Method for forecasting parking area availability of a street section

1. A method for aiding finding of available parking areas of a street section, the method comprising:

receiving, by processing circuitry, data corresponding to parking areas situated in a street section, the data being ascertained by at least one ascertaining vehicle driving through the street section, wherein the received data includes a number of parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely determined by:

detecting a total number of parking areas in the street section;

detecting a total number of vehicles parked in the street section; and

determining that a parking area has been historically estimated falsely based on the total number of parking areas in the street section and the total number of vehicles parked in the street section;

determining, by the processing circuitry, an instantaneous occupancy estimate of the street section based on the received data;

calculating, by the processing circuitry, a forecasted occupancy estimate based on the instantaneous occupancy estimate, wherein the forecasted occupancy estimate is calculated using time series forecasting models;

generating, by the processing circuitry, a display representation of the calculated forecasted occupancy estimate; and

providing the display representation for display on a display device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving the data and the determining the instantaneous occupancy estimate are performed each time at least one of the at least one ascertaining vehicle drives through the street section.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the forecasted occupancy estimate is calculated using a Seasonal Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the display representation includes a visual representation of the forecasted occupancy estimate on a map using a color scale to visually represent a level of occupancy of the street section.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the forecasted occupancy estimate is modified based an external event impacting the occupancy of the street section.

6. The method of claim 2 , wherein the display representation includes a confidence level of the forecasted occupancy estimate.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the received data includes: 1) a total number of unoccupied parking areas; 2) the number of parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely; and 3) a total number of parking areas located on the street section.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein:

the instantaneous occupancy estimate is determined by

1

-

(

N

det

-

N

false

N

total

-

N

false

)

;

N det represents the total number of unoccupied parking areas;

N false represents the number of parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely; and

N total represents the total number of parking areas located on the street section.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the received data includes: 1) an average length of a vehicle; 2) lengths of determined unoccupied parking areas; 3) lengths of parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely; and 4) a total length of the street section.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein:

the instantaneous occupancy estimate is determined by

1

-

(

∑

L

det

-

∑

L

false

L

length_total

⁢

_avg

-

∑

L

false

)

;

ΣL det represents a total length of the detected unoccupied parking areas;

ΣL false represents a total length of the parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely; and

L length _ total represents the total length of the street section.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the received data includes: 1) a length of a vehicle attempting to park; 2) lengths of determined unoccupied parking areas; 3) lengths of parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely; and 4) a total length of the street section.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein:

the instantaneous occupancy estimate is determined by

1

-

(

∑

L

det

-

∑

L

false

L

lenght_total

⁢

_car

-

∑

L

false

)

;

 ΣL det represents a total length of the detected unoccupied parking areas;

ΣL false represents a total length of the parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely; and

L length _ total represents the total length of the street section.

13. A server system for aiding finding of available parking areas of a street section, the server comprising:

a database; and

a processing unit, wherein the processing unit is configured to perform the following:

receive data corresponding to parking areas situated in a street section, the data being ascertained by at least one ascertaining vehicle driving through the street section, wherein the received data includes a number of parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely determined by:

detecting a total number of parking areas in the street section;

detecting a total number of vehicles parked in the street section; and

determining that a parking area has been historically estimated falsely based on the total number of parking areas in the street section and the total number of vehicles parked in the street section;

determine an instantaneous occupancy estimate of the street section based on the received data;

calculate a forecasted occupancy estimate based on the instantaneous occupancy estimate, wherein the forecasted occupancy estimate is calculated using time series forecasting models;

generate a display representation of the calculated forecasted occupancy estimate; and

provide the display representation for display on a display device.

14. The server system of claim 13 , wherein the receipt of the data and the determination of the instantaneous occupancy estimate are repetitively performed each time a vehicle drives through the street section.

15. The server system of claim 14 , wherein the forecasted occupancy estimate is calculated using a Seasonal Auto-Regressive Moving Average (SARIMA) model.

16. The server system of claim 14 , wherein the display representation includes a visual representation of the forecasted occupancy estimate on a map using a color scale to visually represent a level of occupancy of the street section.

17. The server system of claim 13 , wherein the received data includes: 1) a total number of unoccupied parking areas; 2) the number of parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely; and 3) a total number of parking areas located on the street section.

18. The server system of claim 13 , wherein the received data includes: 1) an average length of a vehicle; 2) lengths of determined unoccupied parking areas; 3) the lengths of parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely; and 4) a total length of the street section.

19. The server system of claim 13 , wherein the received data includes: 1) a length of a vehicle attempting to park; 2) lengths of determined unoccupied parking areas; 3) lengths of parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely; and 4) a total length of the street section.

20. A non-transitory computer-readable medium on which are stored instructions that are executable by a computer processor and that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform a method for aiding finding of available parking areas of a street section, the method comprising:

receiving data corresponding to parking areas situated in a street section, the data being ascertained by at least one ascertaining vehicle driving through the street section, wherein the received data includes a number of parking areas estimated to have been historically estimated falsely determined by:

detecting a total number of parking areas in the street section;

detecting a total number of vehicles parked in the street section; and

determining that a parking area has been historically estimated falsely based on the total number of parking areas in the street section and the total number of vehicles parked in the street section;

determining an instantaneous occupancy estimate of the street section based on the received data;

calculating a forecasted occupancy estimate based on the instantaneous occupancy estimate, wherein the forecasted occupancy estimate is calculated using time series forecasting models;

generating a display representation of the calculated forecasted occupancy estimate; and

providing the display representation for display on a display device.