TCU’s Chief Technology Officer Bryan Lucas hopes to solve a daily campus headache: finding an open parking spot.
The university has begun using its network of campus cameras and artificial intelligence to monitor parking lots and help drivers find open spaces in real time.
Students can use the system to avoid driving in circles around campus lots and ensure timely arrivals for class.
“We are now able to … analyze every single parking spot, whether it’s occupied or vacant, and then use the power of artificial intelligence on your mobile device to show you exactly where the open spots are so you don’t have to … drive all over campus hoping to get lucky,” then-President Daniel Pullin said earlier this month during a coffee chat with students.
Through the “TCU Lot Leap” app, drivers can check parking lot availability before pulling into a lot.
While the app indicates open spaces, a disclaimer in the software notes that real-time accuracy may vary.
The TCU Lot Leap app is available now on iOS and Android devices.
Upon opening the app, TCU Lot Leap displays an interactive campus map. Users can filter parking options by permit type — Commuter, Employee Tier 1, Employee Tier 2, Medical School, Residential Student or Visitor — or by spot availability (open, full, closed or no data).
Not all TCU parking lots are integrated yet. Lucas explained via email that the university is “currently prioritizing based on lot type (e.g., Commuter), highest-traffic and size.”
“You actually will know exactly how to be effective and efficient and use the parking that we have today and then the parking that’s coming in the future,” Pullin shared during a student chat.
The parking spot detection technology relies on TCU’s artificial intelligence supercomputing infrastructure, AI² (Accelerating Institutional AI), a $10 million initiative launched in collaboration with Dell Technologies, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services.
The investment was announced Dec. 9, 2025, and marks “one of TCU’s largest research and technology commitments to date,” according to TCU News.
