Park Safely with Arduino-Based Parking Sensors

Parking Sensor with Arduino

Arduino is a popular platform for hobbyists and makers who are looking to create interactive electronics projects. One of the many applications of an Arduino is creating a parking sensor which can detect if a car is in a parking spot or not. This can be very useful in automating parking systems.

How does a Parking Sensor work with Arduino?

The most basic way to create a parking sensor with Arduino is by using ultrasonic sensors. These sensors work by emitting a sound wave, which comes back to the sensor as an echo, indicating how far away an object is. By placing two sensors, one at each side of the parking spot, we can measure the distance between them. If the distance is less than a certain threshold, it could mean that there’s a car in that spot.

Other more advanced methods of creating a parking sensor with Arduino include using Passive Infrared (PIR) sensors, Bluetooth technology, and even image recognition algorithms. PIR sensors detect infrared radiations which are emitted by living beings; the closer you are to the infrared source, the stronger the radiation will be. Bluetooth technology allows the user to establish a connection to the sensor so it can detect when a car enters the parking spot. Image recognition algorithms can use cameras to recognize a car, making it possible to track the car without any physical contact.

Implementing a Parking Sensor with Arduino

Creating a parking sensor with Arduino is quite simple, as the Arduino board can communicate with different types of sensors. All you need to do is wire the sensors to the Arduino board and then connect the board to the power supply. After that, you can write the code which will run on the Arduino board and control the sensors. The code can consist of commands to turn on and off the sensors and determine whether or not a car is in a particular spot.

Once the code is written, it can be uploaded onto the Arduino board. After that, the Arduino board will be able to start running the program and controlling the sensors. With this, you should be able to detect if a car is in a spot or not.

Here's an example source code for a parking sensor using an ultrasonic sensor and Arduino:

const int trigPin = 2;    // Ultrasonic sensor trigger pin
const int echoPin = 3;    // Ultrasonic sensor echo pin
const int buzzerPin = 4;  // Buzzer pin
const int ledPin = 5;     // LED pin
const int threshold = 30; // Distance threshold in centimeters

void setup() {
  pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);
  pinMode(buzzerPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(2);
  digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(10);
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  float duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
  float distance = duration * 0.034 / 2;
  Serial.print("Distance: ");
  Serial.print(distance);
  Serial.println(" cm");
  if (distance <= threshold) {
    digitalWrite(buzzerPin, HIGH);
    digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
  } else {
    digitalWrite(buzzerPin, LOW);
    digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
  }
  delay(100);
}

In the setup() function, we set the pin modes for the ultrasonic sensor, buzzer, and LED. We also initialize the serial communication for debugging.

In the loop() function, we first trigger the ultrasonic sensor by sending a pulse to the trigPin. We then measure the duration of the pulse using the pulseIn() function and convert it to a distance in centimeters using the speed of sound. We print the distance to the serial monitor for debugging.

If the distance is less than or equal to the threshold value, we turn on the buzzer and LED to indicate that the car is too close to an obstacle. Otherwise, we turn off the buzzer and LED.

We add a delay of 100 milliseconds between readings to prevent false alarms.

In the setup() function, we set the pin modes for the ultrasonic sensor, buzzer, and LED. We also initialize the serial communication for debugging.

Conclusion

Parking sensors with Arduino can be a great way to automate the process of detecting a car in a parking spot. By using different types of sensors, such as ultrasonic sensors, PIR sensors, Bluetooth, or image recognition algorithms, the Arduino board can detect the presence of a car in a parking spot. With the right code and power supply, the Arduino board can run the parking sensor and make it easy to know when a car has arrived in a spot.