Autonomous wide-angle license plate recognition
DCFirst Claim
1. A system for alerting an operator of a moving surveillance vehicle with respect to first and second license plates on moving first and second target vehicles within camera surveillance distance of the surveillance vehicle, respectively, comprising:
- at least first and second cameras mounted on the surveillance vehicle, and collectively configured to capture, without a need for input from the operator, images of each of the license plates of the target vehicles regardless of whether the target vehicles are in a same lane as the surveillance vehicle, or in left or right adjacent lanes to that of the surveillance vehicle; and
at least one processor carried by the surveillance vehicle that continuously uses character recognition to determine the first and second license plate numbers only upon discovering that there is a potential problem related to the second or third moving vehicles, all without a need for input from the operator.
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Abstract
A system in a moving surveillance vehicle operates in background mode to capture images of license plates of neighboring moving vehicles, which may occupy lanes other than the lane in which the surveillance vehicle is moving. The images are used to determine the license plate numbers of the moving vehicles, which are then checked against a database to determine whether there are any potential law enforcement-related problems that require the attention of the operator. If so, the system alerts the operator using an audible tone, visual prompt, vibration, or in some other suitable manner. The entire process, including generation of the alert can occur autonomously of the operator.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A system for alerting an operator of a moving surveillance vehicle with respect to first and second license plates on moving first and second target vehicles within camera surveillance distance of the surveillance vehicle, respectively, comprising:
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at least first and second cameras mounted on the surveillance vehicle, and collectively configured to capture, without a need for input from the operator, images of each of the license plates of the target vehicles regardless of whether the target vehicles are in a same lane as the surveillance vehicle, or in left or right adjacent lanes to that of the surveillance vehicle; and at least one processor carried by the surveillance vehicle that continuously uses character recognition to determine the first and second license plate numbers only upon discovering that there is a potential problem related to the second or third moving vehicles, all without a need for input from the operator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification