Malta's first Fleximodo parking guidance: flip-dot signs by Domotica Systems

Domotica Systems is a building automation integrator based in Naxxar, Malta, working in access control, BMS, CCTV and lighting. In November 2024 it delivered Fleximodo parking guidance signage for a public tender in Malta, the first Fleximodo deployment on the island.

What problem did the site have?

The tender called for outdoor signs that show drivers live parking information. In Malta that means signs that stay readable in strong sun, cope with salty coastal air and do not depend on new power cabling along the road.

The signs also needed a data source. A sign without live occupancy data shows nothing useful, so the project needed detection, a backend and software to manage it all.

What was installed?

• Six IoT Guidance Signage units, flip-dot displays in two tender layouts (Type 1 and Type 3), with poles, brackets and fixings.
• IoT Hub for Parking Signage, the backend that processes occupancy data, sends counts to the signs and monitors them.
• One IoT Parking Sensor Standard, overground, on LoRaWAN, surface-mounted so no drilling was needed.
• DOTA (Delta Over-the-Air) firmware management for the sensor.
• CityPortal, for navigation, monitoring, reporting and statistics.

The whole system runs on LoRaWAN, from sensor to backend to signage. The sensor uses Fleximodo's dual detection (magnetometer plus radar), rated at 99.96% accuracy.

Flip-dot suits Malta's conditions. Each pixel is a small physical disc that flips between two colours. It uses power only when it changes, then holds its position, so the sign can run from a solar cell. The high-contrast face stays readable in direct sunlight, where LED screens can wash out. See the guidance signage page for the product range.

What does the operator get from it?

• Live parking information on the street, shown on signs that need no grid connection where solar power is used.
• One backend for signs and sensors, so counts update automatically instead of by hand.
• CityPortal for staff to monitor the system and pull reports and statistics, and for drivers to find parking online.
• Remote firmware updates through DOTA, so sensors can be maintained without lifting them.
• A system that can grow: more sensors can be added to the same backend as the operator extends coverage, using in-ground or surface-mounted sensors to suit each surface.