IoT-Enabled Smart Parking System Using ESP32 for Automated Gate Control and Slot Availability Monitoring

Abstract

Reliable parking information depends on the consistency between vehicle detection, gate actuation, and occupancy updates. This article presents an ESP32-based miniature parking system and examines the control logic documented in its project report. The prototype integrates two ultrasonic sensors, two servo-operated barriers, a 16 × 2 I2C display, and red and green indicators. Its firmware defines a five-vehicle capacity, a detection threshold below 5 cm, three distance samples per sensor, and a 3 s gate-open command. The source documentation reports successful vehicle detection, barrier operation, and local count display, but provides no repeated-trial dataset or timing measurements. Static analysis establishes that the counter is bounded by capacity checks, while exposing limitations not addressed by the functional demonstration. Occupancy changes before passage is confirmed, a stationary object can initiate repeated transactions, and invalid ultrasonic samples can bias the averaged distance. The entry-first decision structure also postpones exit handling when both requests qualify. These findings distinguish a functioning educational demonstrator from a validated parking installation. Although the platform is suitable for future network integration, the supplied firmware contains no internet communication implementation. A proposed improvement path combines event-based passage confirmation, nonblocking gate control, sample-validity handling, and traceable evaluation. The contribution is a reproducible description of the prototype and a code-grounded assessment of the conditions required for reliable occupancy tracking.