Parking management system using mobile application

In recent years, malls containing a concentration of shops and restaurants flourished in cities all over the world. This concentration is the cause of problems in parking spaces and traffic jams. This paper introduces a parking management system using mobile application to address the parking problems in malls. The contribution in this system is two folds. The hardware part which consists of custom-made sensor units based on a phototransistor with an infrared transmitter that is responsible for determining if a certain parking space is occupied or free. The units connect to a central controller wirelessly using Arduino microcontrollers with Ethernet shields. The central controller is a server hosting a database that is accessible through the developed mobile application. The mobile application is developed using the Eclipse IDE and runs on the Android platform. It connects to the database using JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) format. The users are able to use this application when they enter the mall. They can locate free parking spaces, check the parking fees, locate their cars, and even pay using the mobile application. A prototype for a parking mall is developed and tested. The functionality of the system is also tested and the results are encouraging.