Finding parking spaces is a major problem in all cities and results in increased traffic congestion. To minimize that issue, IBM and Streetline have embedded RFID sensors into pavement on Los Angeles streets that indicate when a car parks a specific spot. Readers installed on street lamps or in some cases on trees send information to a data center run by IMB. Once that data is compiled it is fed to all sorts of devices, including mobile phones.

In LA, a new iphone app guides drivers to open car spaces, eliminating the need to circle city blocks numerous times in search of a parking spot. IBM hopes to use the technology to measure water pressure on fire hydrants, and to measure pollution levels on each city block.

Click here to view a video about the Los Angeles parking case study.