Genetec has enhanced their AutoVu LPR platform with a new suite of "Advanced Vehicle Analytics", including speed, direction and make / state of vehicles.
In this note, we look at applications for these analytics, limitations, price points and potential impact.
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The speed estimates have been available for a while, and has worked pretty well from what I've seen. Our fixed cameras are all located at vehicle gates, so the speeds are low/don't vary by much anyway.
Also the upgraded SharpX processor wouldnt really be applicable to multiple lane fixed systems, its more for having multiple XGA cameras on a single parking enforcement vehicle, where in the past to have 4 cameras on a PE vehicle they could only be VGA cameras, plus 2 tire reading cameras.
While Sean is right that there is interest from parking enforcement customers to be able to install 4 XGA cameras on a single vehicle without requiring two processing units, we see more demand for 4 XGA cameras per processing unit in fixed multi-lane applications, such as city monitoring. The increased processing power, coupled with the longer cable lengths now offered (80 feet between camera and processing unit, up from 25 feet on previous-generation units) make deploying 4 fixed XGA SharpX cameras more accessible, and speeds up deployment.
Francis Lachance, Genetec.
[Disclosure: Poster is from ISS]
This is very interesting information. It is quite surprising though that Genetec has just come out with some of these features. The speed and direction detection features are pretty standard and have been around for some time. ISS has had these for about 7 years in its SecurOS Auto module.
Regarding speed detection, as Genetec states, there will always be a small plus/minus factor in the speed measurement (more so in high speed applications). It is important to be able to support a number of radar equipment for precise speed measurement.
Other interesting features which have been provided for ISS partners are:
Detecting a vehicle without a license plate. The algorithm will track the vehicle in the scene and determine that it does not have a front or a back plate. This particular feature is very important for local police as different states have different laws regarding if plates are required in front/back or both. Also police will be concerned with stolen cars without plates. In addition, license plate recognition based parking facilities also have found this feature pertinent.
Software based vehicle detection. This feature is key as a lot of LPR software companies require the installation of physical sensors to detect the presence of a vehicle. This off course is a huge cost factor, especially in installations with many LPR cameras. The LPR software should be able to detect the presence of a vehicle using tracking algorithms. Installation of sensors can still be supported as an option.
Recognition in masked area. If there is a part of the image that vehicles do not pass through, or that is causing false positives, that area can be masked out. In this case the remaining portion of the image will be analyzed for license plates. This will potentially increase recognition results and lower processing load.
One recognizer – multiple camera recording. This feature can be used for car/truck inspection stations. As one camera recognizes the license plate, and the other cameras installed on different sides of the vehicle can be automatically triggered to record. So video from all the cameras in the 1 inspection lane will be synchronized.
Lane drawing. If the camera used provides enough area of coverage and resolution, one camera can potentially be used to recognize plates from multiple lanes. This off course highly replies on the camera installation – which should be an overhead view with the vertical angle not exceeding 45%.
Another topic worth mentioning is regarding cameras used for LPR. Camera technology has reached a level where most of the major camera vendors can provide a couple of models which will have all the required features even for some of the more advanced LPR applications. ISS works with its camera partners and recommends a variety of camera models that will be compatible and deliver quality results. ISS does not sell cameras. If our partner prefers a specific camera vendor we will work with the camera vendor to pick the best camera for that particular LPR application.
