Vision AI-based applications for parking and toll collection

In this article, we discuss how Vision AI has evolved to aid and ease the process of parking and toll collection at plazas and booths. Vision AI utilizes various processes of image detection and interpretation to provide comfort to customers as well as operators and saves a lot of time, energy, and resources by streamlining solutions.

The Basics: What is Vision AI?

The technology of Vision AI employs digital devices to scan objects just like humans, only a lot faster and accurately. Machine vision refers to when a computer is able to identify objects that are the constituents of an image captured by the camera- very similar to how our eyes capture an image and send signals to our brain to recognize the object in its field of vision. Also known as Computer vision, it equips a digital device to process whatever image it sees and basically acts like a human’s vision system. Not an easy feat, the whole process needs a large number of data sets, processing power, and training models so that the Vision AI is accurate and reliable. Owing to its potential, the computer vision AI market was valued at USD 2.37 billion in 2017 and forecasted to cross USD 25.32 billion by 2023, at a CAGR of 47.54% 

Many platforms have been utilizing the benefits of vision AI like eCommerce websites, 3D model makers, QR scanners, face recognition, etc. Artificial intelligence has also been used to interpret, analyze and obtain insights by using Computer vision and AI together to detect emotions, patterns, texts. Before deep-diving into the role of Vision AI in the transportation industry, let us first understand the below topics in detail. 

• How does it work?
• Vision AI and its application
• Why should one use Vision AI-based car counters?
• Benefits of Vision AI for parking plazas
• Uses of Vision AI for toll management

How does it work?

Vision AI became a nascent technology in the 1950s and 1960s whose aim was to imitate human vision through a computer. It started with creating complicated algorithms that provide the required solutions. Repetition is one of the key factors which helped train the computers to process and identify images. The process is initiated when the computer breaks down the images into pixels (the smallest unit of an image). Then the computer tries to understand it. It gets more complex as the computer tries to interpret and analyze the image by taking into consideration its context. Deep learning is a major help in this task and has enabled the AI to be more accurate and even empower the computers to train themselves and translate what they recognize. 

Vision AI and its application

As machine learning propelled computers to improve and modify, AI has become essential in several sectors ranging from health, smartphones to automobiles to make their processes easier and more convenient. The current market has seen multiple applications of AI for several tasks:

• Image segmentation
• Detection of patterns
• Facial recognition
• Image classification
• Object detection 
• Edge recognition

Why should one use Vision AI-based car counters?

Expanding the influence, power, and utilization of technology, Vision AI has become a piece of rampant and efficient equipment, being increasingly used in the transportation industry as well as the others. The next-generation automation technology uses pixels in visual imagery to detect an object or objects similar to the mechanics of self-driven cars. With just a single camera possessing the ability to man several parking spots, the parking solution can recognize number plates, process fees, and can even precisely calculate parking positions and estimate the gap between two cars. An innovation that can revolutionize the way things currently work, Vision AI can ease the process of parking and toll payment. Using the processes of image segmentation- image classification and object detection, Vision AI transform into a technology that aids the course of parking and toll collection.

Benefits of Vision AI for parking plazas

Through the process of automation, Vision AI benefits the owners of cars as well as parking plaza operators. By providing effortless parking, Vision AI makes the whole process extremely efficient and helps in revenue control and management tasks of the car counters. Here are some advantages of utilizing Vision AI for parking plazas:

• Checks availability of space: With the use of advanced algorithms, Vision AI monitors the parking area and even its close quarters and assesses the availability of parking spots, and further classifies the vehicles present in the parking plaza.
• Smart parking facility: Proving to be profitable to parking lot owners as well as drivers, Vision AI facilitates painless parking that requires minimum human intervention. Smart parking facility smoothly recognizes number plates, opens entry gates, records entry time, and calculates costs of parking at the drop of a hat.
• Cloud Network: Benefiting from the cloud technology, Vision AI connects the camera to existing databases that offer real-time updates, saving the precious time of both the customers and parking lot owners. 

Uses of Vision AI for toll management

Another major application of Vision AI in the transportation industry is at toll booths. With the assistance of Vision AI, the toll booth uses an Automatic Number Plate Recognition system, which takes away the need to manually enter vehicle numbers. Reducing the chances of pilferage by capturing important data is one of the major advantages of the system. 

The drivers don’t need to waste time by stopping their vehicles and then paying money since vision-based AI enables frictionless transactions. 

Conclusively, it also helps reduce traffic as vehicles can move through smoothly and without wasting any time. The system also detects the class of vehicles, which helps classify the toll charge and reduces wait time at the toll booth.

All these assets are part of the reason why Vision AI has started taking precedence in the transportation industry. It is a boon for both customers and operators who save both money and time with the help of these AI-powered solutions. The presence and advancement of Vision AI have optimized various processes of the transportation industry, the significant examples being parking plazas and toll booths. Using minimal hardware like cameras and certain software, Vision-based AI has been able to provide excellent solutions for parking and toll collecting, hence making its way through and breaking grounds.