Technologies for Urban Parking
Cities around the world are turning to technologies, including artificial intelligence, to manage crowded streets and parking spaces, and Germany is no exception. The country is preparing to test a parking control system that resembles a tech lab development more than conventional municipal equipment.
The city of Heidelberg now uses Cityscanner – a small vehicle with cameras, lidar and real-time database verification to detect parking violations. It’s an efficient, fast and AI-dependent way to check about 1,500 parked cars per hour. It’s so advanced that other cities’ efforts in this field appear outdated.
Comprehensive Monitoring
Developed by DCX Innovationis from Regensburg, Cityscanner uses roof-mounted cameras to capture 25 frames per second. While doing so, it reads license plates, checks whether cars are within valid parking spaces, and even cross-references data with digital parking apps such as Easypark or Parkster.
DCX has already implemented the system abroad, with nearly two dozen vehicles used in Poland. Similar scanners are also operating in France and the Netherlands, making Heidelberg a later but important addition to the deployment.
The lidar sensor detects whether a car is in a prohibited zone, bike lane, fire lane, or simply protruding too far into the roadway. To ensure accuracy, it passes the route twice within a few minutes before issuing a fine. In fact, before the fine reaches the violator, a person verifies the data collected by Cityscanner.
This makes sense, considering that the AI-based system cannot see things like disability permits. At full operational speed, Cityscanner can be approximately 600 percent more effective than foot patrols, reports Handelsblatt.
The German newspaper reports that the testing in Heidelberg is conducted under new legislation in Baden-Württemberg, which only recently established the legal basis for such systems. The vehicles are said to be specifically marked to stand out, serving as a deterrent rather than just a mobile fine-issuing device. Officials suggest that this visibility could improve parking behavior even before fines are applied.
Challenges and Concerns
At the same time, this system is not perfect and raises certain concerns. Privacy is a serious issue worldwide, and in Germany it is treated very seriously. Nevertheless, Cityscanner claims that the photographs it takes do not store images of faces or license plates of legally parked cars. The police are the only ones who can see the images, and this reportedly applies only to violators. In addition to privacy issues, Cityscanner is not cheap.
Although the company says it can install the device on any car in about four hours, its cost is around 130,000 euros. This price does not include software licensing. Perhaps low-tech systems, like in Little Rock, Arkansas, aren’t so bad after all. They are not high-tech, but they don’t have the same price tag or privacy concerns.
Photo Stephen Rivers
The implementation of systems like Cityscanner could significantly change approaches to urban management, especially in conditions of increasing traffic load. While the effectiveness is obvious, public dialogue about the balance between technological progress and private life continues to remain relevant. Perhaps future iterations of such developments will consider even more aspects of safety and transparency for residents.