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01/30/2006 27.01.06 | Siemens is expanding Munich Airport’s parking guidance system to create the largest in the world. By 2009, when the expanded system is scheduled to go into operation in Terminal 1, it will encompass more than 15,000 parking spaces. Known as Sipark, the system has already been running smoothly in the Terminal 2 parking garage, which opened in the summer of 2003. Its design will make it possible to provide even more capacity if passenger numbers increase due to a third runway. In the Terminal 1 parking garages, traffic management experts from Siemens in Munich are installing about 200 LED display panels that are connected to the management system. Electronic information panels inform drivers entering the airport how many vehicles are parked in the garages. And in the future, drivers will be able to go on the Internet and use their onboard navigation systems to make online reservations of parking spaces — while still en route to the airport. As soon as the vehicle enters the parking garage, it is directed to the closest vacant parking space. With a sensor installed at each individual zone and aisle, the system continuously monitors the number of vehicles that are en route to parking spaces. This enables the central guidance system to ensure that too many cars aren’t directed to a given area, which might then become too full. An ultrasound sensor is installed at each parking space to determine if it is occupied. If someone has inadvertently left a luggage cart in the space, however, the smart sensor recognizes that the object is not a car. Siemens also is modernizing parts of Terminal 2 — without disturbing everyday operations. The parking bays at the terminal are being designed to allow drivers to park diagonally without the need for maneuvering.