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Within the last two or three years Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) has become an important tool in security and presents an increasing business opportunity for installers.

ANPR technology has enjoyed rapid take-up recently, having made the transition from an expensive cumbersome tool to a reliable easily-deployed part of many systems 鈥� even down to domestic level.

It is developing into a technology that can also be used to track stolen vehicles on a database or as a retail marketing tool by tracking customer visits.

ANPR has had some high profile successes but most installers are still at the start of the learning curve. For those new to ANPR, it is perfectly possible to start at the basic levels, master the craft, and expand upwards into potentially high value contracts.

There are also significant retro-fit opportunities to sell ANPR solutions to existing customers or as a lead-in to new clients.

One manufacturer involved in this sector is Derwent, which provides the REG advanced numberplate capture system. The company says the quality of the image of the number plate itself is the most important factor and every aspect of your installation should be designed with this in mind. The quality of this image becomes even more important as you look at more advanced installations, using sophisticated software to process the plates.

Your system will also have to deal with dirty number plates; fast moving vehicles; vehicle headlights; and of course changing light and environmental conditions.

Here, Shaun Cutler, of Derwent, sums up the main point for installers to consider:

1. Use dedicated cameras
Some end-users have pushed installers to fit ANPR cameras which can capture number plates and at the same time provide surveillance of the surrounding area. This won鈥檛 work. The ANPR camera has enough difficulties dealing with capturing number plates 鈥� don鈥檛 compromise it by asking it to cover a wider area.

(Derwent have developed ANPR cameras that combine both a dedicated ANPR camera and a general overview camera into a single unit.)

2. Camera positioning
Ideally site the cameras at pinch points or control points such as barriers where vehicles have less opportunity to travel at speed or at angles to the camera. The camera should not be positioned too high above the road. A shallow angle is better. Ideally the number plate should be viewed from not more than 30 degrees.Take care about the position of the sun in relation to your camera during different parts of the day and year. (Derwent have developed a software programme to calculate all relevant angles and distances from ANPR camera to number plate.)

3. One camera, one lane
Installations have failed because a single camera has been set-up to cover more than one lane (eg, in and out from a car park). Although the camera may be dedicated to ANPR use, by attempting to cover too wide an area, image size and quality will not be good enough for consistent reliable capture.

4. The importance of Infra Red
Infra Red lighting plays a vital part in all ANPR systems, night and day. With ANPR systems visible light is filtered out and only IR light is used by the camera. This solves the serious problem of headlight glare on the plates, sunlight, light from wet roads etc. Infra Red also helps overcome the issue of dirty plates. Good quality IR lighting is essential.

5. Recording and compression
Beware of compressing images too much on your DVR as a way of extending recording periods. Compression reduces the resolution and can render the captured number plate unusable. The degree of compression acceptable will depend on what the number plates are being captured for, speed of traffic etc.

6. Capture Vs Recognition
These two terms are different. 鈥楥apture鈥� is used to refer to the process by which the CCTV camera captures the image and is primarily concerned with delivering a high quality image of the plate. It does not refer to recognition or interpretation of the image in an intelligent manner. 鈥楻ecognition鈥� refers to the intelligent software process of reading, recognising and analysing the captured image and using optical character recognition techniques to create an alpha-numeric data string of the characters on the plate. These can then be stored as a computer record. The computer record can be retained and used to trigger commands such as opening barriers etc. Identify quickly whether your project requires just capture or capture and recognition.

7. Getting it right
The essential first step for the installer is to clearly define the purpose of capturing the number plate and the level of intelligence required. Considering your aim first will help reduce unnecessary costs later. Firstly identify the characteristics and level of intelligence of your specific project as either Entry level, Intermediate or Advanced. Doing this allows you to focus on the key issues and opportunities.

Here are some ANPR choices:

鈥楴ext generation鈥� ANPR
plettac used IFSEC 2004 to launch the 鈥榥ext generation鈥� of ANPR products.

The software is able to recognise many different types of numberplate across the world. It can be used to integrate with car park management systems to save queuing to enter or leave the car park, if payment has already been made (via a website for example).

Other applications include using it to identify stolen vehicles listed on a database, and using it as a marketing tool to track customers. It can also reduce ticket fraud (when people swap tickets) and prevent vehicle theft. Regular offenders can be blacklisted on a data base.

plettac UK can offer a complete service from design through to installation and maintenance.

Reader service No 107

鈥楽tate of the art鈥� systems
Neurodynamics ANPR employs 鈥榮tate of the art鈥� neural network techniques in its character recognition. This ensures efficiency and integrity of the system for use in either high volume or standard traffic flow.

Neurodynamics ANPR is suitable for many different applications, including car parks, traffic surveys, petrol filling stations (as a 鈥渄rive-off鈥� deterrent), and to detect stolen vehicles if used in conjuction with database searching. It has time scheduling as a standard facility to offer vehicle access control for commercial and industry entry/exit. It is said to offer the following features:

鈥楿nprecedented鈥� reliability due to neural network based character recognition;
Operational speeds exceeding 100 MPH/ 160 KPH;
Multiple cameras can be monitored using one channel via a sequencing facility;
International plate formats;
Capture, storage & reviewing of number plates;
Ability to initiate automated responses such as opening of barriers, email, SMS messaging, or image transmission to central locations;
Real time number plate searching against user defined database;
Ability to perform under all lighting and weather conditions.

Reader Service No 108

ANPR results in arrests
Civica provided the Trafford Centre, Manchester with an ANPR solution which scans the vehicles of visitors entering the shopping and leisure complex and has resulted in many arrests for a variety of crimes. During its first trial weekend more than 77,000 vehicles were scanned. Of these, 600 vehicles were wanted in connection with minor traffic offences and theft. Ten were wanted for more serious crimes including shoplifting, fraud and car theft.

The complex system involved the installation of 13 covert cameras in strategic locations across the site. These are the size of a hand held camcorder, fitted with a specialist infra-red capability to allow scanning in darkness. The system software identifies stolen vehicles or those listed as wanted for a variety of crimes. Registration is verified and checked against a local intelligence databases, confidential police records and the Police National Computer.

Reader Service No 109

Rapid identification in all weather conditions
Telindus-owned CellStack Systems 鈥� providers of networked CCTV to the transportation market 鈥� has added Automatic Number Plate Recognition to its portfolio.

Talon ANPR, produced by Appian, provides rapid identification of vehicles 24 hours a day, in all weather conditions.

Exhibited at IFSEC 2004, the product identifies and recognises number plate information with scope for integration into databases of number plates.

Commercial applications for this technology include car park management, estate management and journey time analysis. In all applications each recognised vehicle has a time/date and location number associated with it, together with an associated image.

The networking capability of the system allows comprehensive database traffic movement to be created and maintained.

Reader Service No 110

Day and night clarity with latest optic technology
Derwent鈥檚 REG is an example of the video capture technology available to installers. The unit combines the latest camera, optics, illumination and filter technology to provide clear images of number plates in both day and night conditions.

To give installers greater flexibility, this technology is designed to operate independently as a number plate capture head in the case of entry level systems or in conjunction with software, for the intermediate or advanced applications.

Reader Service No 111

Robust and mobile system reads up to four lanes
CitySync demonstrated its new rapid deployment unit it for automatic number plate recognition, the Jet RoadRunner, at IFSEC 2004.

The robust mobile ANPR system can read number plates from up to four lanes of fast moving traffic simultaneously. It is aimed at police, customs and other government and non-government agencies looking out for people and/or vehicles.

The Jet RoadRunner is a useful data source for organisations involved in traffic monitoring, surveys and analysis.

The system is said to be quick and easy to set up. It reads plates from passing vehicles and matches them against multiple databases of any size, creating on-screen and audible alerts if a target vehicle is identified.

The company has reported a 鈥渟ignificant uptake鈥� in town centre contracts. Recent wins include Aylesbury, Liverpool, High Wycombe and Windsor.

Reader Service No 112

Redbridge deploys mobile ANPR in crime fight
The London borough of Redbridge, working with the Metropolitan Police, was the first local authority in the UK to deploy mobile automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology tackling local crime.

Using vehicle-based CCTV and computer technology from Civica, ANPR software is integrated with CCTV cameras, mobile communications and access to police and other agency databases.

More than 200 fixed and removable CCTV cameras located across the borough, are limited in coverage if crime perpetrators move outside their range. The system has a hydraulic mast, which can be raised to a height of six metres, while cameras on the mast are controlled by officers who view and record activity within several hundred metres radius of the vehicle.

As well as crime in the borough, the cameras are also used for crowd safety purposes.

Reader Service No 113