Drivers may one day be able to find a parking space on their smartphones instead of hunting for one on the street if a new system envisioned by University of Michigan researchers becomes reality.

The system would use radar sensors that are already built into many vehicles to create a crowd-sourced, real-time map of parking availability. The map could be linked to a smartphone app, enabling drivers to reserve a parking space in advance. The system could also enable autonomous vehicles to find parking on their own.

Professor Romesh Saigalteaches courses in continuous optimization and linear programming. His current research involves theoretical investigation into interior point methods, large scale optimization and software development for mathematical programming. He has been an associate editor of Management Science and is a member of SIAM, AMS and AAAS. He is the Director of Interdisciplinary Professional Programs (InterPro) at U of M.