Element A: Presentation & Justification of the Problem
Problem Statement
In 2023, around 80% of the drivers surveyed in Southern California reported having trouble finding their cars after parking them in large parking lots or multi-level parking structures due to forgetfulness and a lack of cost-effective solutions for locating cars. The KIRR Tech team would design the device to simplify finding parked cars in large or unfamiliar lots. Our goal is to reduce the frustration and time lost due to forgotten parking locations.
Justification through Survey Data
Today, this is a prominent issue in the lives of individuals. Many people often have trouble locating their car after parking it in large parking lots or multi-level structures-something which is reflected by the survey’s data, which indicated that around 80% of people, a very significant portion, have trouble locating their cars in large parking structures. Additionally, about 75% of people reported knowing other people who have had trouble locating their cars after parking, which is, once again, a very significant amount. Of these people, 65% encounter this problem more than once a year, showing that this is a prominent problem.
This problem also has a financial aspect to it. When researching other products that are meant to solve the same problem or similar ones, it was discovered that they are often very expensive. Many of these cost over $50, and on top of that, many of them also require monthly subscriptions or are exclusive to one operating system. After analyzing the survey data, the team found that around 80% of the respondents stated that they wanted to pay less than $50, 31% of those respondents would pay between $11 and $20, and 37% wanted to pay less than five dollars. It is very difficult to find a reliable product that is within this price range, creating a market that could be very profitable and useful.
According to the survey, 75.9 percent of respondents know one or more persons who have difficulty finding their parked car. Also, 6.9 percent of respondents say they know 11 or more persons who are also having difficulty finding their car.
According to the report, 81.2 percent of people have difficulty finding their parked automobiles. However, 56.5 percent of respondents rarely experience this issue, only having it 1-5 times a year.
Of the total respondents, 79.6 percent of them say they know someone who has trouble finding their car in a large structural parking building. The largest percentage, 35.6 percent, say the person they know occasionally has trouble finding their car, at 8-15 times a year.
The number one reason people have difficulty finding their parked car is being forgetful, more than 50 participants say that. This proves that the team's problem is viable, a good number of people in the survey forget where they parked their car.
The final graph shows the frustration level of people when they cannot find their parked car. The bar graph shows 15 people have a frustration level of 4, 5 being the highest frustration level. That is the highest percentage.
Justification through Scholarly Articles
Beyond the survey that collected information from peers and the school community, many scholarly articles justify the “Lost cars in large or unfamiliar parking lots” problem. These articles were selected based on different criteria: credibility, topicality of the information presented, and the research coverage, ensuring that they provide accurate and relevant data.
The first article is “Losing Your Car in the Parking Lot: Spatial Memory in the Real World” by Albert Postma, Marijn van Oers, Florinda Back, and Sarah Plukaard. This study examined the qualitative aspects of spatial memory for a car's parking location during an incidental visit to a shopping mall. One of its conclusions was that almost all participants successfully found their parked car, but still around 14% made a significant detour, which supports the problem in a way that there is a group of people who might find future devices promising, which is the technical support path. It also highlighted the main effect of age on map location reconstruction: "Older participants had more difficulty moving their car on the map." Therefore, as one of the team's target consumer groups, senior citizens may find the device useful because it would help them avoid wasting time remembering the location of the parked car and allow them to quickly navigate to it.
The second scholarly article, “Forgot where you parked the car? Research suggests memory is a game of all or nothing,” published in 2020 by the University of York captured a study with more than 400 participants aged 18 to 35. It suggested that memories of certain parking places “are either totally forgotten or, if they are remembered, it's with as much precision as when they were first learn[ed].” By examining a large group of people, this study has increased the chance of getting truthful results and it also justifies the problem by providing evidence that the people's memory varies in quality and sometimes they can forget the location of their parked car. However, with the use of some remembering strategies, or potentially helpful devices, individuals are more likely to successfully allocate their parked car. Therefore, this article also supports that the device developed for this purpose would have relatively high demand among people, supporting the problem in technical terms as they would not need to waste time in an attempt to find their car.
The third article “How Do You Park Your Car — Are You a Pull-Forward or a Back-Into Driver?” focused on presenting goals and results articles such as “Gender Disparity on Losing Your Car in a Parking Lot,” “The Psychology of Parking,” and others. It compared the manner of parking depending on the gender, as well as depicted what parking style can tell about the driver. But what is most relevant to the problem, it confirms the previous article's information and supports the problem by stating that “millions of motorists regularly forget where they parked their car. Almost a third did this at least once a month.” Moreover “drivers spend up to 35 hours every year hunting down their automobiles in parking lots and on the streets.” This data confirms that losing cars in parking lots is a relevant issue that affects many people today, who, given the time spent, might complain and search for an effective solution to the problem. This also supports the problem in a technical way.
Justification through Expert Insights
Beyond research, this engineering project requires reaching out to experts and adapting to the consumer's needs. Throughout the next two weeks, the team plans to visit large parking lots, such as Spectrum One, to survey any parking attendants about the rate at which people get lost, what people do when this happens, and how this could be prevented. They would also ask people who have previously or currently worked on car-finding devices or in a company that produces such devices. This might help the team to receive an insight into what worked or did not work in their product, and adapt theirs accordingly.
Target GROUPS
Regarding consumers, the team would target three main groups: older individuals, youth drivers, and people with mental disabilities. According to the research above, seniors have a somewhat higher forgetfulness, making potential future products from the team helpful and attractive to them. Another demographic would be young teenage drivers, as they are also prone to forgetting things, which will make them buy new devices. The final major intended demographic would be people with mental disabilities, such as Alzheimer's or dementia, as they tend to forget things very easily. According to the Alzheimer's Society information, “one in three people with dementia” drive, while people in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease can keep driving (National Institute on Aging), so the device would be extremely helpful for them behind the steering wheel.
Conclusion
According to the evidence presented above, encompassing both survey data and information from credible online sources, many people have the problem of forgetting where they parked their automobiles, especially when they are in a hurry. The survey presented strongly as more than half of the participants believe the “Lost cars in large or unfamiliar parking lots” problem is worth tackling because so many people are affected by it. Because of a lack of cost-effective methods for detecting cars and driver forgetfulness, 80% of Southern California drivers polled in 2023 reported having trouble finding their automobiles after parking them in large parking lots or multi-level parking structures. Scholarly articles also confirmed that some people have a problem with remembering the exact location of their parked car, with many elderly having even more difficulties with this. They also suggested that with the use of some remembering strategies or special navigating devices, it could be easier for people to locate their cars without wasting much time. As a part of justifying the problem, the team would reach out to potential experts, who to one or another consent have experience with the problem or solution, as well as potential consumers to adapt the device to their needs. There are several products that can address the current problem, but they all have drawbacks that can be further improved in future devices. Few items have limited Bluetooth range or even damaged batteries, causing the gadget to malfunction. Overall, many people often have trouble locating their car after parking it in large parking lots or multi-level structures is quite justified by demographics and studies, and therefore it is potentially beneficial to focus on this problem.
Works Cited
Alzheimer's Society. “Driving and dementia.” Alzheimer's Society.
