All you need to know about License Plate Recognition - a simplified parking management system

What is LPR?

License Plate Recognition (LPR) has proven itself to be a part of intelligent transportation systems. The applications of LPR include public security monitoring, smart parking systems, speeding violation detection, etc. An intelligent parking system based on LPR can recognize license plates automatically and read them accurately. The technology is also known as ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition).

LPR provides accurate entry and exit management solutions for new and existing access control systems. It efficiently manages vehicle entries and exits of gated communities, hotels, paid car parks, airports, shopping centers, industrial zones, government and military installations, corporate parking structures and all other high-security areas. This system’s greatest strength is it's fast and automated to provide access permission and also makes it highly secure.

What are the benefits of the LPR Parking Management System?

After accurate number plate recognition, vehicle information such as number, color, car type and access time will be stored in the system database. The user interface has been designed in a very simple and friendly manner for administrators to operate. This can immensely improve the entire performance of the LPR system. Experimental results show that this parking access control system can achieve a high success rate and can also be implemented in real-time.

Every event recorded on camera is text and image searchable with its own time and location stamps. The gain data can also be displayed in the administrator’s system in the form of statistics. For example, the system can reveal one specific vehicle’s monthly movements or all the parked vehicles at the facility for a given date and time. With added features, users like hotel guests can also benefit from the simplicity of the LPR parking system because the RFID enabled system reads any kind of license plate and also permits personal access with connected card readers.

In addition to the above-mentioned benefits, the system provides detailed reports, handles different plate styles (both regular and stacked) and supports languages of multiple countries. It also enables security professionals to shortlist, target and identify “wanted/stolen/suspicious/lost” plates. As a result, the productivity and efficiency of security personnel are enhanced, hence improving overall security.

How does LPR Parking Management System work?

This system works in a very straight-forward manner. As a vehicle arrives at a designated access point gate or barrier, the camera automatically detects and reads the license plate. Any access card can also be verified at this point. The incoming data is confirmed by the server and depending on the result, either the access is permitted and subsequently generated access data is stored in the system, or the vehicle is denied access to the facility. Based on pre-determined settings, admin and facility managers or any other relevant parties can receive immediate notifications about certain events. The system’s data endpoints can also be enabled on the operator’s mobile phone for added convenience. Naturally, more than one facility can link up to the system at once. The entry and exit control of even more complex installations can be managed without any extra effort.

The LPR system utilizes internet protocol for control and communication but its structure remains highly secure with the encrypted data flow. All the various levels and quantity of system accesses can be set during installation and later modified by authorized persons. The images are available in real-time. The overview and license plate camera images are also stored in the system.

Determined by preset parameters LPR systems can verify all license plates and access cards based on a compiled list. It can manage several sites at the same time which makes the system very practical for hotel chains and car park networks. Event filtering may be done considering several factors such as individual parking vehicles or a total number of available spaces. Besides using license plate numbers, access permissions may be set for time intervals, access cards, persons, partner companies or denied by adding a pre-determined blacklist.

Can this system be integrated with other parking management devices?

LPR is an automatic, highly secure web- browser-based system with simple statistical tools. Installing the system is easy and does not require any programmer or developer expertise. Setting the cameras is also trouble-free and after the system connections are completed everything is configurable because of its open structure. The software can be easily integrated with company management and video surveillance networks, different types of barriers, traffic lights, ticket dispensers, and payment collection devices. The system’s price-value ratio is also very favorable because it eliminates various project development and programming costs.