Mitsubishi Precision Company has been expanding its next generation cloud-based ticketless parking service since May 2023.
Parking systems are taking on a new dimension through ticketless and cashless operations.

Mitsubishi Precision Company has been expanding a next generation cloud-based ticketless parking service since May 2023. This parking system, which is the company’s new initiative, integrates fee settling machines, entry and exit gates, car number (license plate number) recognition devices, and other equipment into DIANET ^®, a cloud service for parking lot operation and management (fee settlement and management).
The system works as follows: Upon entry, a user’s car plate number is identified by a car number recognition camera, and the recognized number is used as information for parking management. When exiting the parking lot, the user enters their car number or time of entry into the pre-payment machine and pays a fee. Users can choose from various cashless payment options on the machine (store discounts for parking fees can be processed using a QR code printed on the store receipt). They can also choose to pay their fee at the exit gate instead of using the pre-payment machine. The new system will greatly reduce the time and effort required for parking lot users, thus contributing to the improvement of user-friendly convenience through ticketless and cashless operations.

When the amount of your fee is displayed on a fee settling machine, scan your service ticket, if there is any, on the machine to get a discount. Then, choose a payment option and pay your parking fee.

For the purpose of facilitating the procedure to enter their car number or time of entry when paying the fee at the pre-payment machine, actual parking facilities have a large information board asking users to remember their four-digit license plate number, and a large digital clock installed above the entrance gate to help users remember their time of entry. Furthermore, as there is no ticket machine installed at the entrance, space can be saved; and a car number recognition camera attached to a pole provides a higher degree of flexibility in terms of where to install the camera. When users pay the fee at the exit, a car number recognition camera instantly recognizes their license plate number, allowing them to proceed with the payment.

Such ticketless and cashless service is made possible through DIANET^®, a cloud service for parking lot operation and management. Hiroyuki Nishida, Manager of the company’s Engineering Section, Parking Management Engineering Department, explains,
“Conventional parking lot systems basically have a ticket machine installed at the entrance and a fee settling machine at the exit, while some parking lots have a pre-payment machine, and flaps at metered parking lots. Individual devices are connected through a network, but only within the scope of each parking lot. This new system, on the other hand, collects information such as car entry and exit or fee settlement on the cloud, allowing operators to streamline their sales management, simplify regular contract management, and check the state of their parking lot whenever they want. The system also enables users to make an advance payment and reserve a parking lot using their smartphone. Furthermore, it offers operational support through remote management from a call center, such as dispatching personnel from a security company in response to equipment alarms, or remotely opening and closing the gate bars.”
Nishida shares the difficulties he faced during the two years it took to develop DIANET^®. “This is the first time we have adopted a cloud service for our parking system, so our major technical issue was to configure the cloud to be redundant in its database and service in case of service suspension or functional failures. In addition, we had issues with setting communication protocols to be used to retrieve data from ground-installed equipment, as well as arranging the new system, which has all the functions of fee settling machines in the cloud, in a way that will lead to parking lot operation free of ground equipment in the future.”

Currently, this next generation cloud-based ticketless parking system has been introduced at commercial facilities such as Ponte Porta Senju (Adachi-ku, Tokyo) and Park Club Shichikencho (a station-front parking lot in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka).
“We have received positive feedback from users that the system has eliminated problems such as losing parking tickets and made the parking lot itself easier to use. The system is installable at any parking lot,” said Nishida.
The improved convenience due to the ticketless and cashless system is not the only reason for the increasing shift to cloud-based parking systems. Shohei Sakamoto from the company's Parking Management Systems Department points out other benefits.
“The parking industry is also facing a shortage of personnel due to the declining birthrate and aging population. Operation of parking lots involves more time and effort than you may imagine, such as cleaning, dealing with abandoned vehicles, refilling parking tickets, and collecting money. There is a need to save such hassle to the extent possible.”
Conventionally, the focus of technological development in the parking industry was basically on the handling of parking tickets and cash, but in the past few years, the trend has rapidly shifted toward ticketless and cashless operation, partly due to the pandemic. On top of this, the parking personnel labor shortage has become apparent. Against this background, the company has been at the forefront of the industry with its technology, such as its systems for car number management and various cashless payment methods.
“We specialize in large-scale parking lots, and our system has been used for the parking lots at Haneda Airport as well. Also, we were among the first to work on customization of complicated parking fee systems by linking them with POS systems. We will focus on further technological development based on our accumulated experience and expertise,” said Nishida.

The company's three core businesses are: simulation systems, aerospace equipment such as navigation sensors, and parking systems. The parking system business has a history of adopting technology from the simulation business to traffic control systems, such as vehicle detectors for traffic volume measurement, and further developing the systems into parking lot equipment, such as a car counting and management system and a fee settling machine. To the question of how the company's parking business will develop in the future, Masaki Suhara, General Manager of the Corporate Planning Division, answers,
“When I think of what comes next to parking systems as autonomous driving technology for vehicles advances in the future, I believe there will be a wider scope of areas where we can integrate simulation technology and parking system technology. One such idea would be parking lots that guide cars to park through autonomous driving. We would like to advance our business from goods to services using such technology, and create parking lots beyond everyone’s imagination.”