by Stephen Rivers
- Heidelberg deploys Cityscanner to automate parking checks with cameras and lidar
- System scans plates, uses lidar, and checks databases in real time for violations.
- Pilot testing showed efficiency gains of 600 percent over traditional ticketing patrols.
Cities everywhere are turning to technology and specifically to AI to manage crowded streets and overstretched parking, and Germany is no exception. The country is preparing to trial a parking enforcement system that looks more like something from a tech lab than a city street.
The city of Heidelberg is now using the Cityscanner, a small vehicle with cameras, lidar, and real-time database checks to sniff out parking violations. It’s a slick, quick, and AI-dependent way to check some 1,500 parked vehicles per hour. It’s so advanced that it makes some other cities’ parking enforcement efforts look like they’re using a feather quill.
Watching Every Angle
Developed by Regensburg-based DCX Innovationis, the Cityscanner uses roof-mounted cameras to capture 25 frames per second. As it does that, it reads license plates, checks to see if cars are within valid parking spaces, and even cross-references digital parking apps like Easypark or Parkster.
More: Parking Garage Turns Into Lake As Hundreds Of Cars Are Totaled In Japan Flood
DCX has already deployed the system abroad, with nearly two dozen vehicles in use in Poland. Similar scanners operate in France and the Netherlands as well, making Heidelberg a later but noteworthy addition to the rollout.
The lidar sensor detects if a car is in a restricted zone, a bike lane, a fire lane, or simply sticking too far out into traffic. To ensure accuracy, it loops the route twice within a few minutes before issuing a ticket. In fact, before the ticket actually goes to the offender, a human verifies the data captured by Cityscanner.
That makes sense given that the AI-powered system can’t see things like disabled permits. When running at full speed, Cityscanner can be some 600 percent more efficient than foot patrols, says Handelsblatt.
The German newspaper reports that the Heidelberg trial falls under new legislation in Baden-Württemberg, which only recently established the legal framework for such systems. The vehicles are said to be intentionally marked to stand out, serving as a deterrent rather than just a mobile ticket dispenser. Officials suggest that this visibility could improve parking behavior even before fines come into play.
Concerns Beyond Accuracy
At the same time, it’s not as if this is a perfect system without concerns. Privacy is a major issue worldwide, and in Germany it’s taken very seriously. That said, Cityscanner claims that the photos it takes don’t save pictures of faces or plates that are on cars parked legally. Police are the only ones who can see images, and those are allegedly only of violators. On top of privacy issues, the Cityscanner isn’t exactly cheap.
While the company says it can install the device on any car in around four hours, it costs some €130,000 (approximately $152,000 at current exchange rates). That price doesn’t include the software licensing either. Maybe the little roller-skate-ish parking enforcement I deal with in Little Rock, Arkansas, isn’t so bad after all. It’s not high-tech, but it also doesn’t come with the same price tag or privacy concerns.