Thoughts on the visit to the provider of the largest intelligent on-street parking system in Taiwan - Acer ITS

By Jeff Lee 2023-01-03

The rivalry among various parking systems is in full swing in Taiwan, and it is the one able to combine e-ticketing and parking spots information, and even provide additional services such as EV charging, that will become the winner in the era of smart EVs. Acer ITS, the leader in on-street parking systems and backed by its parent company with ample R&D resources, will continue to compete robustly for the huge business opportunities ahead and provide optimized parking experience for all car users.

Parking systems, used by car users almost every day, have been moving in the direction of intelligentization in the last two years, just like future automotive technology. On the afternoon of the last working day in 2022, the Auto Future editorial team visited Acer ITS in Xizhi, New Taipei City and had a conversation with Mr. Kenny Yu, the president of the largest smart parking system provider in Taiwan, about the status quo of the company's technology development and operational prospects.

Kenny Yu (Left), the president of Acer ITS, had an interview with Jeff Lee (Middle), Seven Tseng (Right), editors of Auto Future.

 

Acer ITS focused on the development of e-ticketing technology at early stages before expanding into the development of parking systems in 2017. From on-street parking to parking lots, Mr. Yu had a clearly defined strategy for products and operations.

  • Smart parking charging piles. This main product has been introduced in the metropolitan areas of Taipei City, New Taipei City, Kaohsiung, and Tainan and scheduled for Zhunan next. After combining the existing ParkingLotApp, the smart parking charging piles integrate the two key operational factors of "parking fee prepayment" and "law enforcement" to bring the parking service system to a new era of transportation. Acer ITS utilizes millimeter wave technology to detect and identify cars as well as take five photos of each car from different angles, including different orientations, speeds, and trajectories, and determine which photo contains the most complete information. Additionally, during the field validation process in Tainan, Acer ITS found that the location of EV charging ports varied from manufacturer to manufacturer, resulting in charging guns and cables frequently protruding from parking spots when in use, a problem that compromised the safety of passing motorcycles. Ergo, the Tainan City Government accepted the recommendation and moved the charging parking spots further to the roadside by 30-50 cm while marking the ground with channelizing lines and warning signs to ensure safety.
  • Smart Parking Meter Pole (SPMP). The SPMP adds features, including digital information, illumination, and environmental monitoring, to the smart charging pile. When parking spaces integrate on-street parking information with parking lots information, drivers will enjoy parking services that are real-time and more comprehensive.
  • Cloud-based management of parking lots. The exchange of parking spaces information between parking lots will increase the turnover rate of parking spaces.

Upon the arrival of fully autonomous driving technology, operators of parking lots will no doubt have to change their business model accordingly. Having recognized this, Mr. Yu initiated technology cooperation with Whetron Electronics. The project has conducted a field test on parking lots in the Kaohsiung Software Technology Park. When connected to Acer ITS real-time parking spaces information system, vehicles with the function of finding parking spaces automatically can reserve the next available parking space, so drivers no longer need to drive around in parking lots just to find a parking space. The implementation time frame of this technology is yet to be confirmed. Moreover, Acer ITS’s “Multi-engine Recognition and Adjudication Mechanism”

ensures the accuracy of roadside license plate recognition and vehicle detection. With the assistance of ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute) and III (Institute for Information Industry), the system has been tested in different scenario, including hospitals, schools and stores, to prepare for the future upgrade of parking services in smart cities. In the next phase, Mr. Yu will lead the team to explore overseas markets such as Southeast Asia, Central Europe, the Middle East, and even Japan to transfer the field verification experience in Taiwan to other places.