The Austrian start-up Parkbob has teamed up with Amazon to launch a new skill for Alexa-enabled devices at CES in Las Vegas, including the Anker Roav, Garmin Speak and soon, Echo Auto. The Parking Made Easy-Skill lets customers ask Alexa how long they can stay in their current parking spot or the location of the next multi-storey car park. Customers must opt-in for Alexa to share their location data with the skill through the Alexa app. Initially, the skill supports 13 of the largest cities in the United States, including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Beginning in Q2/2019, the skill will support locations in Europe too.
“By working with Amazon we have now reached the next milestone in our efforts to digitalize the “last mile” of a car journey, namely finding a parking space. By using a combination of multiple open data sources we know with the highest level of precision which parking regulations apply where and can thus save drivers from unpleasant parking fines or even from having their vehicle towed away,” said Parkbob CEO & founder, Christian Adelsberger.
Alexa, am I allowed to park here?
With Parkbob’s new skill, all you have to do is say, “Alexa, how long can I park here?” or “Alexa, what parking rules apply here?” for immediate access to the information you need. The new Parking Made Easy skill will turn parking fines into a thing of the past.
Parkbob Digitalizes Parking
By combining and digitally processing data from over 1,200 sources, such as open administrative data from local authorities, maps, satellite images, anonymous movement data from car-fleet navigation systems and parking space maps, Parkbob can accurately identify the parking regulations governing any given parking space (residents’ parking, loading area, short-term parking zones, etc.). This information, which is often unavailable to drivers in the moment, provides an immediate added value.
Founded in 2015, Parkbob now boasts some 25 experts from a range of specialist fields (18 of them women) from 12 countries and has been part of the A1 Start Up Campus in Vienna since the day it was founded.
For further information see: https://www.parkbob.com/alexa
