  FIG. 1 . The embodiment of the invention describes an apparatus and method for automatically providing the occupancy status of specific, individual car park lots  101  or spaces, and identifying each of the vehicles  103  that occupy them. The provision of occupancy status of the car park lots  101  is achieved by processing one or more images of the car park lots  101  to provide information regarding the locations and numbers of empty and occupied car park lots  101 , and guidance information to locate the car park lots  101 . The identification of vehicles  103  is achieved by processing one or more images of the vehicles  103 , which may include identifying the license plate (i.e., a series of number and/or characters) of vehicles  103 , providing the accurate location (e.g., in which car park lot and where is that lot within the entire car park) of vehicles  103  by identifying by one or more of their features (e.g. colour, model, brand etc of a car), and providing guidance information to locate the vehicles  103 . The apparatus and method can be extended to provide vehicle-related information, such as parking lot booking/reservation, parking enforcement, car park surveillance, vehicle look-up, traffic flow analysis, and congestion regulation. 
     A camera network  105  having a plurality of cameras  107  is installed inside and/or outside of a vehicle parking facility to monitor continuously some or all of the parking lots  101  and/or vehicle lanes for the presence/absence and movement of objects, people and vehicles  103 . The camera network  105  may be wired or wireless  106 . 
     The images acquired by the camera sensor network  105  are transmitted through wired or wireless network  111  to a network of Image Processing and Camera Control Units (IPCCUs)  113  via an array of video multiplexes/switches  109 . The IPCCUs network  113  comprises a plurality discrete IPCCUs  115  each of which may be assigned to process the images from the camera network  105 . Each of the IPCCUs  115  process the images that are channeled to them using built-in advanced adaptive self-learning image-processing algorithms that are stored in the memory of the IPCCU  115 . These algorithms deduce the status of the car park, and transmit the car park status through wired or wireless network  117  to the Locator Central Controller  125 . 
     Apart from the IPCCUs  115 , the image-processing algorithms may also be located in the locator central controller  125 , the video multiplex/switch  109  or camera units  107 . However, a typical design will involve placing most (if not all) of the image processing algorithms (e.g. those for car park lot status determination and vehicle image acquisition and feature processing) at the IPCCUs  115 . In some cases, the central controller  125  may also host certain image processing algorithms. The IPCCU  115  and central controller  125  could be provided in the same machine. 
     Given the car park status from the IPCCUs  115 , the central controller  125  facilitates value-added services and extends them to the users, which include, but not limited to, car park customers, operators and owners. To deliver these services to the users, the locator central controller  125  uses a variety of means to interact with the users and/or external systems. These interactive means include, but not limited to, in-vehicle units  131 , audio devices  121 , video devices  119 , mobile devices  139 , computers  133 , LED panels, plasma display panels, and signage  123 , located e.g. at a junction within the car park, or at a self-service kiosk. The signage  123  may guide a driver in the direction of empty parking lots. The communication between the locator central controller  125  and external interactive means may be wired or wireless  127 ,  128 . 
     A High Level Process Flow Diagram  200  of an example embodiment of the invention is presented in  FIG. 2 . The flow diagram  200  comprises three basic blocks, namely a camera sensor network  202 , an image processing and camera control unit  204 , and a central controller  206 . The process flow starts at step  201 . At step  208 , a camera sensor from a plurality of camera sensor network  202  in a car park repeatedly captures a sequence of a respective car park cell images. The captured cell images are sent for processing at a respective IPCCU from a plurality of IPCCUs  204 , the processing being done at fixed or dynamic time intervals. At the IPCCUs  204 , images received at step  205  are processed and segmented into vehicle and non-vehicle objects. 
     At step  209 , the non-vehicle objects are further processed to determine the event status by analysing the current and previous images and the image database is updated. Previous non-vehicle object databases are stored and retrieved at step  203 . Incident status database are stored and retrieved at step  211 . At step  217 , each of the non-vehicle object is identified by its features and the incident status of the car park is formulated and updated in the database. 
     At step  215 , the vehicle objects are further processed to determine the event status by analysing the current and previous images and the image database is updated. Previous vehicle object databases are stored and retrieved at step  207 . Parking status database are stored and retrieved at step  213 . At step  219 , each of the vehicle object is identified by its features and the parking status of the car park is formulated and updated in the database. 
     The combined output from step  217  (details of the incident status) and  219  (details of parking status) are channelled to a respective central controller (of a plurality of central controllers  206 ) and are stored in a respective central controller at step  221 . 
     From the data stored at step  221 , services, such as vacant lot location application  223 , parked vehicle location application  225 , vacant lot booking application  227 , vehicle look-up application  229 , car park surveillance application  231 , traffic flow enquiry application  233 , congestion pricing application  235 , etc are made available on a respective graphic user interface (GUI). At step  237 , the processing is terminated. 
     The above embodiment of the invention, besides being deployed as a standalone system, can be used to complement a car park system.  FIG. 3  shows an example embodiment of an integrated deployment system  300 . 
     The car park system  300 , regulates vehicles  325  entering and leaving parking facility  306  by charging the users a parking fee. In order to provide supplemental value added services to the drivers and the car park operators, the system  300  is deployed in parallel with the car park system  100  described in the above embodiment. Supplemental services include but not limited to, vacant lots locating, parked vehicles locating, vacant lots reservation, vehicle safety surveillance, illegal parking enforcement, parked vehicle look-up, traffic flow forecast, and congestion control. 
     In the example embodiment of the integrated deployment system  300 , a field controller  305  and IPCCUs  307  are shown to be independently deployed. Alternatively, the field controller  305  and the IPCCU  307  can be integral. The integrated car park system in the example embodiment uses separate network of cameras  311 ,  317  to identify vehicles. Alternatively the car park system  100  as described above and the integrated deployment system  300  can potentially share the same cameras network. 
     A vehicle  325  enters the car park at entry points  333  and exits the car park at exit points  331 . The entry point has a barrier  319  to block vehicles before entering the car park  306 . Similarly, the exit point has a barrier  315  to block vehicles before exiting the car park  306 . 
     The field controller  305  controls the opening and closing of the barriers  315 ,  319  depending on whether payment for parking was done before a vehicle exits the car park. 
     The field controllers  305 , IPCCUs  307  and central controllers  301 ,  303  are typically located in a car park central control room  302 . The communication between the field controllers  305 , IPCCUs  307  and central controllers is through a common private communication network  304 . This network  304  can be either wired such as, but not limited to, LAN and Serial, or wireless such as, but not limited to, wireless LAN 802.11a. The communication between the cameras  311  mounted inside the car park may be wired or wireless  337 , whilst the communication between the cameras  317  mounted outside the car park may be wired or wireless  339 . 
     The car park central controller  301  regulates the entry and exit of vehicles  325 , and the locator central controller  303  tracks and monitors the vehicles  325  while they are within the car park premises  306 . Although the car park central controller  301  and the locator central controller  303  is shown to be standalone and independent systems, in case the car park central controller  301  is a microprocessor-based system, the two central controllers  301 ,  303  can share the same microprocessor-based system i.e. the controllers  301 ,  303  can be integral. 
     The embodiment of the invention employs computer vision and information technology to detect and analyse events inside and outside car parks  306  which, in turn, activates sub-systems based on the analysis to provide value-added services to the customers, operators and owners of car parks. 
     Cameras  311 , 317  are respectively mounted on the inside and outside of a car park premises  306 . The car park  306  is divided into an array of physically labeled cells for monitoring and identification purposes. Each car park cell, at any given time, may contain objects, people and/or vehicles  325 . Each cell is being monitored and analysed repeatedly at a pre-defined time interval for one or more event status. These event status for vehicles parking, include, but not limited to, lot-vacant, lot-occupied, lot-in-transit, no-vehicle, vehicle-towards, vehicle-away, and vehicle-stop. The event status for car park surveillance, include, but not limited to, no-human, human-towards, human-away, crowd-towards, crowd-away, and crowd-stop. 
     Given the event status related to vehicle parking being defined continuously by the IPCCU  307  for each car park cell, the real-time parking status of the entire car park can be derived and stored in the database of the central controller  301 ,  303 . This information of the car park status is updated on a regular time interval to facilitate accurate retrieval of information when needed. 
     Status related to vehicles parking includes, but not limited to, 
     1. Number of vacant lots in the car park 
     2. Location of a vacant lot by its lot ID 
     3. Location of a parked vehicle by its unique features 
     4. Congestion level at a particular car park cell 
     Status related to car park surveillance includes, but not limited to: 
     1. Alert level of a particular car park cell based on density and pattern of movement 
     2. Alert level of a particular parked vehicle based on unusual movement pattern around the vehicle 
     With the above status parameters defined in real-time, the following services of the embodiment of the invention can be deployed: 
     1. Parking vacancy locating system to assist the drivers to identify and locate vacant lots 
     2. Parked vehicle locating system to assist the drivers to identify and locate their parked vehicles 
     3. Parking reservation system to allow remote booking of vacant parking lots 
     4. Parking enforcement system to prevent illegal parking or use of facility 
     5. Intelligent car park surveillance system to detect unusual events in the car park, for example: noticeable sweating, loitering, fidgeting movements, damaging vehicles, etc. 
     6. Graphical vehicle search system for visual identification of vehicles 
     7. Traffic flow analysis system to broadcast congested areas within the car park premise 
     8. Congestion pricing system for balancing the utilisation of the car park 
     To deliver the above services to the users, one of more of the following information disseminating techniques can be employed: 
     1. In-vehicle information devices via wireless communication 
     2. Mobile devices such as PDA and mobile phones via wireless communication 
     3. Desktop and lap top computer systems over Intranet and Internet 
     4. Roadside and in-building infrastructure such as LED panels and plasma screens 
     5. Auto-pay stations and self-service kiosks via LAN 
     6. Car park attendants and customer service representatives over the counter 
     The cameras  311  can be used for surveillance, e.g. for detecting abnormal movement of people or anything from the list of unusual events mentioned above. For example, if a person were found loitering in any particular area for more than a certain period of time, a PTZ (Pan Tilt Zoom) camera would automatically zoom in to capture an image of the person and alert the relevant authorities. The system can also store the image for further reference. This would help in apprehending suspicious characters and to reduce car theft and vandalism. 
     Main components of the above example embodiment are listed below: 
     1. Camera Sensor Network 
     A single or network of cameras  311 ,  317  to monitor a region of interest inside and/or outside of a car park  306  and to provide the features mentioned above. 
     The camera sensor network provides image/data acquisition by cameras  311 ,  317  installed to cover one or more car park lots  335 . Some cameras  311 ,  317  are installed for_monitoring the lanes or other non-parking areas within the car park to provide value added services mentioned above. 
     For multi-cameras deployment, at least one video switches/multiplexers  309 ,  321 ,  323  is required to channel the images to the IPCCUs  307 . For single camera deployment, images can be streamed directly to the IPCCU  307  or the Central Controllers  301 ,  303 . In the case of single camera deployment the use of, video switch/multiplexer  309 ,  321 ,  323  becomes optional. 
     Some or all the cameras  311 ,  317  can be mounted on PTZ platforms, if necessary. The means to control these PTZ platforms may be a function of the cameras if the cameras are equipped with embedded microprocessors, or can be remotely controlled by the IPCCUs  307 . 
     Cameras  311 ,  317 _built-in with an embedded microprocessor, can be dynamically programmed to pre-evaluate the quality of each image taken, and intelligently adjust the PTZ to obtain additional images until an image with acceptable quality is found. If no acceptable image is obtained after a predefined period of time, the system proceeds to the next task and a notification is activated to prompt the operator for appropriate action. 
     Some or all cameras  311 ,  317  can be high-performance cameras that are capable of monitoring the region of interest with some or none of the PTZ functions. 
     Apart from cameras, it is possible to include other sensors in the system. The camera may also be network compatible, such that it can be interfaced directly to the IPCCU  307  or central controllers  301 ,  303  via e.g. an IP network  304 . 
     The connection from the cameras  311 ,  317  to the switches/multiplexers  309 ,  321 ,  323 , and from the switches/multiplexers  309 ,  321 ,  323  to IPCCUs  307  can be either wired, or wireless  337 ,  339 . 
     2. Image Processing and Camera Control Unit (IPCCU) 
     A microprocessor-based system converts the images transmitted from the video switches/multiplexers  309 ,  321 ,  323  directly from the cameras  311 ,  317 , and implements the primary features mentioned above. 
     For each switch/multiplexer  309 ,  321 ,  323 , one IPCCUs  307  is be needed to process the images and channel the outcomes to the Central Controller  301 ,  303  of the embodiment of the invention. If no switch/multiplexer  309 ,  321 ,  323  is deployed, the images will be channeled directly from the cameras to either the IPCCU  307  or the Central Controller  301 ,  303 . In the latter case, the Central Controller  301 ,  303  assumes the role of the IPCCU  307 . 
     Each IPCCU  307  employs proprietary advanced adaptive self-learning image processing algorithms to perform real-time identification/classification/location of vehicles  325 , and real-time detection/location of vacant/occupied parking lots  335 . The system also determines the identity of the vehicle at each occupied parking lot  335 . 
     If the cameras  311 ,  317  are mounted on a PTZ platform do not have embedded microprocessors, the IPCCU  307  assumes the role of controlling the PTZ platform. 
     If the cameras  311 ,  317  or video switches/multiplexers  309 ,  321 ,  323  have built-in embedded microprocessors, the embedded microprocessors could potentially perform the processing functions of the IPCCU  307 . In such case, there is no need for IPCCU  307 . 
     IPCCUs  307  communicates with the Central Controller  301 ,  303  through either a wired, or a wireless network  304 . Possible networks  304  include, but not limited to, Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Wireless LAN 802.11a, and WIFI 802.11b. 
     3. Central Controller  301 ,  303   
     A microprocessor-based system that accepts information from the IPCCUs as input, re-configures the information, and implements secondary and other features of the example embodiment. There can be more than one central controller  301 ,  303  in a system. 
     The central controller  301 ,  303  in the example embodiment employs proprietary advanced software engineering to implement software applications that allow the users to locate vacant lots, locate parked vehicles, book vacant lots, enforce parking rules, detect incidents, look-up parked vehicles, analyse traffic flow, and regulate car park utilisation. 
     For the purpose of exchanging information with the users, central controller  301 ,  303  can be built with interface for devices such as, but not limited to, in-vehicle units  131 , audio devices  121 , video devices  119 , mobile devices  139 , computers  133 , LED panels, plasma display panels, and self-service kiosk  123 . The communication between the central controllers  301 , 303  and the devices can be either wired or wireless. 
     To enable the connection with external devices and systems, central controller can be equipped with communication channels such as, but not limited to, serial ports, parallel ports, Universal Serial Buses (USB), leased lines, Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), Local Area Network (LAN), and Wide Area Network (WAN). The central controller could also host web services for a user to access the stated service via the Internet. 
     As an alternative to vacant lot  335  detection, it may be, for example, possible to use light sensors installed at each lot  335  to detect the present of vehicle at the lot  335 , or induction loop sensors embedded under the surface of the flooring to count vehicles  325  entering and leaving a parking zone. 
     Secondary components of an embodiment of the invention are listed below: 
     1. In-Vehicle Units (TUs)  131  and On-board Units (OBUs) for accessing incident and parking status 
     2. Computer terminals  133  and Self-service Kiosks  123  for accessing incident and parking status 
     3. Hand-held mobile devices  139  such as, but not limited to mobile phones and PDAs for accessing incident and parking status 
     4. Roadside display medium such as, but not limited to LED and plasma-display panels for disseminating incident and parking status 
     5. Audio and Visual devices  119 ,  121  for generating alerts based on incident and parking status 
     6. Other IT systems such as, but not limited to web server, modems, leased lines, hubs, switches, routers and appliances that help disseminating incident and parking status to the general public. 
     The invention, as embodied can locate a vehicle by its visual features (i.e., not requiring to place any identification tag or label on any part of the vehicle) including possibly its license plate identifier (i.e., a series of number and/or characters), and map it to a specific location including possibly a particular parking lot inside or outside of a car park. 
     Although the above embodiment relates to use of the invention in a car park, the present invention may also have other applications, including in the monitoring, verification, and enforcement of street parking. 
     In case of the application to street parking, an example embodiment may have cameras strategically located at buildings or other high vantage points along the street to monitor parking lots along the street. These cameras provide real-time information on vacant and occupied lots along the street, similar to those provided for car parks in a building or open air. For example, if a driver is looking for an empty lot to park his car, a display board can inform him whether there is any vacant lot in the side road before he turns into it. 
     As a driver is about to reverse into a parking lot, the camera detects this phenomenon and triggers a PTZ camera to capture the license plate of the vehicle. After the car is properly parked, the system will capture the time, which will be the commencement of parking fee. Similarly, when a car is about to leave a parking lot, this phenomenon is noticed by the scanning camera and the PTZ camera is activated to monitor the event and captures the time that the car leaves the parking lot. 
     Payment of parking charges can be through cash card, where a booth can be positioned at the driver&#39;s side of the road for him to insert the cash card into a reader. Alternatively, if the city has implemented Electronic Toll Collection for use of its roads and highways, a similar device can be triggered by the camera system to deduct the parking charges. 
     There will also be information kiosks conveniently located along the streets for the drivers to enquire about the location where he has parked his car, and how much parking charge has been incurred before he reaches to his/her car. 
     The primary usage of the information from an example embodiment of the invention may be for real-time identification or classification of vehicles, locating of the vehicles within the car park premises, and enabling the look-up of vehicles based on a set of search criteria. 
     The basic functionality of the example embodiment described include: 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Real-time 
                 Real-time identification of vehicles by one or more 
               
               
                 identification/ 
                 features (e.g. model label, colour, contour, size) 
               
               
                 classification 
                 obtained through the processing of one or more images 
               
               
                 of vehicles 
                 of the vehicles in real-time, which may include their 
               
               
                   
                 license plate identifier (i.e., a series of number 
               
               
                   
                 and/or characters). By associating the features 
               
               
                   
                 with a set of predefined classification information, 
               
               
                   
                 the class of the vehicles can be derived. 
               
               
                 Real-time 
                 Real-time detection of vehicle-presence at a 
               
               
                 detection of 
                 predefined location within the premises of a car 
               
               
                 vehicle-presence 
                 park by processing one or more images of the 
               
               
                 at a predefined 
                 predefined location. The predefined locations can 
               
               
                 location within 
                 be labeled car park lots within the car park. In such 
               
               
                 the premise of 
                 case, the number of empty and occupied lots within 
               
               
                 a car park 
                 the car park at any given time can be determined. 
               
               
                 Real-time 
                 Real-time mapping of identified and/or classified 
               
               
                 looking-up 
                 vehicles to predefined locations detected with 
               
               
                 of vehicles 
                 vehicle-presence. With this mapping, vehicles within 
               
               
                 within the 
                 the car park premise can be located based on a fully or 
               
               
                 premise of a 
                 partially matched set of search criteria. This set of 
               
               
                 car park 
                 search criteria shall consist of the features of the 
               
               
                   
                 vehicles, which may include their license plate 
               
               
                   
                 identifier (i.e., a series of number and/or characters). 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Other usage of the information from the described embodiment may be for parking lot booking/reservation, parking and vehicle locating guidance, and illegal parking enforcement. 
     Further features of the example embodiment of the invention may include: 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Real-time 
                 Real-time parking lot booking/reservation service 
               
               
                 parking lot 
                 can be provided to users through various possible 
               
               
                 booking/ 
                 customer service channels, including telephone, 
               
               
                 reservation 
                 mobile phone, internet, kiosk, SMS, etc. 
               
               
                 service 
               
               
                 Real-time 
                 Knowing the location of the enquiry source and 
               
               
                 parked vehicle 
                 the location of the vehicle, a predefined set of 
               
               
                 locating guidance 
                 directional instructions can be provided to show 
               
               
                 service 
                 the best way from the location of the inquiry 
               
               
                   
                 source to the location of the vehicle. This can 
               
               
                   
                 be accomplished through the use of information 
               
               
                   
                 dissemination means such as electronic signage. 
               
               
                 Real-time 
                 Knowing the location of entrances to the car park 
               
               
                 vacant parking 
                 as well as the vacant lots&#39; location, directional 
               
               
                 lot locating 
                 instructions can be provided for users to locate an 
               
               
                 guidance service 
                 available, booked or reserved lot. This can be 
               
               
                   
                 accomplished through the use of an information 
               
               
                   
                 dissemination means such as electronic signage. 
               
               
                 Real-time 
                 By mapping the vehicle to their parking location, 
               
               
                 illegal parking 
                 the policy of reserved parking can be managed 
               
               
                 enforcement service 
                 and enforced. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     Yet other features of an example embodiment may include several value-added services, including: 
     
       
         
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                 Intelligent 
                 Monitor the objects, people and vehicles at a 
               
               
                 surveillance 
                 predefined location within a car park premise, 
               
               
                 of car park for 
                 and apply advanced image-processing algorithms 
               
               
                 effective management 
                 to intelligently analyse the activities at that 
               
               
                 of incidents within 
                 location to detect incidents such as abnormal 
               
               
                 the car park premise 
                 events, crimes, vehicle breakdowns, call-for-help, 
               
               
                   
                 or suspicious behaviours. 
               
               
                 Display and 
                 Display graphical live car park images that is 
               
               
                 indexing of live car 
                 linked to the digital map of the car park to 
               
               
                 park images for 
                 assist the users, such as the driver, the customer 
               
               
                 efficient look-up 
                 service personnel, the valet service attendance, 
               
               
                 of vehicles 
                 security officer, or others, to visually locate and 
               
               
                   
                 identify the vehicle of interest. 
               
               
                 Broadcasting of 
                 Broadcast the traffic flow conditions inside the 
               
               
                 car park&#39;s 
                 car park by means of signage and/or other visual 
               
               
                 traffic flow 
                 indicators to the users. These include indicating 
               
               
                 condition for 
                 congested lanes (paths or routes) within the car 
               
               
                 easing of traffic 
                 park along which vehicles searching for lots or 
               
               
                 congestion within 
                 exiting the car park may take. This is based on 
               
               
                 the car park 
                 the images and visual information produced by 
               
               
                   
                 the cameras and image processing programs. This 
               
               
                   
                 information may also be a result of data from 
               
               
                   
                 other subsystems or sensors. This value-add 
               
               
                   
                 feature can be used together with Secondary 
               
               
                   
                 Feature #3. 
               
               
                 Strategic charging 
                 Apply differential parking charges to vehicles 
               
               
                 and guidance of 
                 based on their parked locations, and/or 
               
               
                 parking vehicles for 
                 strategically direct in-coming vehicles to less 
               
               
                 effective utilisation 
                 popular car park locations so that parked vehicles 
               
               
                 of car park lots. 
                 are effectively distributed across the car park. 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     The method and system of the example embodiment can be implemented on a computer system  800 , schematically shown in  FIG. 4 . It may be implemented as software, such as a computer program being executed within the computer system  800 , and instructing the computer system  800  to conduct the method of the example embodiment. 
     The computer system  800  comprises a computer module  802 , input modules such as a keyboard  804  and mouse  806  and a plurality of output devices such as a display  808 , and printer  810 . 
     The computer module  802  is connected to a computer network  812  via a suitable transceiver device  814 , to enable access to e.g. the Internet or other network systems such as Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide Area Network (WAN). 
     The computer module  802  in the example includes a processor  818 , a Random Access Memory (RAM)  820  and a Read Only Memory (ROM)  822 . The computer module  802  also includes a number of Input/Output (I/O) interfaces, for example I/O interface  824  to the display  808 , and I/O interface  826  to the keyboard  804 . 
     The components of the computer module  802  typically communicate via and interconnected bus  828  and in a manner known to the person skilled in the relevant art. 
     The application program is typically supplied to the user of the computer system  800  encoded on a data storage medium such as a CD-ROM or floppy disk and read utilising a corresponding data storage medium drive of a data storage device  830 . The application program is read and controlled in its execution by the processor  818 . Intermediate storage of program data maybe accomplished using RAM  820 . 
     It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the present invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive.