One of the leaders in connected car services and transportation analytics, Inrix, has received the BMW Group’s Supplier Innovation Award for its work in the area of connected driving and its integration of live parking information in navigation systems.
The German auto maker’s coveted award is based on Inrix’s development and implementation of the industry’s first real-time on-street parking service in a connected car, which uses up-to-the-minute and historical parking data to predict the availability of parking spaces.
Continuing its innovation in connected services, Inrix has also announced the availability of its Parking Path technology in new BMW vehicles in the USA and Europe. It is the first solution to combine real-time traffic, incident and parking availability data into the navigation experience. Unlike traditional navigation systems that route from point A to point B, Parking Path simplifies the last mile by guiding drivers along the fastest route to find available parking, saving time and frustration.
Debuted in 2016, the BMW Group’s On-Street Parking Information (OSPI) now includes Park-Search-Route (PSR), powered by Inrix’s Parking Path, to guide drivers to their destination along the optimal route for finding available street parking.
The company’s On-Street Parking and Parking Path services are immediately available in the new BMW 5 Series Sedan in the USA and across Europe in BMW models equipped with the auto maker’s Professional Navigation option.
Another industry-first, last year Inrix developed technology that makes use of floating car data generated from BMW cars to improve the accuracy and coverage of its Parking information service. Inrix uses data collected from ultrasonic sensors, commonly referred to as ‘parking sensors’, as the vehicle drives down the road to scan, collect and transmit real-time parking occupancy information to other BMW cars.
Inrix Parking is the world’s most comprehensive and accurate parking database with more than 60 million spaces in 310,000 locations, spanning more than 15,000 cities in 88 countries. Addressing a key customer need, the company provides real-time parking space availability information for parking facilities and city streets. Its On-Street Parking service makes use of machine learning technology to deliver ground-truth tested dynamic occupancy predictions in nearly 350 cities globally, covering more than 500,000 individual street segments.
“We are thrilled the BMW Group has recognized us as one of the premier suppliers that is improving the driving experience,” said Bryan Mistele, president and CEO at Inrix. “Our goal has always been to provide BMW drivers with the most innovative, accurate and reliable connected services available in the car.”
Joe Berry, executive vice president and general manager of Inrix’s automotive division, added, “Drivers typically start looking for a place to park once they reach their final destination, which causes delays, traffic issues, and frustration to the driver and others around them. Our Parking Path system helps BMW drivers arrive on time, stress free and with no hassles.”
