Automatic Number Plate Recognition System

Authors: Charchit Jain , Akshat Vijayvargiya, Pir Mohommad

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Abstract

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is an internationally recognized methodology that is used in vehicle identification. ANPR systems allow for real time recognition of a vehicle\'s number plate. Vehicle parking is an important component within any transportation system, whereby vehicles are often parked at destinations. With an increased number of motor vehicles on roads especially in developing countries, there is need for a vehicle identification mechanism that is effective, affordable and efficient. There are also increased insecurity challenges including terrorism which call for increased surveillance. In most academic institutions and car parks, the ongoing car park entry registration process for visitors, staff or students entering the institution involves a security guard having to confirm membership details by checking for membership sticker on the windscreen of the vehicle or by checking the driver\'s identification card. This process of writing is tedious and time consuming and is prone to inaccurate recordings, furthermore the backup and sharing of this vehicle information is difficult because the data is hard copy. We propose the adoption of a mobile based software solution that has ANPR capabilities to aid in vehicle identification and vehicle registration. The software application that was developed adopted an object oriented analysis and design methodology, the software developed implements Optical Character Recognition (OCR) using the mobile device camera to detect and capture the vehicle number plate. The proposed solution reduced registration time from 30 seconds to 6 seconds in addition to other benefits. It was recommended that the system be adopted and implemented to address the current challenges in vehicle registration and surveillance.

Introduction

Parking is an important component within any transportation system, whereby vehicles must be parked at every destination. Most vehicles are parked most of the time during the day. Parking convenience is the ease of accessing a safe and preferable parking position, hence affecting the ease of reaching destinations. Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) is a mass surveillance method that was first developed in 1976 at the Police Scientific Development Branch in the United Kingdom with the aim of combating crime. ANPR is a process where vehicles are identified or recognized using their number plate or license plate. ANPR uses image processing techniques in order to extract the vehicle number plate from digital images [3]. As state, ANPR systems generally comprises of a camera, processor and application capable of performing sophisticated optical character recognition (OCR), to transform the image of the plate into alphanumeric characters. Application software to compare the transformed license plate characters to databases of license plates of interest to law enforcement; and a user interface to display the images captured, the results of the OCR transformation, and an alert capability to notify operators when a plate matching an agency's wanted list is observed. Successful implementations of ANPR systems have resulted in faster and easier vehicle identification. This has also resulted in faster and easier search and retrieval of vehicle information mostly done by law enforcers in identifying vehicles that are uninsured, stolen, or driven by someone without a license or prohibited from driving. Law enforcement use it to control access to restricted areas, to patrol international borders, and in some parts of the world, as a counter-terrorist measure.

Conclusion

Problems and challenges associated with car park vehicle identification details formed the basis for this research. The main aim of this research was to develop an automatic number plate recognition system for car park management, using Optic Character Reader (OCR) on a mobile device. The OCR process forms the basis of the entire system that was proposed by the researcher as a means of tackling the challenges faced by the security guards during the vehicle entry registration process. The completion of the proposed system resulted in the following benefits: i. Elimination of the hard copy occurrence book and the need to have to physically write onto the book, because all the vehicle details records will be digitized. ii. Hastening of the car park vehicle identification process including the entry and exit process, thus shortening the time duration. iii. Accurate recording of vehicle information. In future, an implementation an ANPR system can be useful in: Identification of vehicles that either have been reported as stole or are wanted for having committed traffic offenses, or have fake registration certificates.