AUTOMATIC NUMBER PLATE RECOGNITION SYSTEM

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Presented BY
SUHAIL KHAN
ROLL NO:31

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INTRODUCTION
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (or 'number plate recognition') is a special form of optical character recognition (OCR).

It enables computer systems to read automatically the registration number (license number) of vehicles from digital pictures.

Reading automatically the registration number means transforming the pixels of the digital image into the ASCII text of the number plate.

OCR technology scans paper documents and turn them into electronic, editable files.

Capturing of fast moving vehicles needs special technique to avoid motion blur . To ensure the right image quality short shutter time is used with high-power illumination.


The best illumination is the IR, because the retro-reflective plates reflect this kind of light and it is undetectable for the human eye.

This combination works fine during day and night and provides constant good image quality.

Only dedicated ANPR cameras meet these requirements, which provide flexible shutter control with built-in IR flash and able to catch the vehicles up to 250km/h which is suitable for all kind of license plate reading applications.
HOW TO BULIT ANPR SYSTEMS
ANPR has two technological issues:
The quality of license plate recognition software  with its applied recognition algorithms, and
The quality of image acquisition technology, the camera and the illumination.

The very key factor is the number plate recognition software.

A sophistication recognition software should have following features
the highest recognition accuracy
the fastest processing speed
the most type of number plates it can handle,
the widest range of picture quality it can handle,
the most tolerant against distortions of input data .

The key technological parts of an APNR system:

high accuracy Optical Character Recognition (OCR) “ is an essential requirement

technology image acquisition technology - determines the average image quality the number plate recognition algorithm has to work on.


ANPR SOFTWARE
Different CARMEN software versions are used for different ANPR application areas

There are basically 3 versions
CARMEN Free Flow : general-purpose license plate recognition engine , used for processing images of fast moving vehicles
CARMEN Parking Lane: developed for parking management applications where automatic identification of vehicles is needed.
CARMEN Parking: cost-effective solution, which is ideal for parking, vehicle entry and access control systems. It is capable of the automatic detection, identification and recognition of the registration number of any vehicle.




CARMEN FREE FLOW SOFTWARE
It is highly accurate, fail safe and stable, fast and intelligent.

it provides the highest technological performance

It can be integrated into practically any ANPR system

Features:
offers general-purpose license plate reading from digital pictures of any type of sources.
provide high quality car plate recognition for very different type of images and plates with default settings.
98.5% recognition rate (correct reading/total number of input)

Applications:
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS),
security systems
motorway toll collection (highway toll collection),
traffic analysis,
police law enforcement,
state border control,
enforcement of traffic regulations,
vehicle theft prevention,
automation and simplification of airport,
harbor and warehouse logistics,
security monitoring of roads and checkpoints
vehicle surveillance
CARMEN PARKING SOFTWARE
specially designed for parking systems, security systems and access control systems.

It has a unique integration level of license plate recognition technology, the video acquisition technology and the processing of multiple images of video streams.

It comes with an industrial quality native driver for image acquisition and video streaming, providing a plug-and-play core number plate recognition module (software and capture card) for car park and vehicle access control systems.



Features:
offers flexible,
low maintenance,
effective and intelligent technology for car park operation.
reduces costs as well as increasing efficiency and security.

the Carmen Parking ANPR package contains the following elements:
Automatic number plate recognition engine
FXVD4mc_s grabber card
Functions library (ANSI C/C++, MSVC/C++, MSVB and Delphi, ActiveX, OCX)
Demo and test applications
Tutorial and sample programs both in executable and source code.
High Resolution Camera equipped with a special and synchronized IR flash.(optional)

A parking lot equipped with Carmen Parking can provide:
Flexible and automatic vehicle entry to and exit from a car park
Management information about car park usage
Improved security for both car park operators and car park users
Improved traffic flow during peak periods
Vehicle recognition through date and time stamping as well as exact location
Comprehensive database of traffic movement can be managed

Applications:
car park management,
car parking automation,
occupation management,
automation of access control,
security access control,
flotilla management (car pool management),
automation of vehicle entry to and exit from car parks,
inventory management,
state border control


CARMEN PARKING LANE SOFTWARE
used for one or two lanes of access control systems.

With integration CARMEN Parking Lane into parking management systems, it is possible to automate vehicle entry to and exit from a car park or a secure zone and to use the recognized registration number for inventory management.

specially developed for parking management applications where automatic identification of vehicles is needed.

provides accurate and quick identification of vehicles without human assistance.
ANPR HARWARES
ANPR consists of following hardware products :

Image capturing -FXCAM LPR/ANPR camera series : to provide good quality images

ARH Car PC for Mobile ANPR applications : is a mobile PC with unique features like GPS receiver and GPS antenna.

Video signal digitizing -FXVD4 frame grabber card : the primary function of this card is digitizing the video signal. FXVD4mc_s is a high quality 4-channel frame grabber card



FXCAM DIGITAL ANPR CAMERA
The smart shutter technology enables you to make an adaptive image capturing system, controlled automatically by software.
Effective range is up to 20 meters (65 ft) but it may vary depending on the specific environmental conditions.
Ideal for both moving traffic and access control (parking management) applications.
Image quality:
Resolution: 752X480 pixels, ROI support
Image processing speed: 60 frames/sec at full image size
Continuous, or triggered buffering for 60 full size images
Lossless RAW image format
Adjustable gain and shutter time 1/100 to 1/30000 sec
No extra illumination required



Lens:
High quality motorized zoom and iris (effective range 3-20m)
IR pass filter included
High speed and ultra sensible image sensor :
CMOS monochrome WideVGA (pixel size 6lm x 6lm)
Global Shutter TrueSNAP
Dynamic range up to 100dB
High performing illumination :
High power IR LEDs - ideal for ANPR day & night
Strong sunlight / shadow correction
   Power consumption :
Isolated 24-28V AC or 30-36V DC input (50-60Hz)
Optional 12V DC (FXCAM202)
Less than 15W (26V AC) [depending on heating ON/OFF]
Reverse polarity protection

FRAME GRABBER CARDS
FXVD4mc_s is a high quality 4-channel frame grabber card

function of this card is digitizing the video signal by an Bt878 video capture chip.

To improve the reliability and stability of a stand-alone system the FXVD4mc_s has a secondary function the watchdog.

This function helps to reboot the computer when a system crashes

On the card there is a RISC co-processor which serve the hardware protection of the software

Interface : PCI 2.1 AD
conversation : Bt87
Input : 4 x BNC video, 75 Ohm
Watchdog : Programmable with 1-250 sec. delays
Supported Operating System :
Windows Vista 32bit, XP, 2003, 2000
Linux
Programming Languages :
Visual C/C++
Visual Basic
Borland Delphi
Visual Basic.NET
C#
Java
GCC and Java under Linux

Additional Tools :
SDK for easy integration
DLLs and ActiveX components
Video Formats : PAL or NTSC (75 W, 1 Vp-p)
Video Framing : Full, Field, Half @ any / odd / even
Image Output : Memory, file
File Types : BMP, JPEG
File Formats : Grayscale, RGB15, RGB16, RGB24, RGB32, YUV422
Documentation :Reference Manual in electronic format
System Requirements : Free PCI slot with Bust Mastering support
Power consumption : approx. 450mA
Size : 97 mm x 120 mm


ARH CAR PC
PC-based system which is specially designed for mobile installation

The anti-vibration protection and the anti-shock protection makes its usage reliable in vehicles.

it has unique features like
Intelligent (programmable) UPS
GPS receiver
GPS antenna

Advantages:
Maintenance free operation
No moving parts
Configurable

Processor : Intel Core Duo 1.2 GHz
RAM : 1 GB DDR2
Graphics : Integrated Intel graphics controller
HDD : Automotive 40GB (Flashdrive: optional)
Network : Gigabit LAN controller
Input/output:
2 x RJ45 LAN
2x serial
3x USB2.0
DVI + VGA out
PS2 for keyboard
Mic + line in, line out
Composite + S-video TV out
Power: Input voltage: 9-30 VDC (5.4A @ 9DC)
Power consumption: max. 50W (typical 15-20W)
Power Module with UPS :
Smart Battery, Li-Polymer, 3000mAH
GPS receiver and antenna included
Windows XP Professional included

DEVELOPING POWERFUL APPLICATIONS
APPLICATIONS
Parking

Access Control

Motorway Road Tolling

Border Control

Journey Time Measurement

Law Enforcement



REFERENCES
anpr.net

en.wikipediawiki/Automatic_number_plate_recognition