CAMPUS: TAMIU engineering students develop solutions to University parking problem

By Juan Carlos Puente
Editor-in-chief
Published Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024

Late last semester, five TAMIU engineering students showcased their project that could help alleviate some of the University’s parking issues.

The team comprises Gabriel Torres, Jacob Lopez, Alejandro Aguilar, Miguel Achoy and Alberto Villareal. Together, these members make up Xerasense Technologies, a startup company founded in September 2023. Some of those students have since graduated.

Their work centers around providing information to make individual parking at TAMIU an easier and stress-free experience. They plan to achieve this through their project, ParkU.

As mentioned on their website, the purpose of ParkU is to provide real-time parking availability maps through the use of constant satellite and map scans of the University.

Torres said the project began as an idea in the team’s Signals and Systems class, where they developed a basic license plate recognition system.

Stemming from that, the group began thinking of how this technology could be put to use in real-world problems. Aware of the current parking issues, the group decided to build technology around that issue.

“By applying the technology from our class and enhancing it, we were able to take that initial concept and turn it into a fully functional, real-time parking availability app,” Torres said.

Members said the project took around the entire TAMIU Spring Semester to go from idea to product. They worked with the camera module and integrated it to a Raspberry Pi computer system, which can allow users to control electronic components for physical computing and explore the Internet of Things. Also known as IOT, it’s a collected network of connected devices and the technology that facilitates communication between devices.

Having to jump through those hurdles, as well as getting acquainted with the technology, took about half the semester. The other half was used to refine and work on the components to make sure they operated as designed.

Torres said there was a steep learning curve, but one of the main difficulties faced was getting permission from the University to proceed with the project.

The group worked under the TAMIU ARIES Incubatorship deadline and had to go through a rigorous approval process that would allow them to use the camera module needed to scan the parking lots. ARIES is a comprehensive readiness program for engineering and science.

Since the cameras are mainly used for the TAMIU Police Department, the group had to meet with the TAMIU chief of police, director of information technology, TAMIU provost and the ARIES staff to gain full approval.

“We are extremely thankful for the opportunity to use the camera module and for the support we received from all the stakeholders involved in making it possible,” Torres said. “Without their cooperation, we wouldn’t have been able to integrate the module into our system.”

As of now, the project is on hold due to a lack of funding. Given that the majority of the members have graduated, and others are about to graduate, the group has received limited assistance from the University. Currently, the only station that was installed covers the overflow parking near Entrance 3 and the Student Center.

According to accounts from the group, TAMIU ARIES Incubatorship played a major role in their funding and getting them in touch with key stakeholders.

However, the group believes that once they can secure alternative funding and resources, they’ll be able to continue development and in time, release a final product.

In the meantime, the group is working on their next project BorderVU. This project is similar to ParkU but on a bigger scale with plans to have real-time traffic monitoring cameras on bridges and border crossings. The group believes this project will be promising in Laredo and other border cities.