Artificial intelligence-powered cloud video surveillance firm Cloudastructure Inc. announced today it has agreed a deal to acquire the smart parking startup Visionful Inc. for an undisclosed fee.

The acquisition, expected to close by the end of the month, will add license plate recognition and more analytics capabilities to the company’s platform.

Cloudastructure sells a cloud-based infrastructure platform for video surveillance systems that’s infused with AI software. Rather than storing video camera footage onsite, businesses can send it to the company’s cloud.

From there, it’s possible to apply Cloudastructure’s machine learning-based computer vision technology to recognize objects, faces, manufacturing defects and other things of interest. It enables video footage to be used for applications such as security, access control and quality control. Cloudastructure can also integrate video with other sensors to support technologies such as door access control.

Visionful, meanwhile, has developed a smart parking solution for transit firms, hospitals, airports, universities and other organizations that want to improve car parking lot efficiency. Its platform includes a real-time dashboard of parking usage that’s based on license plate recognition and database mapping.

With the dashboard, managers can bill vehicle owners more accurately for their parking use, while also determining future demand for parking spaces. The system can also inform drivers entering a car park where free spaces are available, reducing time spent searching for a space when the lot is almost full.

Cloudastructure says such capabilities are harmonious with its own platform, and that it will integrate the license plate recognition capabilities with its public safety application programming interface. That will allow it to alert security personnel to the presence of “bad actors” on their campuses, the company said. Such a feature will give Cloudastructure a unique differentiator between it and competing platforms, the company said.

“Visionful’s smart parking solution is a leading technology in the parking management space,” said Cloudastructure Chief Executive Rick Bentley. “This acquisition enhances our award-winning AI-based security platform for our customers, and is a major step in developing our vision for a ground-breaking, comprehensive smart cities platform.”

Images: Visionful