2024-01-16 21:04:46
Brazil’s first smart parking lot was designed in the tourist city of Pomerode (SC) using water and electricity on demand
A smart parking lot for motorhomes, trailers and caravans in which the use of water and electricity takes place on demand, in an economical and sustainable way: this is a solution developed by LabRetail, a company focused on creating technological solution projects for retail and the automotive industry, in partnership with TRV, an accommodation booking platform for camping, caravanning and outdoor activities, which is now available in the city of Pomerode (SC).
The first smart parking lot to be developed in Brazil, this smart camping, is autonomous and operates 24 hours a day.
The initiative comes to stimulate tourism in the country, which has almost 8 thousand kilometers of coastline to be explored, mainly for outdoor activities, nature or adventure tourism. “Interest in sustainable destinations is increasingly on the rise, driven by growing awareness of environmental, social and economic challenges.
Despite this, when defining an itinerary, many travelers feel discouraged when choosing destinations, mainly due to the lack of security or inadequate infrastructure, but we provide total independence and convenience to have water, electricity and security in a simple, uncomplicated and economic. The daily rates are cheaper than those at a common campsite, which normally does not have facilities for vehicles”, comments Sérgio Silvestre, founding partner and CEO of LabRetail.
Developed by LabRetail in partnership with the Santa Catarina startup TRV, the space is aimed at travelers and users of motorhomes and trailers who seek autonomy, more sustainability and a safe space to stay during their trip
Silvestre explains that, when there is no option to use smart parking, anyone traveling in a trailer or motorhome needs to stop at a campsite or gas station to rest and refuel, which is sometimes not enough. “These places do not offer the convenience of having water and electricity available. At a campsite, you pay a daily fee to use a communal bathroom and have to look for a solution to fill the motorhome’s water tank and charge the vehicle’s battery with electricity.” In smart parking, these features are available on demand.
“Smart camping serves two customer profiles: the first is more conscious and seeks experiences that respect both the environment and local communities. The second recognizes that resources such as water and energy are controlled and paid for according to demand.
He is aware that irresponsible use will have a financial impact, so behavior ends up being impacted, because a discreet collection of information is being carried out by the platform, as the system presents the user’s energy and water consumption in real time, promoting more efficient use of these resources. This reflects cultural changes and healthy habits.”
How to use
To use the structure, you must first register on the TRV platform, which includes personal, contact and vehicle information. Then, you can make a reservation according to the size of the car. “Upon arrival [no estacionamento]the system recognizes the vehicle’s license plate and reservation, then it opens the gate and checks in.
The customer himself releases the energy and water station for consumption on demand. It can also dispose of sewage. In the end, you pay for water and energy consumption before checkout and, after that, the parking gate opens and the customer’s use of the system ends.
We understand that a smart parking lot needs to be autonomous, without employees and capable of offering customers all the necessary functionalities so that use flows as if people were there providing the service”, explains the CEO.
He says that LabRetail’s role in the project was to develop the functional prototype for smart parking at no cost. “LabRetail conducted the needs assessment, laboratory prototyping, field testing, solution refinement, field installation and technical support steps, resulting in the version approved by TRV to scale the solution.
Smart parking took six months to be developed, including civil works on site, such as earthworks, installation of fences, gravel, security cameras, water and electricity connections by local utilities”, he explains.
What LabRetail did and does
“In practice, LabRetail is responsible for implementing the automation kit [do espaço], its operation and technical support. The land owner is responsible for providing the site with the necessary infrastructure (earthworks, lighting, water, energy and walls or fence) for installing the automation kit.” TRV manages reservations, maintains relationships with caravanners and charges daily fees and water and energy consumption. “TRV’s customers are essentially land owners, who are looking for a solution to make their spaces profitable. They can range from individuals, city halls and state governments, to hotels, inns and campsites.
The seasons and their setbacks
TRV aims to solve a very common problem in several cities in Brazil: idle areas can become occupied and profitable”, comments Silvestre.
He explains that offering a type of intelligent accommodation, such as parking, means that land owners are also able to reduce the cost of water and electricity bills for the space. “During the summer season, we observed a high increase in both water and energy consumption, which is expected.
By analyzing data provided by an entity in the sector, we found that campsites that operate with the supply of water and energy already included in the daily accommodation price [sem ser sob demanda] they have a 400 to 500% increase in invoices, which is impossible to pass on to the camping fees.
When you have a campsite where water and energy consumption is on demand, this doesn’t happen. In the prototype located in Pomerode, we observed in January and February this year an increase of 30 to 40% in the consumption of these resources.”
Security and convenience guaranteed in smart parking
To make parking smart, several technologies were used. “We use artificial intelligence to recognize vehicle license plates when they arrive in front of the gate, as well as internet connection and data transmission via Wi-Fi so that the data is sent for validation in real time on cloud servers. We also deal with hardware development with custom printed circuit boards for energy and water panels and software development to enable use by travelers”, explains the CEO of LabRetailSérgio Silvestre.
Scalable business
According to him, this is a scalable type of business that can be replicated in other locations and fronts. “Pomerode (SC) was the first, but Nova Petrópolis (RS) is under construction and will be TRV’s second smart parking lot. Furthermore, LabRetail is already in contact with a hotel chain so that the concept of ‘sustainable daily rate’ can be created. Water and energy flow meters will be installed in each room, where a screen will also be installed so that guests can monitor water and electricity consumption in real time and can make responsible use of natural resources”, he concludes.
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