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Standard In-ground 2.0 Parking Sensor

Municipal-grade in-ground IoT sensor combining 3-axis magnetometer + nano‑radar, multi‑radio connectivity (LoRaWAN, NB‑IoT, LTE‑M), IP68 enclosure and long-life Li‑SOCl2 battery options — designed for robust on‑street occupancy detection and low TCO over 7–10+ years.

parking sensor
in-ground
LoRaWAN
NB-IoT

Standard In-ground 2.0 Parking Sensor

Standard In-ground 2.0 Parking Sensor – Robust in-ground IoT sensor for LoRaWAN & NB‑IoT with 3‑axis magnetic detection and long‑life battery

The Standard In-ground 2.0 Parking Sensor is the municipal-grade building block for occupancy-first parking systems. Cities and operators require a tamper‑resistant, weatherproof sensor able to deliver single-slot occupancy status directly to enforcement apps, navigation services and analytics. This model fuses a 3‑axis magnetometer with an on‑board nano‑radar detector and offers multi-network connectivity including LoRaWAN and NB‑IoT.

Why this matters to procurement teams and engineers:

  • Accurate single-slot detection reduces parking search time and enforcement disputes, improving compliance and revenue.
  • In‑ground mounting preserves pedestrian space and reduces vandalism compared with surface units.
  • Primary Li‑SOCl2 battery options and embedded health telemetry lower lifetime operational costs when TCO is modelled over 7–10 years; run a local battery-life baseline to convert vendor claims into local forecasts.

Key quick references: LoRaWAN · NB‑IoT · 3‑axis magnetometer · IP68 ingress protection

Standards and Regulatory Context

Municipal procurement requires explicit reference to radio, safety and ingress standards. The Standard In‑ground 2.0 commonly ships with RF and safety evidence for core markets; always request per‑build/per‑sample test reports.

Standard / Test Scope Result / Note
EN 300 220‑1 / EN 300 220‑2 Short Range Devices (SRD) — LoRa RF performance and spurious emissions RF test report available for LoRa models; verify sample & firmware build.
EN 62368‑1 Safety standard for ICT equipment Safety test report and marking plate details should be provided by supplier.
IP68, IK10 Ingress & impact resistance for in‑ground deployments IP68 enclosure; IK10 impact resistance on specified models.
ISO 9001 / ISO 14001 Manufacturer quality & environmental management Manufacturer declares certifications on datasheet.

Practical procurement notes:

  • Ask for the exact RF report tied to the model and firmware build (EN 300 220 reports are per‑sample).
  • Ensure in‑country frequency band and maximum e.r.p. match tendered gateways or operator plans.
  • Specify signed OTA/FOTA images, a rollback window and a documented FOTA schedule.

Types of Standard In-ground 2.0 Parking Sensor

The name "Standard In‑ground 2.0 Parking Sensor" denotes the full‑feature in‑ground model in a vendor family that typically includes mini and surface variants. Example family members (aggregated specs):

Model Primary use Battery (typical) Networks Installation
Standard In‑ground 2.0 Buried / on‑street slots 3.6 V – 14 Ah or 19 Ah (D‑cell Li‑SOCl2 options) LoRaWAN, NB‑IoT, LTE‑M, BLE In‑ground recessed housing
Mini Exterior 1.0 Compact exterior surface mount 3.6 V – 3.6 Ah LoRaWAN Surface mount; low profile (mini‑exterior 1.0)
Mini Interior 1.0 Indoor parking bays / garages 3.6 V – 3.6 Ah LoRaWAN Surface mount inside garages (mini‑interior 1.0)

Selection guidance:

  • Choose Standard In‑ground 2.0 for heavy traffic street slots and exterior resilience (spec: −40 °C to +75 °C).
  • Use mini/surface variants for garages or where shallow depth and aesthetics are constraints. See the installation-playbook.

System Components

A deployment is more than the sensor head. Tender items should include:

  • Sensor node (combined 3‑axis magnetometer + nano‑radar; detection algorithm and autocalibration).
  • Power system (primary Li‑SOCl2 battery; Ah depends on model and reporting cadence).
  • Antenna and RF tuning (internal PCB antenna optimised for chosen networks).
  • Enclosure & install kit (IP68 collar or resin set).
  • Network gateway / operator integration (LoRaWAN network server or cellular APN for NB‑IoT/LTE‑M).
  • Back‑end (CityPortal or equivalent for navigation, enforcement and dashboards).
  • Device management (signed OTA/FOTA, embedded coulombmeter and black‑box logs).

Common tender items to specify: FOTA schedule and signed images; battery telemetry interval and alarm thresholds; private‑APN or equivalent secure transport when using cellular links; spare‑parts & SLA terms.

How Standard In-ground 2.0 Parking Sensor is Installed / Measured / Implemented: Step-by-Step

  1. Site survey & marking: map slots, check sub‑surface and mark cut‑outs for in‑ground housings. See the installation-playbook.
  2. Pre‑configure devices: load LoRaWAN/NB‑IoT credentials, set reporting cadence and battery telemetry thresholds in staging.
  3. Core drilling / recess placement: install the in‑ground housing or casting sleeve to spec; ensure depth and levelling for sensor centring.
  4. Sensor mechanical set: place sensor into the housing, secure gasket, verify orientation and alignment with bay lines.
  5. Commission radio link: validate LoRaWAN join, NB‑IoT attach or BLE test; check RSSI and packet success to representative gateway.
  6. Calibration and verification: run an autocalibration routine, perform vehicle presence/absence tests with multiple vehicle types and loading positions.
  7. Integrate to backend: map device IDs to slot IDs in CityPortal; configure enforcement rules and navigation endpoints.
  8. Baseline monitoring: collect 7–14 days of telemetry to confirm detection behaviour and tune reporting cadence for battery optimisation (real-time-data-transmission).
  9. Handover & operations: document battery replacement workflow, spare stock and scheduled firmware update windows.

Operational tip: early baseline monitoring is the highest‑value activity — it converts vendor battery claims into real‑world estimates for your local traffic profile.

Maintenance and Performance Considerations

  • Battery & telemetry: the sensor integrates an onboard coulombmeter and daily health reports to avoid surprise replacements; vendors usually supply a battery‑life calculator for tender modelling (battery-life).
  • Environmental resilience: rated for −40 °C to +75 °C and IP68 ingress protection — validate winter field tests for your location if sub‑zero cycles are frequent.
  • Failure modes: physical dislodgement, improper reseal, RF antenna detuning (metallic covers) and rare false negatives for weak‑magnetic vehicles (motorbikes).
  • Spares & logistics: procure a 5–10% hot spare rate in year one and track D‑cell Li‑SOCl2 replacement parts.
  • Firmware policy: insist on signed FOTA images and a 30/60/90‑day rollback plan.

Practical callouts (experience & procurement)

Key Takeaway from Graz Q1 2025 pilot (internal pilot note): reported 100% uptime at −25 °C during a Q1 2025 urban pilot and projected zero battery replacements by 2037 under the pilot's reporting cadence and traffic profile. Use baseline monitoring to validate vendor claims locally before scale‑up.

Procurement quick win: require per‑build RF test reports, signed firmware and a mandatory 30‑day pilot dataset in the tender. This turns vendor claims into verifiable KPIs.

Current Trends and Advancements

The market is professionalising: multi‑radio support (LoRaWAN + NB‑IoT + LTE‑M) helps avoid single‑network lock‑in, and embedded system health telemetry (coulombmeter, black‑box logs) is now a pre‑requisite for RFPs. Firmware‑driven detection improvements (nano‑radar signal processing + magnetometer fusion) reduce false positives in busy kerb environments. The LoRa Alliance's recent regional parameters update (RP2‑1.0.5) increases the top data rate and reduces time‑on‑air, improving device energy efficiency and network capacity — a direct advantage for dense on‑street deployments.

LoRaWAN's ecosystem continues to scale (recent membership and deployment milestones show strong global adoption).

EU-level smart city guidance emphasises rigorous pilot datasets and KPI‑based procurement to enable replication at scale.

Summary

The Standard In‑ground 2.0 Parking Sensor is a municipal‑grade, multi‑radio in‑slot sensor designed for robust on‑street detection, long battery life and certified RF/safety behaviour. For pilots and tenders prioritise: detection accuracy evidence, per‑build RF & safety reports, battery‑health telemetry and a clear FOTA & spare‑management policy.

Learn more

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is Standard In‑ground 2.0 Parking Sensor?

    The Standard In‑ground 2.0 is an in‑slot IoT occupancy sensor that fuses a 3‑axis magnetometer and a nano‑radar detector to report vehicle presence. It is IP68 rated and designed for outdoor in‑ground installation.

  2. How is the sensor installed/implemented in smart parking?

    Typical implementation follows a site survey, mechanical recessing, device commissioning, radio validation, calibration and backend mapping — then a baseline monitoring period before full live operation. See the installation steps above.

  3. How long does the battery last in real deployments?

    Battery life depends on reporting cadence, cars/day, network technology and temperature cycles. Devices use Li‑SOCl2 battery options (3.6 Ah up to 19 Ah) and include online calculators; heavy‑traffic examples are modelled as multi‑year (8+ years in examples), but run a site‑specific baseline to confirm.

  4. How does the sensor perform in winter and extreme cold?

    The sensor is specified for −40 °C to +75 °C and is tested for those ranges; however battery chemistry and reporting cadence can shorten practical life in extreme climates — validate in a winter baseline.

  5. What maintenance is required and how are battery replacements managed?

    Rely on daily health telemetry (voltage, coulombmeter) and a scheduled replacement plan. The vendor provides embedded battery monitoring and tools to flag end‑of‑life units before service failures.

  6. Can the sensor detect motorcycles and bicycles?

    Two‑wheeled vehicles with weak magnetic signatures can be edge cases. The dual‑sensor approach improves detection, but plan permit or IoT‑card workflows for two‑wheeled parking if needed.

References

Selected deployments (summarised from operational records):

  • Pardubice 2021 — 3,676 SPOTXL NB‑IoT sensors; deployed 2020‑09‑28; lifetime-days recorded 1,904. Large NB‑IoT municipal roll‑out (Czech Republic). (NB‑IoT)

  • RSM Bus Turistici (Roma Capitale) — 606 SPOTXL NB‑IoT; deployed 2021‑11‑26. Use case: managed bus & tourist parking.

  • CWAY Virtual Car Park No.5 (Famalicão, Portugal) — 507 SPOTXL NB‑IoT; deployed 2023‑10‑19. Virtual carpark methodology reduced on‑site hardware needs.

  • Kiel Virtual Parking 1 — 326 sensors (SPOTXL LoRa & NB‑IoT mixed); deployed 2022‑08‑03. Mixed network strategy lowered single‑vendor lock‑in. (LoRaWAN)

  • Skypark 4 Residential Underground — 221 SPOT MINI sensors; deployed 2023‑10‑03. Underground garages favour interior mini variants and different calibration profiles. (mini‑interior 1.0)

  • Chiesi HQ White (Parma) — 297 sensors incl. SPOT MINI & SPOTXL LoRa; deployed 2024‑03‑05. Mixed indoor/outdoor strategy.

(Entries summarised for procurement planning and local pilot comparison.)

Author Bio

Ing. Peter Kovács, Technical Freelance writer

Ing. Peter Kovács is a senior technical writer specialising in smart‑city infrastructure. He writes for municipal parking engineers, city IoT integrators and procurement teams evaluating large tenders. Peter combines field test protocols, procurement best practices and datasheet analysis to produce practical glossary articles and vendor evaluation templates.

Internal quick links used in this article (for procurement & technical reference):

LoRaWAN · NB‑IoT · Li‑SOCl2 battery · OTA/FOTA · CityPortal · installation-playbook · parking-sensor-calibration · parking-sensor-maintenance