26.03.2008

Milestone adds license plate recognition

COPENHAGEN--Open platform IP video software specialist Milestone Systems is getting into license plate recognition (LPR) with the launch of its XProtect Analytics LPR 1.5, a system that detects, reads and stores license plate information from a digital video stream.

The system is designed to control vehicle access in traffic surveillance and law enforcement environments, for toll and parking management, at gas stations or for any other application or situation where there's a need to register, recognize or detect vehicle license plates.

The system works by taking a video stream from a camera and analyzing it for the presence of license plates. Once detected, the license plate information is then checked against the system that determines which actions are initiated automatically, such as opening a barrier gate for specific cars or sending an alarm.

The system is operated via the XProtect Smart Client interface that allows fast searches of historical data to find and match specific license plates. Data can be searched based on a specific license plate text or by wildcard combination, date, time or just by browsing through recordings.

Milestone is billing the system as more than a loss prevention application, saying that it's also an effective business tool that can improve customer satisfaction. "It is also an efficient way of improving customer service and ultimately increasing revenue," Milestone product manager Jan Bjerring Aabyvester said in a statement.

For example, gas stations can register a license plate to a company or individual's gas credit card. The software recognizes the license plate and lets the customer drive to the pump, fill up and go. Another scenario involves letting hotel guests pre-register and drive directly into a hotel's parking lot, avoiding lineups at the check-in counter.

With its open platform design, the XProtect system can integrate other analytics to allow for a combination of license plate, facial recognition and object tracking, for example, from three different vendors to be used as one comprehensive solution.