How To Setup ANPR Camera? And Best Practices
An ANPR camera reads license plates, alerts the police, and stops illegal activity using optical character recognition on the images it has gathered. These cutting-edge cameras are used in smart cities, supply chain management, and other situations where vehicle tracking is necessary. Additionally, ANPR cameras can automate access control systems, improve security, stop auto theft, and streamline traffic management.
1. What is ANPR?
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images of vehicle registration plates to read the vehicle’s registration number. An automatic license plate recognition system uses several image processing algorithms to quickly and automatically identify vehicles in video or photo data from cameras.
2. How ANPR works?
With the help of optical character recognition, automatic number plate identification technology can scan license plates on moving vehicles. ANPR technology will recognize any license plate number from an image of a vehicle’s license plate using optical recognition. An ALPR system uses a variety of imaging techniques to accurately identify the proper vehicles in video or photo data from the camera.
A particular kind of camera called an ANPR reads car license plates automatically as they approach, enabling the details to be compared to database entries. The reader locates the vehicle’s number and transforms valid license plates into analog-format ID numbers using the image that the camera captured of the license plate. The system for access control then analyzes this data and decides if to allow or refuse entrance to this vehicle. The controller signals the barrier or gate to open if the access is confirmed.
Why does ANPR need a proper setup?
The ANPR technology takes real-time pictures in order to read vehicle number plates. But it could result in blurry, dark, or directly exposed photographs, making monitoring invalid and incorrect. A few variables have come to light as a result of this industry’s recent increase. Their accuracy is limited by these factors. An ANPR system’s accuracy and productivity are mainly affected by three factors: camera quality, the ANPR engine, and the camera arrangement. Both the quality of the camera and the engine are fixed elements. You can’t change these too much. As a result, the configuration becomes critical for achieving performance.
ANPR camera setup
1. Excellent Camera zoom quality for clear Image
Beginners commonly make the error of taking wide-angle pictures when operating an ANPR device. So rather than concentrating on one entry or exit point, cameras are set up to take wide-angle pictures that show the done at this stage of an area.
In order to take correct pictures, cameras should try to focus on a smaller area. The camera’s position and lens width can be simply changed to solve this. The license plate will be the major point of the picture as a result. 40 pixels is the very minimum size needed to see certain locations in perfectly fine detail. You can improve the image quality by changing your camera configuration.
2. Adjust the camera’s distance for improved focus.
The vehicle should stay as far away from the camera as possible. The ideal distance for a successful monitoring system is 35 meters. The ANPR camera can quickly focus on a target object at a closer range. You get a better image as a result and no blurry photos. To verify the accuracy, don’t forget to calculate the distance manually between the car and the ANPR camera.
3. Set Camera Angle to easy reading
Different types of license plates can be scanned by ANPR cameras. Placing the camera angle properly, however, is always beneficial. The camera angle for ANPR can be set up in one of two ways. The camera can be placed either horizontally or vertically. The camera must be sloped at 45 degrees in these positions. This allows it to read the vehicle’s license plate clearly.
4. Appropriate camera resolution
Any IP camera can be used for an ANPR system, although it is recommended to use one with a suitable size of 50–100 pixels. The camera’s reading will be improved by this. Each ANPR system also requires megapixels that are suitable for its function, such as:
2 MP cameras for parking and toll monitoring.
4 MP camera for vehicle servicing and maintenance.
8 MP camera for highway or main road monitoring.
These guidelines are supported by multiple research studies. But if you take a few test pictures, you can improve their quality. The ANPR engine can then be used to run these photos to determine if the reading was accurate.
5. Suitable ANPR camera Frames
The speed of the item at the moment of capture strongly affects camera frames. When you capture fixed items, the image quality you get is very different from when you capture moving objects. This means that both when the car is still and when it is moving, you must adjust your camera’s settings to match the vehicle’s speed.
We can understand the image features due to the overall speed difference. The speed of the vehicle is the overall speed in cases that involve a still object. The overall speed of a moving vehicle, though, is the difference between your speed and that of the vehicle. These calculations help to avoid unclear pictures.
6. Better lighting for Night-Time
Most ANPR devices are set up to take sharp pictures in low light. It is better to check that the camera is positioned properly. To avoid images that are either underexposed or overexposed, you can change the camera’s frame rate in line with the lighting conditions.
The shutter speed of the camera can even be automatically adjusted based on changes in lighting. To make sure there will always be enough light on the vehicle, you can also provide a light source that focuses on the entry and exit sections or other particular locations.
7. For Improved ANPR, Set Region
If you are new to camera settings, it can be difficult to manage. It’s, therefore, best to take some steps to protect yourself before trying to turn on your system: You must keep the Digital Noise Reduction (DNR), Automatic Gain Control (AGC), and BackLight Compensation (BLC) settings off. Additionally, using Auto-Focus could make it more difficult for your camera to recognize things, which is not a great option. Finally, set up your system so that it takes pictures in portrait mode. For ANPR, portraits are not helpful.
In the dark, these devices are very well suited to capture clear images. Making sure the camera is correctly set up is better. You can reduce contrast and create less challenging images by adjusting the camera’s picture quality to the light condition. Even better, you can set the camera to adjust its image quality automatically as the lighting changes. To verify that there is always enough light on the oncoming vehicle, you should provide a source of light that focuses on the entry and exit areas or another specific area.
8. Driver image
Utilizing two cameras will allow you to successfully capture an image of each driver if your placement is at a site entrance and you want to get a picture of each driver. While one camera focuses on the license plate, the second one shows the motorist through the side or front windows. The camera that is capturing the driver must have a polarising filter on it because of the reflecting glass. This will take the place of the issue where windscreen reflections made it impossible to see the driver.
9. Keep your data secure
According to the Data Protection Act, the personal information you collect must be retained securely and for a short amount of time. Make sure the program you select employs password protection to guard against unauthorized access to personal information when it is stored. Also, make sure that timed automated deletion is included so that, unless you are prepared to regularly monitor and manually delete records, recognition records won’t be stored past your maximum length.
Make sure to back up your system settings and historical ANPR data, usually on solid-state media like a compact flash or SD card rather than a hard drive. Because they have moving parts, hard disks are more likely to fail than other IT components. Hard disk-based systems are generally less reliable than ones that use components.
Summary
In this article, we discuss all the details, like what is ANPR, how it works, how to properly set up the camera, and all setup configurations with its best practices. I hope you all understand everything about that.
This system is often used in high-security locations like airports, governmental structures, and historical sites. Additionally, it helps with ongoing security and monitoring at parking lots, toll gates, highways, and residential areas. Keep in mind that in order to avoid using the ANPR system, you should adjust the camera with assistance from technical professionals. This will guarantee that it is correctly installed for the best possible picture capture.