Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing closed-circuit television, road-rule enforcement cameras, or cameras specifically designed for the task. ANPR is used by police forces around the world for law enforcement purposes, including to check if a vehicle is registered or licensed. It is also used for electronic toll collection on pay-per-use roads and as a method of cataloguing the movements of traffic, for example by highways agencies.
Automatic number-plate recognition can be used to store the images captured by the cameras as well as the text from the license plate, with some configurable to store a photograph of the driver. Systems commonly use infrared lighting to allow the camera to take the picture at any time of day or night. ANPR technology must take into account plate variations from place to place.
The CARMEN® Freeflow Number Plate Recognition Engine possesses all the features a high quality license plate recognition system may requires. It is highly accurate, fail safe and stable, fast and intelligent.
Meanwhile it provides the highest technological performance amongst today’s license plate readers, CARMEN® FreeFlow offers great flexibility for manufacturers and integrators of car plate recognition systems.
It can be integrated into practically any automatic number plate recognition system which needs automatic vehicle recognition.
There is no compromise. The CARMEN® FreeFlow’s Software Development Kit (SDK) makes integration of optical plate recognition extremely easy, fast and cost effective. And the resulted image processing system will have the highest performance – both in terms of recognition accuracy and speed – of optical license plate recognition.
Features of CARMEN® FreeFlow
The CARMEN® Freeflow offers general-purpose license plate reading from digital pictures of any tpye of sources. Whether it is a megapixel-size, 12bits/pixel high dynamic range, high resolution digital image or a 384×288 size colour CCTV video picture provided as input, (either from file or memory) CARMEN® provides ballanced reading of car plates.
While there is a vast space for different configurations – you can freely set the working parameters of CARMEN® to best fit your actual system’s requirements – you do not need to become a master of tuning parameters: CARMEN® is intelligent enough to provide high quality car plate recognition for very different type of images and plates with even the default settings.
There are automatic number plate recognition systems powered by CARMEN® with over 98.5% recognition rate (correct reading/total number of input) working 24h/day, 7days/week. CARMEN® is a proven product – and a living automatic vehicle recognition technology.
The CARMEN® Freeflow ANPR Engine and its SDK is a PC based solution supporting today’s most PC operating systems.
Applications of CARMEN® FreeFlow
While CARMEN® Freeflow is suitable for any automatic license plate recognition system, it is mainly used in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), security systems and low enforcement systems.
The main applications are: motorway toll collection (highway toll collection), traffic analysis, weight in motion, police law enforcement, state border control, enforcement of traffic regulations, vehicle theft prevention, assests protection, automation and simplification of airport, harbour and warehouse logistics, security monitoring of roads and checkpoints, vehicle surveillance, etc…
As car plate recognition is the most natural way of automatic car identification, car license plate recognition can be used anywhere, where automatic, computerised vehicle identification is needed.