QR based car parking assistance in Android

• Main Author: Wirawan, Christantia
• Other Authors: Liu Weichen
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Computer science and engineering::Computer applications
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/77005
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Parking is the bane of many car drivers’ lives. Many have expressed their stress trying to find a parking space for their car. After the car is parked, another problem, which is forgetting where they parked their car, also happens a lot, especially in large-scale and multi-storey car parks. In this project, these problems with car parking experience will be further investigated. The solution to these problems will then be formulated through a mobile application. The mobile application is QR based and developed for Android devices with a builtin camera. It is developed mainly on Android Studio and the backend implementation is realized using Firebase. The application allows users to check the availability of parking space in a parking lot before even going to the location. The application also allows map view of this information to find out the nearest available parking lot. Once the user decides on a parking lot, a parking lot layout information with each parking space occupancy is available. Users can then claim a parking spot so that once they return, the app can provide navigation to their parking spot as well as navigation to the parking lot exit. At the end of the stay, payment can be done through the app digitally. Although the implementation is in place, this capability is compromised due to the lack of merchant status and screening from Google. Another improvement that can be made is the use of parking lot sensor system to eliminate the need for QR codes. Through the project, important knowledge gained through undergraduate studies as well as previously unexplored aspects of application development were put to test. These include not only technical skills but also soft skills such as responsibility and time management skill.