At its heart, an ANPR camera is very similar to the digital camera in your smartphone. It creates a digital code representing a picture that a computer reads and displays as an image. ANPR technology differs from other digital photography because it processes the digital code it creates. In this article, we’ll look at that process and, in addition, we’ll consider:
1. How can it identify the make, model, category, and other features of vehicles?
2. How do they communicate with databases and other devices?
3. How do they handle the camera owner’s or user’s data?
Fundamentals of ANPR Cameras’ Operation
When an ANPR camera is set up to view vehicles traveling on the road or entering a facility, it must be “triggered” to record an image. The triggering can be done manually, like pressing the shutter release on a camera or tapping your phone’s camera icon when in photo mode. Alternatively, in some installations – such as toll collection – the camera is triggered automatically when a different vehicle enters its view.
For example, Adaptive Recognition’s Vidar ANPR cameras have built-in automatic laser triggers that have a long range and are incredibly accurate, guaranteeing that license plates are captured no matter what.
When the ANPR camera has acquired a digital image, special software searches it to find the portion it recognizes as a license plate. The technology that does this is similar to your phone’s identifying an individual face in your image and connecting it with someone in your contact list.
The camera then makes a separate image of the license plate, records that as a digital image, and reads it with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to acquire the characters from the plate and record them in a digital file. That file can become the input for another program such as an invoicing app, a membership or employee list, etc. It can also be decoded and read by a person – albeit usually for controlling purposes to make sure programs designed for solving such information don’t make mistakes.
Optional Make, Model, Color, and Category Identification
When it comes to identifying a stolen vehicle or a stolen license plate, it can be beneficial to know the make, model, color, and category of the vehicles the camera is seeing. With Adaptive Recognition’s Vidar cameras, make, model, color, and category identification are available. They can also identify other features such as lettering on vehicles and hazardous material cargo. AI-powered algorithms make all this possible.
If a license plate was issued to, let’s say, a red BMW 325, and it appears on a blue Fiat 500X, the camera can recognize the mismatch and raise a flag. This capability and numerous others depend on the optional software installed on the camera or connected to it externally. Once the camera has recognized the license plate and the registration data associated with it, the possibilities for using that information are endless.
A marketer might be interested in determining the number of a particular model or even a specific color in regular use or other model-specific data.
How Do ANPR Cameras Connect to Other Devices and Programs?
ANPR devices can connect to other technology in a variety of ways.
The camera itself may be programmable to include specific functions, such as ANPR or even speed measurement. Optionally, advanced features can be added to the camera by connecting it to an external device with the desired function.
The connection between the camera and other databases or software can be through the internet, Bluetooth communication, or a cabled connection. Regardless of the chosen communication protocol, an in-house database such as an employee list or customers-with-reservations list can easily be connected to the camera. Here’s the story of a grocery store in Scandinavia that makes very efficient use of ANPR technology and other functionality to streamline the customer experience of picking up prearranged orders. The chain of communication that keeps the whole system flowing smoothly includes several links. Here’s a brief video depicting how all the players interact in this system.
How Do ANPR Cameras Store and Handle Camera-Users’ Data?
ANPR cameras acquire and store sensitive data about vehicles and their owners, all gleaned from reading license plates. Serious concerns about data privacy arise in many people’s minds because of the easy acquisition of sensitive data.
As such, most countries worldwide have passed legislation dictating how these data must be encrypted, stored, and accessed. Since legislations vary considerably between countries, we’ll address only the EU’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
This regulation standardizes what should be deemed as personal data – including license plate-related data – and how it must be handled. Additionally, it also determines how companies should be penalized if they mistreat highly-sensitive data. It’s generally regarded as one of the most stringent requirements globally for protecting the privacy of personal information, so it isn’t surprising that many other countries have patterned their data-privacy rules after the GDPR.
Because of these strict requirements and the repercussions of ignoring them, virtually any ANPR system on the market should comply with the many regulations regarding data privacy. Adaptive Recognition’s products and services were all GDPR-compliant even before the EU’s data privacy laws went into effect.
ANPR cameras and their related systems have advanced to a very high level of sophistication. They can be connected to many other databases and software applications to enhance their utility. Without a doubt, these devices’ flexibility and the list of applications for this technology will continue to grow.
To learn more about some of the most advanced ANPR systems and how they can address your need, visit Adaptive Recognition’s website.
