Arduino Smart Parking

Project Overview

The Smart Parking Management System integrates the following features:

1. Parking Spot Monitoring:

   • Monitors up to 8 parking spots using sensors.
   • Displays parking statuses (X for occupied, Y for free) on a 16x2 LCD screen.

2. Gate Control:

   • Opens the entry gate when a car is detected at the entry sensor and a parking spot is available.
   • Opens the exit gate when a car is detected at the exit sensor.

3. LED Feedback:

   • A green LED lights up when the entry gate opens.
   • A red LED lights up when the parking lot is full, indicating no entry is allowed.

4. Shift Register Integration:

   • The 74HC165 shift register efficiently reads the states of the 8 parking spots using just 3 Arduino pins.

System Workflow

1. Parking Spot Monitoring:

   • Each parking spot is equipped with a sensor connected to the shift register.
   • The shift register converts the parallel sensor inputs into serialized data, which is sent to the Arduino.
   • The Arduino processes this data to determine which spots are occupied or free.

2. Entry Control:

   • When a car is detected at the entry IR sensor:
     • If a spot is available, the green LED turns on, and the entry gate opens.
     • If all spots are full, the red LED lights up, and the gate remains closed.

3. Exit Control:

   • When a car is detected at the exit IR sensor, the exit gate opens to allow the car to leave.

4. Real-Time Feedback:

   • The 16x2 LCD displays:
     • Row 1: Labels for the 8 parking spots (1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8).
     • Row 2: Current statuses of the spots (X|Y|X|Y|...).
   • LEDs provide additional visual feedback for gate operations.

Hardware Requirements

Hardware Connections

Shift Register (74HC165)

• SH/LD (Shift/Load): Connect to Arduino pin A1.
• CLK (Clock): Connect to Arduino pin 3.
• SO (Serial Output): Connect to Arduino pin 2.
• D0-D7 (Parallel Inputs): Connect to sensors monitoring the parking spots.
• VCC: Connect to Arduino 5V.
• GND: Connect to Arduino GND.

IR Sensors

• Entry IR Sensor:
  • VCC: Connect to Arduino 5V.
  • GND: Connect to Arduino GND.
  • OUT: Connect to Arduino pin 4.
• Exit IR Sensor:
  • VCC: Connect to Arduino 5V.
  • GND: Connect to Arduino GND.
  • OUT: Connect to Arduino pin 5.

Servo Motors

• Entry Gate Servo:
  • Signal: Connect to Arduino pin A2.
  • VCC: Connect to Arduino 5V.
  • GND: Connect to Arduino GND.
• Exit Gate Servo:
  • Signal: Connect to Arduino pin A3.
  • VCC: Connect to Arduino 5V.
  • GND: Connect to Arduino GND.

LEDs

• Green LED:
  • Anode: Connect to Arduino pin 7 (with a 220Ω resistor).
  • Cathode: Connect to GND.
• Red LED:
  • Anode: Connect to Arduino pin 6 (with a 220Ω resistor).
  • Cathode: Connect to GND.

16x2 LCD

• RS: Connect to Arduino pin 13.
• E: Connect to Arduino pin 12.
• D4-D7: Connect to Arduino pins 11, 10, 9, 8.
• VSS: Connect to GND.
• VDD: Connect to 5V.
• VO: Connect to the middle pin of a potentiometer (contrast control).

Software Functionality

1. Initialization (setup):

   • Configures the pins for the LCD, servos, shift register, IR sensors, and LEDs.
   • Initializes the LCD to display parking information.

2. Parking Spot Monitoring:

   • The readShiftRegister function reads the state of 8 parking spot sensors via the shift register.
   • The statuses are stored in the spots[] array.

3. Entry Gate Control:

   • If a car is detected at the entry IR sensor:
     • If there’s a free spot:
       • The green LED turns on.
       • The entry gate servo opens for 500ms and then closes.
     • If all spots are full:
       • The red LED turns on briefly to indicate the parking is full.

4. Exit Gate Control:

   • If a car is detected at the exit IR sensor, the exit gate servo opens for 500ms and then closes.

5. Real-Time Display:

   • The LCD displays:
     • Row 1: Labels for all 8 parking spots.
     • Row 2: Current status of each spot (X for occupied, Y for free).

Expected Output

LCD Example Output:

• When parking has free spots:

  1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|
  Y|X|Y|X|Y|Y|Y|X|
  

• When parking is full:

  1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|
  X|X|X|X|X|X|X|X|
  

LED Behavior:

• Green LED: Lights up when the entry gate opens.
• Red LED: Lights up when parking is full.

Applications

1. Parking Facilities:
   • Ideal for managing entry and exit in parking lots.
2. Smart City Projects:
   • Can be integrated into IoT systems for remote parking management.
3. Scalable Parking Solutions:
   • Supports expansion by daisy-chaining additional shift registers for more spots.