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Smart Parking System using Bluetooth Mesh Technology

Begum Yasmine N1, Kaveri Anil P2, Malavika Shamesh3, Midhun S Nair4 and Ashni Elisa George5
1,2,3,4
UG Scholars, Dept of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, MBCET, Kerala India – 695015
5
Asst Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, MBCET – Kerala India – 695010
Email ID - {byasmine1197@gmail.com, kaverianil1@gmail.com, malavikashamesh@outlook.com, midhunsnair1@gmail.com,
ashnigeorge@gmail.com}
In recent times, the concept of smart cities has gained great popularity. Consistent efforts are being made to maximize the productivity
and reliability of parking system infrastructure. Problems such as improperly managed parking systems, limited car parking facilities
and road safety are of major concern and causes serious problems of time wastage. Inefficient use of existing parking spaces can raise
traffic congestion to a very high level. People get frustrated if they spend excessive time searching for a parking space and this can
affect their quality of driving as well. This project work proposes, a smart parking system using Bluetooth mesh technology. The
proposed model of Smart Parking system consists of an on-site deployment of a Bluetooth module that is used to monitor and signalize
the state of availability of each single parking space. A mobile application is also provided that allows an end user to check the
availability of parking space and book a parking slot accordingly. A database will be used to record every person’s vehicle by a code
and an RFID will be used to recognize the parking space for vehicle and the details would be shown to the administrator for complete
transparency. The admin would also be able to access the whole parking system manually in case of any emergency. The proposed
smart parking system is expected to save time and bring more parking discipline in the urban areas.

Index Terms— Bluetooth mesh, parking availability, RFID, slot-booking, traffic congestion, urban areas

is in-built in the car. This is a tag which is linked with the

I. INTRODUCTION user’s prepaid account and includes user’s personal
information also. The parking charges are automatically
In this era of evolving smart cities, parking is one of the main deducted from the user’s account based on the time spent
issues in our country. Lack of accessible parking can hurt local inside the parking area. Sensors are deployed to read whether
business and decrease the quality of life for its residents. a car space is occupied or empty. This system reduces the
Businesses will eventually have to bear the cost of unpriced need for human intervention in routine parking procedures and
parking, directly or indirectly via taxes that are passed on to streamlines the entire process to ensure speed, accuracy and
the customers. quick turnover. This system is cost effective, east to use and
Furthermore, drivers are likely to be frustrated if they safe with an optimal usage of space.
expect abundant and free parking but do not get the same.
Scarce parking for commercial vehicles to load or unload will II. BLUETOOTH MESH TECHNOLOGY
cause them to block travel lanes and lead to more problems
related to traffic congestion.
The main objective of the proposed model is to avoid Bluetooth has been actively developed and used since its
the cramming at the car parking area by implementing an initial release in 2000, when it was originally intended to act
efficient car parking system. Normally at public places like as a cable replacement technology. It soon came to dominate
multiplex theatres, market areas, hospitals, function halls, wireless audio products and computer peripherals such as
offices and shopping malls, one experiences the difficulty in wireless mice and keyboards. In 2010, Bluetooth LE provided
looking out for a vacant parking slot, even though it is a paid the next, major step forward. Wireless communications
facility with an attendant or security guard. The car parking systems based around mesh network topologies have proved
area has many lanes or slots, so to park a car one must drive themselves to offer an effective approach to providing
around and look at all the lanes to finally find a vacant slot. coverage of large areas, extending range and providing
Moreover, this involves a lot of time, fuel wastage, labor and resilience. Most Bluetooth LE devices communicate with each
investment. So, there is a necessity to develop a technology to other using a simple point-to-point network topology enabling
indicate the availability of parking slots and book one-to-one device communications. In the Bluetooth core
accordingly. Thus, conventional parking systems do not have specification, this is called a ‘piconet.’
any smart monitoring systems and the parking lots are A mesh network has a many-to-many topology, with
monitored by security guards. Conditions become worse when each device able to communicate with every other device in
there are multiple parking lanes and each lane has multiple the mesh. Communication is achieved using messages, and
parking slots. devices can relay messages to other devices so that the end-to-
This project proposes a Bluetooth-mesh based smart end communication range is extended far beyond the radio
parking system. The smart parking system employs an on-site range of each individual node.
deployment of Bluetooth module that is used to monitor and When a node needs to query the status of other nodes
signalize the state of availability of each parking system. A or needs to control other nodes in some way, it sends a
message of a suitable type. If a node needs to report its status
mobile application is also provided that allows the end user to
to other nodes, it sends a message. All communication in the
check the availability of parking spaces and book a parking
mesh network is “message oriented” and many message types
slot accordingly. The user is provided with an RFID tag which
are defined, each with its own, unique opcode.
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A. Addresses III. WORKING OF PROPOSED MODEL

Messages must be sent from and to an address. Bluetooth
mesh defines three types of address.
A unicast address uniquely identifies a single
element. Unicast addresses are assigned to devices during the
provisioning process. A group address is a multicast address
which represents one or more elements. Group addresses are
either defined by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG)
and are known as SIG Fixed Group Addresses or are assigned
dynamically. It is expected that dynamic group addresses will
be established by the user via a configuration application and
that they will reflect the physical configuration of a building,
such as defining group addresses which correspond to each
room in the building.
A virtual address is an address which may be
assigned to one or more elements, spanning one or more
nodes. It takes the form of a 128-bit UUID value with which
any element can be associated and is much like a label.
Virtual addresses will likely be preconfigured at the point of
manufacture and be used for scenarios such as allowing the
easy addressing of all meeting room projectors made by a
manufacturer.
B. Publish or Subscribe FIG. 2 Block Diagram from the user’s side (in app)

A. At the user’s side

FIG 2 shows the block diagram from the user’s side in the app.
The user is provided with a mobile application where a
suitable slot can be pre-booked before leaving his or her home.
When a slot is booked, some required data is updated (like
time for which the car will be in the parking slot etc.). This
data is stored and communicated using the Bluetooth mesh
technology and thus the booked slot is allotted for the user.
The slot is shown to be booked if another user tries to book the
same.
FIG. 1 Model for publish or subscribe B. At the parking area

The act of sending a message is known as publishing. Nodes

are configured to select messages sent to specific addresses
for processing, and this is known as subscribing. Typically,
messages are addressed to group or virtual addresses. Group
and virtual address names will have readily understood
meaning to the end user, making them easy and intuitive to
use.
FIG 1 shows the model for publish or subscribe in
many-to-many communication. It shows that the node
“Switch 1” is publishing to group address Kitchen. Nodes
Light 1, Light 2, and Light 3 each subscribe to the Kitchen
address and therefore receive and process messages published
to this address. In other words, Light 1, Light 2, and Light 3
can be switched on or off using Switch 1. “Switch 2”
publishes to the group address Dining Room. Light 3 alone FIG. 3 Block diagram of process at the parking area
subscribed to this address and so is the only light controlled
by Switch 2. Also, nodes may subscribe to messages FIG 3 shows the block diagram of the parking process at the
addressed to more than one distinct address. This is both location of parking. When the user enters the parking area, the
powerful and flexible. Similarly, both nodes Switch 5 and allotted slot is checked for its availability and in case it is not
Switch 6 publish to the same Garden address. available, a secondary slot is quickly allotted to the user. The
user can now park the car in his allotted slot (i.e., either the
slot that was booked by the user or the secondary slot in case
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the other slot is occupied). When the car is parked, the RFID slot without pre-booking it and that each car enters the correct
reader reads the tag of the car to ensure that the correct car is slot. It is also used for the payment when the car leaves the
parked in the slot and in case the car is parked in the wrong slot, a slot.
buzzer beeps to alert the driver and the managing personnel. 4) HC-05
Once the car is parked, the timer starts (the timer is set for the HC-05 module is an easy to use Bluetooth SPP (Serial Port
value enters by the user at the time of booking). The user can Protocol) module, designed for transparent wireless serial
remove his car any time before the timer runs out. In case the connection setup. Serial port Bluetooth module is fully
user does not remove his car, and the timer runs out, a qualified Bluetooth V2.0+EDR (Enhanced data Rate) 3 Mbps
notification is sent to his mobile to alert him and he will have to modulation with complete 2.4GHz radio transceiver and
pay a fine for the additional time he uses the slot. When the baseband. The HC-05 can reach a range of up to 9 meters. In
driver finally removes the car, payment is automatically done this project, the Bluetooth module is used for the
through his RFID card. The user then leaves the parking area. communication of availability of slots, duration of booking of
each slot etc.
IV. COMPONENTS 5) Buzzer
A buzzer is a mechanical, electromechanical, magnetic,
electromagnetic, electro-acoustic or piezoelectric audio
signaling device. A piezoelectric buzzer can be driven by an
oscillating electronic circuit or other audio signal source. A
click, beep or ring can indicate that a button has been pressed.
In our project, a buzzer starts beeping when a car is parked in
a wrong slot to notify the driver and the operator present at the
parking area.
6) LED
A light emitting diode is a semiconductor device that emits
light when an electric current is passed through it. Light is
produced when the particles that carry the current combine
within the semiconductor. LED that emits different colors are
available. In the model, the LEDs are used to show the
FIG. 3 Interconnection of components
availability of slots. In the prototype of the proposed model
red hue shows an occupied or booked slot and green hue
A. Hardware shows a vacant slot.
1) Raspberry PI 3
The Raspberry PI 3 is a series of small single-board B. Software
computers. It does not include peripherals and cases. There are
1) Proteus
several generations of Raspberry pi. A Raspberry Pi 3 model
The proteus design suite is a proprietary software tool suite
B has a 1.2 GHz 64-bit quad core Broadcom BCM2837
which is used primarily for electronic design automation. The
processor and 1GB memory used on the pi 3 onto a slimmer
software is used mainly by electronic design engineers and
and smaller board. It also has on board Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and
technicians to create schematic and electronic prints for
USB boot capabilities. In the project, it is used for the RFID
manufacturing printed circuit boards. The first version of what
reading section programming to check whether the correct car
is now the proteus design suite was called PC-B.
has entered the correct slot or not.
2) Arduino IDE
2) Arduino UNO
Arduino IDE is an official software introduced by arduino.cc,
The Arduino UNO is an open-source microcontroller board
that is mainly used for writing, compiling and uploading the
based on the Microchip ATmega328P microcontroller and
code in the Arduino device. Almost all Arduino modules are
developed by Arduino. The board is equipped with sets of
compatible with this software that is an open source and is
digital and analog inputs or output pins that may be interfaced
readily available to install and start compiling the code on the
to various expansion boards and other circuits.20 digital input
go. It is easily available for operating system like MAC,
or output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs and 6
Windows, Linux, and runs on the Java platform that comes
can be used as analog inputs), as 16MHz resonator, a USB
with inbuilt functions and commands that play a vital role for
connection, a power jack, an in-circuit system programming
debugging, editing and compiling the code in the environment.
(ICSP) header, and a reset button. Its operating voltage is 5V
A range of Arduino modules available including Arduino
and dc current per I/O Pin is 20 milli ampere. An Arduino
Mega, Arduino Leonardo and many more. Each of them
UNO is used in this for the Bluetooth connection scenario.
contains a microcontroller on the board that is programmed
The connection or path is determined using routing algorithm.
and accepts the information in the form of code. The main
3) RFID-2806
code, also known as a sketch, created on the IDE platform will
A radio frequency identification reader (RFID reader) is a ultimately generate a Hex file which is then transferred and
device used to gather information from an RFID tag, which is uploaded in the controller on the board.
used to track individual objects. Radio waves are used to
transfer data from the tag to reader. The RFID reader is
present in the project to ensure that a car does not enter the
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3) Thonny of many to many communication and lesser number of

Thonny is an integrated development environment for Python devices, so this is a very good alternative for the
that is designed for beginners. It supports different ways of conventional parking system.
stepping through the code step by step expression evaluation, 7) Disciplined traffic control – This technology leads to
detailed visualization of the call stack and a mode for lesser traffic congestion as there is no need to roam around
explaining the concept of references and heap. The program the highly populated roads searching for a space to park
works on Windows, Mac OS and Linux. It has been your vehicle or go through very small roads looking for a
recommended tool in several programming. It has been parking slot, and better parking methods since this is an
included by default in the Raspberry Pi’s official operating efficient method of car parking
system distribution. Thonny comes with Python 3.7 built in, 8) Better utilization of space – This method uses the
so just one simple installer is needed, and it is ready to learn available space very effectively. The parking spaces on the
programming. It also has a simple debugger. side of the roads can also be divided into slots for better
efficiency. This is an important aspect because since the
population is increasing day by day and in the upcoming
V. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PROPOSED SYSTEM years our country will be overpopulated and free space
will be a rare sight, so with this technology we can utilize
what is available to the maximum.
A. Advantages
1) Easy communication – Communication between
Bluetooth devices are simpler and easier. So, it takes less B. Disadvantages
time to update the information. Almost a real time 1) Technical know-how - This technology involves the
updating of availability of slots is possible and hence data usage of the application in the user’s smart phone where
can be easily communicated or accessed. In conventional the user will have to check for free slots among the shown
systems, communication is very complex and takes a lot of slots and book it prior to reaching the parking area. The
time and complex algorithms. This is the major advantage use of this technology requires technical knowledge and
of the system skill. Normal people should have the needed know-how to
2) Many-to-many communication – This technology has use the app. The elder generation need not have the
many-to-many communication which improves the overall required skill set.
efficiency and communication speed. Data transmission 2) Number of devices increases with distance - In this
can also be addressed to a group of destination nodes method, the number of devices increases with increase in
simultaneously. Multiple users contribute and receive distance. So to book for a parking slot at a very large
information at the same time. It is thus possible for the distance, we need a large number of devices and all these
source to efficiently send to the group in a single devices need to be interconnected.
transmission. This technology does not need to use a server
and communication from one source node to different
nodes are easily possible and even if one or two nodes are VI. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
damaged, effective communication takes place and the
efficiency does not get affected. Finally, to check the feasibility of the proposed model, a
3) Easy networking and reduced costs – This technology small prototype was made using the components explained in
does not have complex networking compared to IOT. It the previous chapters and the following cases where tested.
does not require much memory (storage devices) or cloud. The results obtained are explained below.
So the overall cost is negligible when compared to
conventional IOT systems. Users will like to implement
cost effective systems and thus this is a very good A. CASE 1: NORMAL SCENARIO
alternative to the IOT systems.
4) Internet is unnecessary – This technology does not The user entered the time details and booked a slot. The car
require the use of Internet. This is a time where everything enters the parking area and is parked in the correct slot. The
uses the internet and a person cannot sustain if there is no car was removed in the correct time
connectivity. But in a scenario where the Internet
connectivity is low or at times of no connectivity, this Observations:
technology works fast and efficient.
5) Needs only lesser number of devices – This technology
1. The app shows the notification “the car is entered”
requires lesser number of devices compared to
conventional systems, the overall installation cost and
maintenance cost decreases as there are lesser number of 2. LCD displays that the car has entered
components or devices used and energy efficiency
increases as energy is not dissipated across large number 3. Buzzer is in the off state
of components.
6) Time saving - This technology saves a lot of time. This 4. RFID reader reads the tag which is embedded in the
is because the system uses easier communication strategy car and takes the payment when the car leaves the parking area
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which is a function of the additional time the car was parked

in the slot.
B. CASE 2: USER TRIES TO BOOK A PRE-
BOOKED SLOT

E. CASE 5: CAR ENTERS AN UNBOOKED SLOT

The user entered the time details and tries to book a pre-
booked a slot.
The user parks his car in a slot without booking it.
Observations:
Observations:
1. The app shows the notification “the slot is booked”
1. The app is not used here
2. LCD do not display anything
2. LCD do not display anything
3. Buzzer is off
3. Buzzer beeps and the driver has to move the car
4. RFID reader do not read as the car has not entered the
slot. 4. RFID reader reads the tag of the wrong car and
notifies that a wrong car has entered.

C. CASE 3: BOOKED SLOT IS NOT FREE AT THE

TIME OF ENTRY
VII. CONCLUSION
The user entered the time details and booked a slot. The car
enters the parking area and because of some problem the In the current age of developing smart cities, parking is
booked slot is not free as the person who last parked in the slot going to be one of the main concerns in the upcoming years.
did not move his car In the following years, there is going to be an exponential
increase in the number of vehicles and to cope with this
Observations: situation, we need an efficient and smart parking system. This
will decrease accidents and traffic congestion and lead to a
1. The app shows the notification “the car has entered” simpler system without the use of Internet. This method will
also make the collection of parking fees easier (without the
2. LCD displays that the car has entered requirement of a person going to each vehicle owner and
collecting the fee). Smart parking system is going to be an
3. Buzzer is off integral part of smart cities. Smart parking system using
Bluetooth technology is far efficient and better than existing
4. A secondary slot is allotted to the user and that time parking systems.
and the RFID reader reads the tag and confirms that the car is
parked in the correct secondary slot and takes the payment
when the car exits the parking area. VIII. FUTURE SCOPE

D. CASE 4: TIME EXCEEDED 1) In the future for handling a vast amount of data, IoT
can integrated in the current system. Cloud storage
The user entered the time details and booked a slot. The car provides an easy solution to memory constrictions of the
enters the parking area and is parked in the correct slot. The current system
car was not removed in the correct time
2) Google maps can be integrated along with the system.
Observations: This proves useful by helping users to be guided to their
chosen or booked slot via maps. Also, it gives a clearer
1. The app shows the notification “the car is entered” view of the slot being booked through the app and can also
aid in suggesting a slot nearer to the desired destination.
2. LCD displays that the car has entered
3) Ambulances or fire trucks can be provided a slot
automatically in case of emergency. If the provided slot
3. Buzzer is in the off state
was booked beforehand, then an alternative parking slot
is allotted after notifying the user.
4. RFID reader reads the tag which is embedded in the
car and whenever the user moves his car, it takes the payment
when the car leaves the parking area with an additional fine
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REFERENCES

[1] Zheng, Y., Rajasegarar, S., & Leckie, C. “Parking availability prediction
for sensor-enabled car parks in smart cities.”, 2015 IEEE Tenth
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Geomagnetic Sensor Technology” In Distributed Computing and
Applications to Business, Engineering and Science (DCABES), 2014 13th
International Symposium, November 2014.
[3] Adomnicai, A.; Fournier, J. J. A.; Masson, L. (2018-05-30). "Hardware
Security Threats Against Bluetooth Mesh Networks" . 2018 IEEE
Conference on Communications and Network Security
[4] Oentaryo, R. J.; Pasquier, M. "Self-trained automated parking system".
Control, Automation, Robotics and Vision Conference, 2004
[5] Shoup, Donald C. "Truth in Transportation Planning". Journal of
Transportation and Statistics.
[6] M. Wooley, S. Schmidt “Bluetooth Mesh Networking – Introduction for
beginners”, 2017 Bluetooth SIG Proprietary.