17 May 2018

Barnacle and Aeris to make life easier for traffic wardens with IoT

Aeris is providing Barnacle Parking Enforcement with an IoT connectivity solution for the latter's Barnacles - bright light-weight yellow devices that can be used by parking officers to immobilise vehicles by covering their windshields, as a more efficient alternative to the heavy metal boots that are typically used today.

The Barnacle uses suction cups, which attach to a windscreen with more than 1,000 pounds of force, once the device has been armed using a keypad. The vehicle owner can then disarm the device with their phone, paying their fine online or dialling a toll-free number. The vehicle owner then has to return the Barnacle within 24 hours.

Parking enforcement officers can manage their fleet of Barnacles using an web application, allowing them to track deployed devices through Aeri’s IoT asset tracking functionality and receive updates about their status, process payments, and run reports on fines collected. The app also includes a worldwide map to track all deployed devices. The Aeris IoT Connectivity platform is helping Barnacle Parking Enforcement expand its service radius in other markets outside of the USA.

The companies assert that use of the Barnacles results in lower carbon emissions from tow trucks and deployment vehicles and reduces the amount of maintenance and storage space required (the Barnacles can be stacked when not in use).