License Plate Recognition (LPR) systems are currently being deployed in many advanced surveillance installations throughout the world and are proving highly successful in security, speed-enforcement and accesscontrol applications. They usually employ specialized infrared-sensitive LPR cameras capable of capturing the number plates of even fast moving vehicles in ambient light levels from bright sunlight to complete darkness. The numbers are then converted into a computer readable format and compared with a database of vehicle registration numbers. The LPR systems are invariably standalone, often operating alongside CCTV installations but with little or no interaction between them.
Bosch Security Systems now offers a solution for enhancing CCTV surveillance with Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR). The solution enables the Bosch 700 Series Hybrid and Network Recorders to be integrated with the company’s REG-Sentry ALPR system.
License plates can be searched automatically in the Divar 700 Series recorder, which will bring up the corresponding video of the vehicle captured by the Divar 700 Series together with associated meta data giving the date and time the video was recorded. REG-Sentry is one of the first automated vehicle access-control systems based on Automatic License Plate Recognition. Users can configure the system with specific license plate black/white lists, barring or enabling access for vehicles attempting to enter a secure site. It offers a flexible, user-friendly solution for a wide range of access-control applications, including private roads, car parks, gated communities, factories, warehouses, ports, offices, hospitals and schools. The integration solution offered by Bosch uses the company’s ATM/POS Bridge, originally introduced to allow financial transaction data to be recorded and linked to specific camera images, for example during Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) or Point-of-Sale (POS) transactions. The serial input ports of the ATM/POS Bridge are also able to act as an interface between the REG-Sentry control box and the Bosch Divar 700 Series Hybrid and Network Recorder, allowing ALPR functionality to be integrated with a Bosch video surveillance system. To give greater flexibility, Bosch can deliver different REG Sentry software files, providing matching formats and content of the REG-Sentry data output to suit most vehicular-based access-control applications.