Overview
At the back of my garage, I have a storage cabinet and tools that I need to access when my car is parked inside. This project’s focus is to install a LED garage parking assistant to ensure I park my car in the best position to maximise storage space, easily retrieve items and walk around comfortably.
Objectives
Optimum Parking Position
My main objective is to park my car, in the optimal position, each & every time I use my garage. I want to park with confidence and avoid any doubt of being in the wrong position.
I store my walking boots in the garage which I fetch each day before walking my dog. If I park too far forward, I can’t get to the boot rack easily. If I park too far backwards, I run the risk of my car being damaged when closing the garage door.
Research
I know most people solve this problem with a tennis ball. This is a cheap & simple fix but in my opinion, too old school.
Laser Guides
I considered using a laser guide as a garage parking assistant but I wasn’t sure if the laser dot would be visible in daylight. I read some of the Amazon reviews and it turns out a lot of buyers are complaining about the size of small dot, even at night.
Arduino with an Ultrasonic Sensor
As part of my research, I purchased an Arduino starter kit which included an ultrasonic sensor. I was inspired by this project. I did get a mock-up working in my office but it wasn’t quite right for the application I had in mind.
Solution
I decided to go down a different route than everybody else (ultrasonic or infrared with switch relays). I opted for modifying readily available off-the-shelf products.
Pressure Activated Mat
I picked a pressure mat (with an alarm) to act as a pre-warning trigger for my garage parking assistant. The pressure mat is 56x36cm & comes with a 10m cable that links to the alarm sounder. The mat size and cable length are perfect for this application.
Tuya Smart Life Wi-Fi LED Controller
I selected a Tuya or Smart Life compatible Wi-Fi LED controller to make use of a couple of 5m LED strip lights that I already had spare. The purpose of the LEDs is to provide a visual aid for when I have reached the ideal parking position.
It was important to ensure Tuya/Smart Life compatibility because I want to utilise other paired products (garage door opener & garage side door sensor) plus the in-app scenes feature.