Parkon.com which offers discounted airport parking is passionate about sparking the creative genius in students and recognizes those outstanding students who have made a difference in the world around them by inspiring others to always do their best!
Name: Courtney Edwards
School name: Grand Canyon University
How can Artificial Intelligence be Leveraged in the Airport Parking Industry?
Air travel, whether for business or pleasure is a part of millions of Americans’ lives. Unfortunately, with travel comes a lot of stress, from trying to find parking to waiting in lines to clear security. Luckily, airports are trying to combat the stress to make traveling more enjoyable. For example, Pittsburgh International Airport and Manchester-Boston Regional Airport are among the first airports that are relying on AI to reduce the stress of traveling.
By using real-time data, airports can improve the passenger experience and optimize waiting times. This can also be used for airport parking as well. Smart parking combines modern technology and creative human intelligence with the use of real-time data to help travelers spend less time looking for parking by doing the following:
- Analyzing traffic direction and flow
- Recording peak timings
- Studying traffic behavior to predict future events
- Utilizing devices such as cameras and sensors to gather the information as mentioned above
When looking for a parking spot in the airport, a driver can waste precious time and fuel by driving around, looking for a spot. By using smart technology, the driver can find a closer parking spot with minimum hassle. For example, many travelers use apps to prepay for parking at the airport, so they don’t have to play Russian roulette on the day of travel. Other benefits for the traveler include:
- Using a ticketless parking system, makes vehicle entry/exit faster, thereby improving the parking experience
- Real-time data can help parking users find where to park their vehicles
- Dynamic pricing can help cut costs based on real-time parking pricing changes
- Of course, AI doesn’t only benefit the traveler. Additionally, there are many benefits for the parking managers who manage the parking garages. For example:
- As a parking manager, you have more control over giving needed access to your parking occupants
- Data that is collected can assist the parking manager by optimizing the current parking management strategy, especially during the holidays
- Having an algorithm that can create predictions and forecasts on parking and future occupancy by considering the weather, day of the week, peak hour timings, the current level of traffic, and behavior of parking users
- Dynamic pricing helps make parking management more effective and reduce congestion
- Ultimately, AI helps the parking user save money and time while simultaneously helping the parking manager make money.
As technology continues to advance, we can expect more changes to be made when it comes to traveling. For example, airport valet parking can be utilized in the future, as a robot can guide your vehicle to its spot. The spots would be designed using AI-based parking technology, meaning that the nearest available spot would be found using sensors and cameras in the vicinity. For the traveler, that would mean less time looking for a spot when you could be inside the airport, sipping on coffee, while waiting for your flight. When the average American can spend about 17 hours a year looking for a parking spot, AI can reduce that time so that the traveler can get more of their time back.