Patent Publication Number: US-2020286380-A1

Title: Systems and methods for managing a parking facility

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The subject matter described herein relates to systems and methods for controlling the parking of vehicles in a parking facility, and, more particularly, to managing occupancy and distribution of parking spaces. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Parking in high traffic or highly populated areas can present a significant challenge. In parking facilities with limited amounts of parking spaces, the level of timeliness of users returning to retrieve vehicles and free up additional parking spaces can have ripple effects that retard efficient redistribution of parking spaces to incoming users. 
     Furthermore, fully and partially autonomous vehicles are becoming more prevalent, and such vehicles may be equipped to communicate with third-party systems and be fully capable of autonomously parking in a parking space. However, conventional parking facilities do not exploit these trends in any significant way that impacts the user experience at parking facilities or aids in improving levels of redistribution of parking spaces or overall efficiency in operation of the parking facilities. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment, example systems and methods for controlling a parking facility and managing distribution of parking spaces in the parking facility. 
     Therefore, a parking facility control system is disclosed. In one approach, the disclosed system includes one or more processors and a memory communicably connected to the one or more processors, storing a control module including one or more instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to select an initial parking space for a vehicle based, at least in part, on a parking request indicating an identifier and a pickup time, and a communication module including one or more instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to transmit a parking command to the vehicle, the parking command identifying the initial parking space and causing the vehicle to navigate to and park in the initial parking space. 
     In one embodiment a method of controlling a parking facility is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a parking facility control system, a parking request for a vehicle, the parking request including an identifier and a pickup time, selecting, by the parking facility control system, an initial parking space at the parking facility for the vehicle based, at least in part, on the identifier and the pickup time, and transmitting a parking command to the vehicle. The parking command identifies the initial parking space and causes the vehicle to autonomously navigate to and park in the initial parking space. 
     In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is disclosed. The computer-readable medium stores instructions that when executed by one or more processors cause the one or more processors to perform the disclosed functions. The instructions include instructions to receive, by a parking facility control system, a parking request for a vehicle, the parking request including an identifier and a pickup time, select, by the parking facility control system, an initial parking space at the parking facility for the vehicle based, at least in part, on the identifier and the pickup time, and transmit a parking command to the vehicle. The parking command identifies the initial parking space and causes the vehicle to autonomously navigate to and park in the initial parking space. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate various systems, methods, and other embodiments of the disclosure. It will be appreciated that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one embodiment of the boundaries. In some embodiments, one element may be designed as multiple elements or multiple elements may be designed as one element. In some embodiments, an element shown as an internal component of another element may be implemented as an external component and vice versa. Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates one embodiment of a parking facility control system according to the disclosed subject matter. 
         FIG. 2A  illustrates a perspective view of a parking facility that can implement a parking facility control system according to the disclosed subject matter. 
         FIG. 2B  illustrates a cut-away side view of a parking facility control system according to the disclosed subject matter. 
         FIG. 3  illustrates an example representation of a parking request according to the disclosed subject matter. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates an example representation of a user profile according to the disclosed subject matter. 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a flow chart of a method of managing the parking of vehicles in a facility according to the disclosed subject matter. 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a flow chart of a method of selecting a parking space according to the disclosed subject matter. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Systems, methods and embodiments associated with controlling a parking facility and managing distribution of parking spaces in the parking facility are disclosed. The disclosed systems provides multiple improvements that enhance parking at a parking facility, including utilizing autonomous vehicle capabilities in drop-off and pickup of a vehicle, improving parking assignment predictions based on past behavior, and rewarding users who demonstrate a history of timely pickups, e.g., with reduced pricing, reduced wait times for pickups and advantageous parking space assignments. 
     In one embodiment, a parking facility control system receives a communication indicating that a user intends to utilize the facility. The communication can include an identifier for the user and a pickup time for the vehicle. The system can proceed to select a parking space for the vehicle based, at least in, part on: 1) the types of available spaces, 2) the pickup time, and 3) historical data indicating the user&#39;s timeliness in returning for pickups. The system can further transmit a parking command to a cause an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle to park in the selected parking space. Herein, an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle refers to a vehicle that is capable of at least a degree of moving, maneuvering, path finding or the like without direct manual control exerted by a human being. 
     Regarding the types of available spaces, the parking facility control system can categorize parking areas based on various factors, for example, proximity to an entry/exit point of the parking facility, presence of cover above the parking space, size of the parking space, additional security measures near the parking space, or the like. As an example, in a parking facility constructed to have five floors of parking above ground with fifty parking spaces per floor, the fifth floor being open with no roof, and a sole entry/exit point on the ground floor, the parking facility control system can categorize parking spaces on the fifth floor as one parking area, categorize parking spaces on the fourth floor as another parking area, and so on. Furthermore, the parking facility control system can use defined parking areas as differentials for applying greater value to highly desirable parking spaces within the parking facility. Such differentials can have an effect in a form of a reward system to encourage timely pickups, as will be discussed below. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , one embodiment of a parking facility control system  100  is illustrated. While arrangements will be described herein with respect to the parking facility control system  100 , it will be understood that embodiments are not limited to a unitary system as illustrated. In some implementations, the parking facility control system  100  may be embodied as a cloud-computing system, a cluster-computing system, a distributed computing system (e.g., across multiple facilities), a software-as-a-service (SaaS) system, and so on. Accordingly, the parking facility control system  100  is illustrated and discussed as a single computing system for purposes of discussion but should not be interpreted to limit the overall possible configurations in which the disclosed components may be configured. For example, the separate modules, memories, databases, and so on may be distributed among various computing systems in varying combinations. 
     The parking facility control system  100  also includes various elements. It will be understood that in various embodiments and configurations depending on the actual layout and implementation, it may not be necessary for the parking facility control system  100  to have all of the elements shown in  FIG. 1 . The parking facility control system  100  can have any combination of the various elements shown in  FIG. 1 . Further, the parking facility control system  100  can have additional elements to those shown in  FIG. 1 . In some arrangements, the parking facility control system  100  may be implemented without one or more of the elements shown in  FIG. 1 . Further, while the various elements are shown as being located within the parking facility control system  100  in  FIG. 1 , it will be understood that one or more of these elements can be located external to the parking facility control system  100 . Further, the elements shown may be physically separated by large distances. 
     Additionally, it will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, the discussion outlines numerous specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. Those of skill in the art, however, will understand that the embodiments described herein may be practiced using various combinations of these elements. 
     The parking facility control system  100  is implemented to perform methods and other functions as disclosed herein relating to, for example, managing a parking facility, selecting and distributing parking spaces for incoming vehicles, setting parking prices, and directing autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles. The noted functions and methods will become more apparent with a further discussion of the figures. 
     The parking facility control system  100  is shown as including a processor  110 . In various implementations the processor  110  may be a part of the parking facility control system  100 , the parking facility control system  100  may access the processor  110  through a data bus or another communication pathway, the processor  110  may be a remote computing resource accessible by the parking facility control system  100 , and so on. In any case, the processor  110  is an electronic device such as a microprocessor, an ASIC, or another computing component that is capable of executing machine-readable instructions to produce various electronic outputs therefrom that may be used to control or cause the control of other electronic devices. 
     In one embodiment, the parking facility control system  100  includes a memory  120  that stores a control module  130  and a communications module  140 . The memory  120  is a random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard-disk drive, a flash memory, or other suitable memory for storing the modules  130  and  140 . The modules  130  and  140  are, for example, computer-readable instructions that when executed by the processor  110  cause the processor  110  to perform the various functions disclosed herein. In various embodiments, the modules  130  and  140  can be implemented in different forms that can include but are not limited to hardware logic, an ASIC, components of the processor  110 , instructions embedded within an electronic memory, and so on. 
     The control module  130  can function to categorize parking spaces into distinct areas and select an initial parking space in an area for a vehicle based, at least in part, information received in a parking request, e.g., an identifier and a pickup time. The control module  130  can also determine a parking price based at least on the pickup time and a parking score associated with the identifier. 
     The communications module  140  can function to direct an autonomous vehicle to the selected parking space, for example, by transmitting a parking command to the vehicle. The parking command can include information that indicates a location of the initial parking space in the parking facility. The communications module  140  can also function to transmit various types of notifications and confirmation requests to a user, as will be discussed further below. 
     With continued reference to the parking facility control system  100 , in one embodiment, the system  100  includes a data store  150 , which may be implemented as a database  150 . The database  150  is, in one embodiment, an electronic data structure stored in the memory  120 , a distributed memory, a cloud-based memory, or another data store and that is configured with routines that can be executed by the processor  110  for analyzing stored data, providing stored data, organizing stored data, and so on. Thus, in one embodiment, the database  150  stores data used by the modules  130  and  140  in executing various determinations. In one embodiment, the database  150  stores data including user profiles  160 . 
     The parking facility control system  100  can also include a communication system  170  that allows the communication module  140  to communicate with, for example, communication networks, vehicle systems, mobile computing devices, and other systems. The communication system  170  can be configured to communicate, for example, over a local area network, a wide area network, directly with a target system via an established protocol such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X), or through other communications methods. 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate views of an example parking facility  200  that can implement or be controlled by the disclosed parking facility control system  100 . Although the facility  200  is depicted as a multi-floor structure, the disclosed subject matter is not limited to this particular implementation and can be applied to parking facilities of different layouts, configurations or sizes. For example, the disclosed subject matter can be applied to parking facilities comprised of multiple sites within a certain proximity. The parking facility  200  includes an entrance  210  and multiple floors (e.g.,  231 - 236 ). The parking facility control system  100  can be installed at the parking facility  200  or at a remote location in communication with the facility  200 . 
     The parking facility control system  100  can categorize parking areas (e.g.,  220 - 226 ) in the parking facility  200 . The categorization can be based on, for example, physical structure or various metrics that relate to comparative advantages. Such metrics can be determined based on features or characteristics that are specific to the facility  200  or generic factors. As an example of physical structure categorization, the system  100  can categorize parking areas in the facility  200  based on which floor the parking area is on. That is, the system  100  can categorize parking area  221  on the first floor  231  as a first area and a parking area  226  on the sixth floor  236  as a different area with respective floors therebetween also categorized uniquely. As an example of other types of categorization, in one or more embodiments the system  100  can categorize parking areas based on respective distances from the entrance  210  to the facility  200 , proximity to stairwells, proximity to security devices, etc. 
     In operation, in one or more embodiments the communication system  170  that is operably connected with the parking facility control system  100  can receive and relay a parking request from a user who intends to utilize the facility  200 , i.e., to park a vehicle at the facility for an amount of time and return to retrieve the vehicle.  FIG. 3  illustrates a representation of an example parking request  300 . The user can complete the parking request  300 , for example, via an application running on a mobile phone, a form on a website, a text message, or other communication form. The communication system  170  can receive the parking request  300  from, for example, a network communication from a mobile phone, a car phone, a computing device, or other communication device, and relay the information contained therein, e.g., to the control module  130 . 
     The parking request  300  can include an identifier (ID)  310  that is associated with the user sending the request. The ID can be established as, for example, a phone number, a name, code, a vehicle identification number (VIN), or other ID. For example, in one or more embodiments the ID is an encoded ID created according to a protocol established for communication with the parking facility control system  100 , where the encoded ID is not connected to any other information about the user to protect the user&#39;s privacy. 
     The parking request can further include an arrival time  320  and a pickup time  330 . The arrival time  320  indicates a time or a window of time at which the user anticipates arriving at the facility to drop off his/her vehicle. The pickup time  330  indicates a time or a window of time at which the user anticipates returning to the facility  200  to retrieve his/her vehicle. In addition, as will be discussed below, the pickup time  330  functions as an indicator of the user&#39;s ability or tendency to accurately predict the user&#39;s own behavior. 
     The parking request  300  can further include additional information, such as vehicle information  340  (e.g., a model and year of the vehicle) and a parking preference  350 . The parking preference  350  can be generic or specific to the facility  200 . For example, in a hypothetical parking facility attached to a mall with multiple floor exits leading to different floors of the mall, a preference  350  could reference a particular store, theater or the like that the user intends to visit (e.g., “Near Super Store”). As another example, in a parking facility that has covered above-ground parking, uncovered above-ground parking, and underground parking, a preference  350  could indicate, “Covered above-ground parking.” 
     Upon receiving the parking request  300  the control module  130  can check to see whether the ID  310  is already associated with one of the user profiles  160  in the database  150 . If no corresponding profile exists, the system  100  can create a profile. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a representation of an example user profile  400 . The user profile  400  can be a data structure that includes information such as the user&#39;s ID  410 , the user&#39;s vehicle  420 , user parking preferences  430  and a parking score  440  that reflects how often the user is timely in picking up the user&#39;s vehicle. The user profile  400  does not need to include each of the types of information shown in  FIG. 4  and can include other types of information not shown. 
     In one or more embodiments, the control module  130  can select a parking space for the user based on, for example, the information in the user profile  400 , a length of parking time that the vehicle is anticipated to remain at the facility  200  based on the pickup time  330 , and other additional factors, such as the time of day, occurrence of a local special event, the number and type of available parking spaces, number/distribution of vehicles currently parked in the facility, or other factors, as will be discussed further below. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a flowchart of a method  500  that is associated with parking space selection and parking space management operations of the disclosed parking facility control system  100 . The method  500  will be discussed from the perspective of the disclosed parking facility control system  100  of  FIG. 1  and parking facility  200  of  FIGS. 2A and 2B . While the method  500  is discussed in combination with the system  100  and facility  200 , it should be appreciated that the method  500  is not limited to being implemented within system  100  and facility  200 , which are merely one example of a system and facility that may implement the method  500 . 
     At operation  510  the communication system  170  receives a parking request from a user and relays the information contained therein to the control module  130 . In one or more embodiments, the parking request includes an ID and a pickup time. In other embodiments, the parking request includes additional information, such as vehicle information and user parking preferences. 
     At operation  515  the control module  130  identifies a profile associated with the ID, and if no profile exists, the control module  130  creates a new profile. The profile can be stored, for example, in the database  150 . When creating a new profile, the control module  130  can assign the profile a neutral parking score. The parking score functions as an indicator of the user&#39;s historical trends regarding how accurate the user is in setting a pickup time and how timely a user is in following through to meet that pickup time. The parking score can be a numerical integer value, or some other form suitable to cover a range of measurements. For example, in one implementation the parking score can range from 0 to 100 with a score of 0 representing frequent untimeliness and a score of 100 representing frequent timeliness. In this example, the control module  130  may assign an initial neutral parking score of 50 to new profiles. Subsequent actions by the user can affect the parking score in a positive or negative way. 
     At operation  520  the control module  130  selects a parking space and determines a price for the parking space. In one or more embodiments, the control module  130  can utilize an algorithm that selects a parking space based on the parking score, available parking spaces in the facility  200 , and the pickup time. 
     Regarding selection of the parking space, in one or more embodiments, the control module  130  can define parking areas based on one or more of a distance from an entrance/exit to the facility, a distance to a particular feature of the facility (e.g., an elevator, stairwell, direct store entry, etc.), or presence of other features (e.g., light, cover, security features, etc.). Referring back to  FIG. 2B , in the example facility  200  the control module  130  can categorize parking areas to include a pickup area  220  and six parking areas: first parking area  221 , second parking area  222 , third parking area  223 , fourth parking area  224 , fifth parking area  225  and sixth parking area  226 . The control module  130  categorizes the parking areas  221 - 226  based on their distance from the entry/exit point  210 , where area  221  is the closest (ground level) and area  226  is the farthest (top level). In this example, the closer a given area is to the entry/exit point  210  the more preferential it may be considered, since it may be accessed faster. 
     In the selection algorithm, the parking score can function as a weight factor for preferential selection of a parking space according to the system-defined categories of parking areas in a given facility. This weight factor can be applicable in algorithms customized for specific features of a given parking facility. For example, at a time when multiple requests are received simultaneously listing preference for a particular area with limited parking available (e.g., a special event near a given area) at a facility, users with higher scores can be granted preferential assignment to the area. 
     In addition, the control module  130  can utilize parking space selection algorithms that attempt to improve traffic flow through the facility  200  via the parking space selections. For example, traffic flow throughout the entirety of the facility  200  can be reduced if vehicles that will remain parked at the facility  200  for a relatively short amount of time (e.g., an hour or less) are parked closer to the entry/exit point  210  than vehicles that will remain parked at the facility  200  for a relatively long amount of time (e.g., three or more hours). However, the usefulness of this observation as it applies to selecting a parking space depends on how accurate the control module  130  is in predicting the actual parking times of vehicles based on the parking requests. 
     Accordingly, the control module  130  can improve actual parking time predictions by rating the accuracy of user&#39;s pickup time predictions with the parking score. That is, in one or more embodiments, the control module  130  lowers a user parking score in response to late pickups/repeated extensions, and increases the user parking score in response to timely pickups. 
     Returning to  FIG. 5  for operation perspective, recall at operation  520  the control module  130  utilizes the pickup time from the parking request and the parking score from the user profile in selecting a parking space from among the available parking spaces. Since the parking score functions as an indicator of past timeliness and accuracy, given two users, A and B, that both submit parking requests with identical pickup times, if A ParkingScore &gt;B ParkingScore  the control module  130  can select a parking space for B in a parking area that is farther away from the exit/entry point than a parking space selected for A. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a flowchart  600  of an example process by which the control module  130  can select a parking space based on a parking request received from user B having a parking score B ParkingScore . At operation  610  the control module  130  can select an initial parking area as a function of the pickup time received in the parking request. For example, in one embodiment the function may be defined as: 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
                   
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     where A is the total number of areas, P T  is the total estimated parking time based on the received pickup time, Min T  is a minimum threshold time and Max T  is a maximum threshold time. Effectively, Eq. 1 maps a parking time P T  to a parking area, where the closer P T  is to the minimum threshold Min T  the lower the parking area will be, and the closer P T  is to the maximum threshold Max T  the higher the parking area will be (i.e., further away from the entry/exit point  210 ). In implementing this function any parking time P T  less than Min T  is set to Min T , resulting in selecting the lowest parking area, and conversely any P T  greater than Max T  is set equal Max T , resulting in selecting the highest parking area. 
     As an example, implemented in the facility  200 , the control module  130  can define six parking areas (A=6), a minimum threshold time of fifteen minutes (Min T =15) and a maximum threshold time of four hours (Max T =240 minutes). Assume that the parking request from user B includes a pickup time that equates to 120 minutes of parking time (e.g., the current time is 12:00 and the submitted pickup time is 2:00). In this case, the system  100  will identify the third parking area  223  as the initial parking area, i.e.: 
     
       
         
           
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     However, the initial parking area is not necessarily the final selected parking area from which the parking space will be assigned. In one or more embodiments, the control module  130  can determine whether the initial parking area should be adjusted, for example, based on past patterns of timely behavior or untimely behavior, based on any known preferences and/or based on actual availability. For example, the control module  130  can define a “timeliness threshold” such that a parking score below the timeliness threshold is interpreted as indicating a pattern of late pickups and/or extensions, and a “reward threshold” such that a parking score above the reward threshold is interpreted as indicating a pattern of timely pickups. 
     Following this approach, at operation  620  the control module  130  checks whether user B has a parking score B ParkingScore  that is below the timeliness threshold. If B ParkingScore &lt;timeliness threshold, at operation  630  the control module  130  can adjust selection of the parking area to a less advantageous parking area, for example, by selecting a parking area that is further away than the initial parking area. In the example above, the control module  130  could shift the selection of the initial parking area from third parking area  223  to fourth parking area  224 . In this manner the past behavior of user B has affected the selection negatively and the operations of the disclosed parking facility control system  100  provide an incentive for user B to improve his/her actions in terms of timeliness when utilizing the facility. 
     At operation  640  the control module  130  checks whether user B has a parking score B ParkingScore  that is greater than the reward threshold. If B ParkingScore &gt;reward threshold, at operation  650  the control module  130  can adjust selection of the parking area to provide an improvement if possible, for example, by selecting a parking area that satisfies user preferences included in the parking request or user profile, or selecting a parking area that is closer to the entry/exit point  210  when the initially selected parking area is full. In this manner, the disclosed parking facility control system  100  promotes behavior that aids in efficient operation of the facility  200 . At operation  660  the control module  130  determines the final selection of the parking space from the selected parking area. 
     Thus, returning to  FIG. 5 , at operation  520  the control module  130  selects a parking space, for example, in the manner described above, and determines a price for the parking space. The price can be determined as a function of the parking area and the pickup time. For example, the control module  130  can assign a separate hourly parking rate to each parking area based on the respective distance from the entry/exit point  210 . The price can be adjusted based on the parking score, e.g., the control module  130  can allot a discount if the parking score is above the reward threshold or some other threshold level. The communication module  140  can transmit the parking price to the user and prompt the user to confirm acceptance of the parking price. 
     At operation  525 , when the vehicle arrives at the facility  200  to park, the communication module  140  can direct the vehicle to park. In one embodiment, the communication module directs the vehicle based, at least in part, on whether the vehicle is an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle or a manual vehicle. 
     In the case of the vehicle being an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle capable of self-parking, the communication module  140  directs the vehicle by transmitting a “parking command” to the vehicle. The parking command can include instructions that enable the vehicle to navigate to a given parking space. The instructions can include, for example, a parking space number, a facility map/floor plan, a coordinate, a turn by turn instruction list, or the like. Thus, upon arrival at the facility  200  the user can exit the vehicle and depart to allow the vehicle to autonomously navigate to the assigned parking space. 
     In the case of the vehicle not having suitable autonomous capability, not being configured to communicate with the communication module  140 , or in some other way being incapable of executing the parking command, the communication module  140  can transmit the parking command to a communication device associated with the user or to a worker at facility  200 , with the command including human readable instructions such as the parking space number, so that the user (or a worker) can manually navigate the vehicle to the selected parking space and park the vehicle. 
     At operation  530 , when the pickup time that was received in the parking request is approaching, at a set amount of time, e.g. ten minutes, prior thereto, the communication module  140  can transmit a pickup notification to the user via the communication system  170 . The pickup notification can be transmitted, for example, via a text message, an email, a robocall, or the like. The pickup notification notifies the user that the pickup time is approaching and requests confirmation that user will retrieve the vehicle at the pickup time, or confirmation that the user will not retrieve the vehicle at the pickup time and instead intends to request an extension of parking time. If the user does not respond or responds with a request for an extension of time, at operation  540  the control module  130  may adjust the parking score, e.g., lower the score by an incremental amount to represent the occurrence of the user failing to meet the original pickup time. Operational flow then returns to operation  520  for the control module  130  to select a parking space and determine the price for the continued time. In this cycle, if the parking score has not fallen below the timeliness threshold, the control module  130  may select the same parking space and therefore no change is necessary. However, if the score has fallen below the timeliness threshold, or other circumstance have changed (e.g., increased demand of parking), the control module  130  may select a new parking space for the vehicle, e.g., in a parking area that is farther away than the current parking area. In this case at operation  525  the communication module  140  will transmit a parking command to move the vehicle to the newly selected parking space. 
     Conversely, if the user confirms the pickup at operation  535 , then at operation  545  the communication module  140  transmits a parking command that causes the vehicle to be moved (i.e., autonomously or manually by a worker, depending on capability) to a parking space in the pickup area  220 . As shown in  FIG. 2B , the pickup area  220  can be a parking area near an entry/exit point  210  of the facility  200 , however, this is only one example layout. In implementation the pickup area  220  can be disposed in other locations, such as near a store entrance, near an elevator, or other locations. 
     The pickup area  220  can include sensors that allow that system  100  to detect the presence or absence of a vehicle that has been assigned to a pickup area  220  parking space. In one or more embodiments, the vehicle can communicate directly with the system  100 , for example, through V2X communication to notify the system  100  of its location/departure. Thus, the system  100  can determine when the vehicle arrives at the pickup area  220  and whether the user has arrived and driven the vehicle out of the pickup area  220 . 
     At operation  550  the system  100  waits for an amount of time and checks whether the pickup has been completed, i.e., the user has arrived, picked up the vehicle and left the facility. In one or more embodiments, the amount of time that the system allows the vehicle to remain in the pickup area  220  can be a function of the user score. For example, the higher the score, the more time the system  100  allows for the vehicle to remain in the pickup area  220 , as high score users have demonstrated a likelihood of completing a pickup. However, if the system  100  detects that the vehicle has not been picked up by the expiration of the allotted time, then the control module  130  executes operation  540  to adjust the score (i.e. reduction) and cycles back to operation  520  to select a new parking space and determine a price for the extended parking time. That is, the control module can adjust a parking score associated with the user profile based on whether the vehicle is removed from the parking facility within a determined time range of the original pickup time estimate. 
     Conversely, if the system  100  detects that the pickup has been completed, then at operation  555  the control module  130  adjusts the score accordingly (i.e., increase) and the process ends at operation  560 . 
     In addition to the above described configurations, it should be appreciated that the parking facility control system  100  from  FIG. 1  can be configured in various arrangements with separate integrated circuits and/or chips. In such embodiments, the identification module  130  from  FIG. 1  can be embodied as a separate integrated circuit. Additionally, the control module  130  and communication module  140  can each be embodied on individual integrated circuits. The circuits can be connected via connection paths to provide for communicating signals between the separate circuits. Of course, while separate integrated circuits are discussed, in various embodiments, the circuits may be integrated into a common integrated circuit board. Additionally, the integrated circuits may be combined into fewer integrated circuits or divided into more integrated circuits. In another embodiment, the modules  130  and  140  may be combined into a separate application-specific integrated circuit. In further embodiments, portions of the functionality associated with the modules  130  and  140  may be embodied as firmware executable by a processor and stored in a non-transitory memory. In still further embodiments, the modules  130  and  140  are integrated as hardware components of the processor  110 . 
     In another embodiment, the described methods and/or their equivalents may be implemented with computer-executable instructions. Thus, in one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is configured with stored computer executable instructions that when executed by a machine (e.g., processor, computer, and so on) cause the machine (and/or associated components) to perform the method. 
     While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the illustrated methodologies in the figures are shown and described as a series of blocks, it is to be appreciated that the methodologies (e.g., method  200  of  FIG. 2 ) are not limited by the order of the blocks, as some blocks can occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other blocks from that shown and described. Moreover, less than all the illustrated blocks may be used to implement an example methodology. Blocks may be combined or separated into multiple components. Furthermore, additional and/or alternative methodologies can employ additional blocks that are not illustrated. 
     The parking facility control system  100  can include one or more processors  110 . In one or more arrangements, the processor(s)  110  can be a main processor of the parking facility control system  100 . For instance, the processor(s)  110  can be an electronic control unit (ECU). The parking facility control system  100  can include one or more data stores for storing one or more types of data. The data stores can include volatile and/or non-volatile memory. Examples of suitable data stores include RAM (Random Access Memory), flash memory, ROM (Read Only Memory), PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory), EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory), registers, magnetic disks, optical disks, hard drives, distributed memories, cloud-based memories, other storage medium that are suitable for storing the disclosed data, or any combination thereof. The data stores can be a component of the processor(s)  110 , or the data store can be operatively connected to the processor(s)  110  for use thereby. The term “operatively connected,” as used throughout this description, can include direct or indirect connections, including connections without direct physical contact. 
     Detailed embodiments are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are intended only as examples. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the aspects herein in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandable description of possible implementations. Various embodiments are shown in  FIGS. 1-6 , but the embodiments are not limited to the illustrated structure or application. 
     The flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments. In this regard, each block in the flowcharts or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. 
     The systems, components and/or processes described above can be realized in hardware or a combination of hardware and software and can be realized in a centralized fashion in one processing system or in a distributed fashion where different elements are spread across several interconnected processing systems. Any kind of processing system or another apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein is suited. A combination of hardware and software can be a processing system with computer-usable program code that, when being loaded and executed, controls the processing system such that it carries out the methods described herein. The systems, components and/or processes also can be embedded in a computer-readable storage, such as a computer program product or other data programs storage device, readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform methods and processes described herein. These elements also can be embedded in an application product which comprises all the features enabling the implementation of the methods described herein and, which when loaded in a processing system, is able to carry out these methods. 
     Furthermore, arrangements described herein may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer-readable media having computer-readable program code embodied, e.g., stored, thereon. Any combination of one or more computer-readable media may be utilized. The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The phrase “computer-readable storage medium” means a non-transitory storage medium. A computer-readable medium may take forms, including, but not limited to, non-volatile media, and volatile media. Non-volatile media may include, for example, optical disks, magnetic disks, and so on. Volatile media may include, for example, semiconductor memories, dynamic memory, and so on. Examples of such a computer-readable medium may include, but are not limited to, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, a hard disk, a magnetic tape, other magnetic medium, an ASIC, a CD, other optical medium, a RAM, a ROM, a memory chip or card, a memory stick, and other media from which a computer, a processor or other electronic device can read. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. 
     The following includes definitions of selected terms employed herein. The definitions include various examples and/or forms of components that fall within the scope of a term and that may be used for various implementations. The examples are not intended to be limiting. Both singular and plural forms of terms may be within the definitions. 
     References to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “one example”, “an example”, and so on, indicate that the embodiment(s) or example(s) so described may include a particular feature, structure, characteristic, property, element, or limitation, but that not every embodiment or example necessarily includes that particular feature, structure, characteristic, property, element or limitation. Furthermore, repeated use of the phrase “in one embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may. 
     “Module,” as used herein, includes a computer or electrical hardware component(s), firmware, a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores instructions, and/or combinations of these components configured to perform a function(s) or an action(s), and/or to cause a function or action from another logic, method, and/or system. Module may include a microprocessor controlled by an algorithm, a discrete logic (e.g., ASIC), an analog circuit, a digital circuit, a programmed logic device, a memory device including instructions that when executed perform an algorithm, and so on. A module, in one or more embodiments, includes one or more CMOS gates, combinations of gates, or other circuit components. Where multiple modules are described, one or more embodiments include incorporating the multiple modules into one physical module component. Similarly, where a single module is described, one or more embodiments distribute the single module between multiple physical components. 
     Additionally, module as used herein includes routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular data types. In further aspects, a memory generally stores the noted modules. The memory associated with a module may be a buffer or cache embedded within a processor, a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, or another suitable electronic storage medium. In still further aspects, a module as envisioned by the present disclosure is implemented as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a hardware component of a system on a chip (SoC), as a programmable logic array (PLA), or as another suitable hardware component that is embedded with a defined configuration set (e.g., instructions) for performing the disclosed functions. 
     In one or more arrangements, one or more of the modules described herein can include artificial or computational intelligence elements, e.g., neural network, fuzzy logic or other machine learning algorithms. Further, in one or more arrangements, one or more of the modules can be distributed among a plurality of the modules described herein. In one or more arrangements, two or more of the modules described herein can be combined into a single module. 
     Program code embodied on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless, wireline, optical fiber, cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination of the foregoing. Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of the present arrangements may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object-oriented programming language such as Java™ Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirely on the user&#39;s computer, partly on the user&#39;s computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user&#39;s computer and partly on a remote computer, or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user&#39;s computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). 
     The terms “a” and “an,” as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having,” as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The phrase “at least one of . . . and . . . ” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As an example, the phrase “at least one of A, B, and C” includes A only, B only, C only, or any combination thereof (e.g., AB, AC, BC or ABC). 
     Aspects herein can be embodied in other forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof. Accordingly, reference should be made to the following claims, rather than to the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope hereof.