: Parking has become a significant issue in urban areas, especially as the majority of people in metro regions increasingly rely on private vehicles. With the growing popularity of Smart Parking (SP) systems based on the Internet of Things (IoT) and recent technological advancements, addressing parking challenges has become crucial. This research focuses on alleviating traffic congestion caused by the shortage of parking spaces in roadways, multi-story buildings, and shopping centers. The study proposes a system that helps identify the closest available parking spot based on the user's location, promoting efficient utilization of parking spaces. The system tracks available spots and assigns them to users, resulting in a management system that is fast, secure, reliable, and error-free. The system utilizes a NodeMCU, a pair of servo motors, and five infrared sensors in detecting the occupied vehicles as well as determining the parking slots availability. Three sensors are used to monitor parking space availability, while two infrared sensors are placed at the entry and exit gates to detect vehicles. Servo motors respond to sensor data, controlling the opening and closing of gates. The system data is made accessible for global monitoring via the Adafruit IO platform. The proposed system reduces human labor in SP management.
