License Plate Readers
Gate Automation solutions require LPR systems that are able to read license plates of vehicles coming from multiple countries and/or states with the highest accuracy and in the shortest possible time. CAMCO has based its license plate reader on the same Areascan camera technology that it uses to make high resolution images of the front and rear of containers and trailers. The reader makes a high resolution image of a large part of the front of the truck where the license plate is typically mounted, detects the license plate, and reads it with the highest possible accuracy.
Key Features
- 2M pixel IP camera with embedded OCR engine, specifically designed for LPR or ANPR
- Ideal optical format 2:1 (perfect format to catch large front of a truck)
- Very fast, up to 200 pictures per second
- High dynamic range, needed for outdoor photography
- Very sensitive CMOS sensor allowing night operations
- Streaming mode triggered, no ground loops needed
- Global shutter allowing sharp pictures of moving objects
- OCR engine supporting majority of countries including all U.S. States.
- Extremely powerful OCR engine, supporting holes and screws in plates
- Proven OCR results range between 94% and 98% depending of country
  
Application areas
ISPS truck identification
Although ISPS requires only truck driver identification, many terminals also want to have all vehicles identified. At the terminal entrance the trucker-ID card is linked to the license plate, at the exit gate the same combination is tested. If it fails the truck cannot exit the terminal. A correct license plate number identification is therefore extremely important in order to avoid additional help desk interventions and possible truck queuing.
TOS vehicle identification
Many TOS systems use the front license plate as the unique identification token in the gate process. All information related to the truck visit on the terminal is linked to the truck front license plate.
Lane matching
When integrating an OCR portal in a gate automation project a problem arises on the level of truck identification matching. A truck passage in an OCR portal creates images and OCR results, and this information has to be linked to the corresponding truck in the gate lanes. A popular solution is to read the front license plate number in both the OCR portal and again in the gate lanes. This system is only as good as the accuracy rates of the LPR system used.
An alternative and more accurate solution is to use RFID ID-cards or Tags.
Access control (out gate)
A typical application of LPR readers is the identification and validation of the front license plate of each vehicle before it leaves the terminal in order to avoid theft of containers and trailers.
Access control RoRo terminals
Typical for RoRo terminals is the fact that trailers have no standard identification number. Therefore most terminals use a combination of reading the back license plate together with the fleet numbers in order to make a correct link with the booking.
Benefits
LPR reading is a good solution for automatic identification of vehicles. It can also be used for tracking and tracing as long as the highest accuracy can be guaranteed. The problem is that the accuracy is less predictable than the reading of container numbers (it is located in one spot whereas container numbers are repeated, the quality of plates is extremely variable, the variation in types, formats, colors of plates is unlimited...), provoking in some cases an increase of exceptions and help desk interventions because of incorrect LPR readings, and thus creating more complex and less efficient gate processes. CAMCO advises to always crosscheck alternative solutions such as RFID ID-cards or Tags when vehicle tracking and tracing is the main requirement.
To learn more about LPR and other vehicle tracking systems and solutions, please
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Typical front license plate pictures
  
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