System and Method For Automatic Exterior and Interior Inspection of Vehicles

• US 20080136625A1
• Filed: 10/11/2005
• Published: 06/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stratech Systems Limited (In Liquidation) (The Stratech Group Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Stratech Systems Limited (In Liquidation) (The Stratech Group Ltd.)
• Inventors: Chew, Khien Meow David
• Granted Patent: US 8,155,384 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: G01V 5/20 Detecting prohibited goods, e.g. weapons, explosives, hazardous substances, contraband or smuggled objects

Abstract

A system and method for automatic exterior and interior inspection of vehicles. The system comprises imaging means for capturing an image of the undercarriage of the vehicle as it is being driven into a secure area; imaging means for capturing an image of a luggage compartment of the vehicle as it is being driven into the secure area; database means for storing the captured images; and monitoring means operable to facilitate activation of an alarm based on the captured images.

Claims

1. A system for automatic exterior and interior inspection of vehicles, said system comprising:

imaging means for capturing an image of the undercarriage of the vehicle as it is being driven into a secure area;

imaging means for capturing an image of a luggage compartment of the vehicle as it is being driven into the secure area;

database means for storing the captured images; and

monitoring means operable to facilitate activation of an alarm based on the captured images.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising trace means for explosive trace detection of the vehicle interior as it is being driven into the secured area;

and the monitoring means is further operable to facilitate activation of an alarm based on an input from the trace means.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for comparing the captured images of the vehicle with one or more reference stored images stored in the database means;

and the monitoring means is further operable to facilitate activation of an alarm based on an input from the means for comparing the captured images.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising number plate recognition means for capturing number plate data of the vehicle being driven into the secured area;

and the monitoring means is further operable to facilitate activation of an alarm based on a comparison of the number plate data with reference data stored in the database means.

5. The system as claimed in claim 4, wherein the number plate recognition means comprises a camera and a license plate recognition (LPR) system which processes the image of the vehicle number plate captured by the camera using computer vision based character recognition methods.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising optional means for capturing the vehicle classification information of the vehicle being driven into the secured area;

and the monitoring means is further operable to facilitate activation of an alarm based on a comparison of the vehicle classification data with reference to data stored in the database means

7. The system as claimed in claim 6, wherein the vehicle classification means comprises a camera and a vehicle classification system which processes the image of the vehicle captured by the camera using computer vision based vehicle feature extraction methods to extract the vehicle classification data

8. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for capturing identification data about a driver who is driving the vehicle into the secured area;

and the monitoring means is further operable to facilitate activation of an alarm based on a comparison of the identification data with reference data stored in the database means.

9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the means for capturing identification data comprises one or more of a group consisting of a card reader, a camera, and a biometric scanner.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for obtaining a weight distribution of the vehicle;

and the monitoring means is further operable to facilitate activation of an alarm based on the obtained weight distribution.

11. The system as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for detecting approach of the vehicle into the secure area, and means for activating components of the system in response to an input from the means for detecting.

12. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the imaging means for capturing the image of the undercarriage of the vehicle comprises a reflection mode camera.

13. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the imaging means for capturing the image of the luggage compartment of the vehicle comprises a backscatter mode X-ray camera.

14. A method of automatic exterior and interior inspection of vehicles, said system comprising:

capturing an image of the undercarriage of the vehicle as it is being driven into a secure area;

capturing an image of a luggage compartment of the vehicle as it is being driven into the secure area;

storing the captured images; and

monitoring the captured images for facilitating activation of an alarm.