Ford and IBM Collaborates to Develop an App that Tracks Open Parking Spots

You are in a hurry to attend an important event, but are running late as you got stuck in traffic. Since you missed the regular time when attendees are given priority parking, you are required to look for your own parking space. As there are a number of one way connections within the area, and a convention is also set up for another company just a block away, you end up wasting almost an hour just to find a paid parking space. You also need to walk a couple of blocks as the spot is far from the building where the meeting is hosted.

This is a common concern for most people driving their own car. What if there is an app that could actually lead you to a spot or even give you a hint when a parking space becomes available for you?

Thanks to the collaborative efforts of Ford and IBM, this concern would soon be a thing of the pass. In an announcement at CES 2016 meeting, Ford explains its intent with the Smart Mobility Plan, as well as the company’s ongoing actions to accomplish 25 global experiments designed to change the way the world moves. Development of the parking app tracker is an offshoot of this plan.

According to a joint press release, the two companies have joined forces to aid commuters in their travels by implementing highly specific data collection and also the ever present “Internet of Things.” The Smart Mobility Experimentation Platform, as it is known, is a pilot program that plans to collect small 10-to-15 second pieces of data to observe patterns in commuter habits and make things like street parking as well as shuttle services more efficient. It will also be used to alert users of subway delays and alternate routes. Ford is using IBM resources, including the company’s cloud technology, to help it scale their pilot projects.

Rich Strader, Ford director, enterprise and emerging information technology notes that “Ford’s Smart Mobility Experimentation Platform takes huge amounts of information and breaks it down to help consumers have better travel experiences”.

Ford and IBM’s technology is comparable to that being used in industries such as the stock market, where a huge chunk of data is aggregated quickly to enable instant transactions. I can sense you want to know more. Well, you just have to hold your breath. There's still a long way to go as the parking app is still in its pilot stage.