Application focus: ANPR Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Automatic number plate recognition ANPR was once a feature reserved for police forces and high-end security systems. It's now readily available in more accessible technology, and it's enabling some useful smart home applications.

By Gordon Routledge
Friday 5th December 2019

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Bus lanes in London and Manchester, Holiday Inn Corby and Moto services in Wetherby are just a few of the locations I've collected a hefty car-related fine. A few CCTV captured photographs usually accompany each postal punishment. The letter includes a handy link to a website where you can see more footage of your crime and of course, cough up.

ANPR camera technology was a few years ago, high-end technology reserved for tracking hardened criminals. The falling cost of technology means it's now available in cameras aimed at the smart home market.

The industry leader in this space is Hikvision, the new DeepinView series of cameras pack a rich feature set including ANPR.

Richard Brook dragons den sockitz — Gate linked ANPR is a popular high-end smart home application.

VIDEO: ANPR cameras caught our eye in a product round up.

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Why would a client want ANPR at home?

Security is usually the primary reason for anyone considering a CCTV system. However, a camera triggering alerts for every car or person entering a space can quickly become annoying.

Being able to differentiate between friendly traffic and unknown vehicles is a useful feature. Combine this functionality with other smart home technology, such as automatic gates and a security device becomes a convenience feature. No need to be disturbed or have to go to a screen to allow in a family member returning home at night.

How does the camera recognise number plates??

The Deepinview camera allows the upload of a whitelist of known number plates. The camera then quickly scans each car within an installer defined area and triggers a relay output. The relay can then trigger the opening of a gate or communicate with back to a smart home system and trigger a welcome home scene of lighting and even audio.

The camera is hard wired via ethernet and functionality is set up using a web browser. The software can tell the difference between the front and rear number plates. Using this function allows different triggers for arriving or departing vehicles.