I went to the new Rouse Hill Town Centre (in Sydney) today and there were digital signs out the front saying how many spots are left in each entrance. Nothing new there, seen that before many times. But what I haven't seen before are secondary signs above the turn into each row of spaces saying how many spots are free in each row. Then as you turn into the row there is a LED above each car space (that you can see some distance away), RED for occupied and GREEN for available. There is an ultrasonic sensor above each space that detects if there is a car there or not.
I think the system installed here might need a few tweaks though, my row said there were 6 spots left, but there was only one available, the rest were handicap spaces.
Must have been several thousand of these things as the car park is massive. A big installation indeed.
Wonder what it does if you outstay your welcome in the 90 minute zone?
On the same topic, a car park I went to in Manly a few months back had a license plate recognition camera installed. As you approached the exit gate it automatically detected how long you stayed and if you had to pay anything or not.
Now, if they could only remind you where you parked your car, that would be a real step forward.
Dave.