Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) announced the implementation of Singapore’s first integrated Smart Car Park and Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging System, GoParkinTM, on NTU’s main campus in conjunction with a worldwide technology, defence, and engineering group.
With the help of a single smartphone app, EV drivers can park, charge, and conduct business using the latest Smart Car Park System. As part of NTU’s sustainability aims, the technology group’s urban solutions division will build and run the university’s campus-wide EV charging network.
“The new integrated Smart Car Park and Electric Vehicle Charging System supports both NTU’s Smart Campus vision and the goals of our Sustainability Manifesto,” stated Tan Aik Na, Senior Vice President (Administration), NTU Singapore. As EV use on the campus grows, the hassle-free parking and charging system will provide additional convenience.
NTU is committed to decarbonisation and sustainable development, aiming for carbon neutrality and a 50% decrease in carbon emissions by 2035, according to the NTU Sustainability Manifesto. Having an EV infrastructure on campus also contributes to Singapore’s attempts to promote EV adoption.
The GoParkin Smart Car Park System enables EV users to identify available parking and EV charging points at NTU, charge their vehicle, monitor their charging status, and make payments effortlessly using the GoParkin mobile app, removing the need for separate parking and EV charging apps.
Other market-new features that facilitate seamless parking and EV charging include:
- Plug-n-Charge: GoParkin EV users at NTU can begin a charging session automatically when the charging cable is connected to their vehicle, eliminating the need to manually initiate a charging session.
- EV lot hogging detection: To improve EV charging accessibility at NTU, the Smart Car Park System can detect and identify both EVs that have completed charging but continue to inhabit the lot and non-EVs that occupy an EV charging lot.
Additionally, the cloud-based GoParkin Smart Car Park System reduces operational and maintenance costs for NTU in a number of ways. The Smart Car Park System uses ANPR technology, which, in comparison to typical electronic parking systems, is affordable, simple to deploy, and minimal maintenance. It is also compatible with a variety of EV charging gear.
The solution additionally offers a real-time, centralised picture of EV charging and parking operations throughout NTU’s several parking lots on a single platform, making it simple to monitor and regulate as well as improving manpower deployment.
The Smart Car Park System also offers cutting-edge analytics that produces insightful data, such as EV charging trends, to streamline business processes and income streams and to make it easier to plan future services.
Further, six EV charging stations have been erected in Car Parks A, B, and Q at NTU’s Jurong campus, with eight more charging stations scheduled to be installed in four other car parks by June 2023. Most parking lots will have 11kW AC chargers, however, one will have a 120kW DC charger for rapid charging. To meet up with future charging demand, there are plans to expand the EV charging network to more car parks.
NTU together with the technology, defence, and engineering group launched Singapore’s first barrier-free Smart Car Park System at NTU’s Jurong campus in 2020. The barrier-free Smart Car Park is now available at all 59 NTU car parks on the Jurong, Novena, and one-north campuses, totalling over 4,000 parking spaces.