News

Car lost in the parking lot? Ask a kiosk for help

November 19, 2003

SINGAPORE -- Stratech Systems Ltd. has a high-tech solution for absent-minded drivers who lose their cars in parking lots.

The vendor has developed a parking-lot surveillance system that pinpoints the location of a car after drivers key in their license plate number at a kiosk, according to a Reuters article.

After punching in the number, a map appears on a screen indicating the zone and lot where the user parked his or her car. A display panel at the car park's entrance also gives directions to the nearest vacant spot.

"The system comprises intelligent software bundled with a camera surveillance system, which provides a security aspect as well," a Stratech spokesman told Reuters.

If someone loiters in the car park, he said, the system can be configured to alert security.

The price of the system ranges from around $60 U.S. per parking spot, depending on the number of features, Stratech said. To outfit a 300-lot car park, the bill could come to between $17,420 and $69,690 U.S.

The company also charges an annual maintenance fee of between 10 and 15 percent of the total cost of the project, the spokesman said.