Autonomous wide-angle license plate recognition
DCFirst Claim
1. A method of surveilling multiple target vehicles from a surveillance vehicle, comprising:
- providing or operating the surveillance vehicle with a camera system disposed to capture license plate information on each 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, while the surveillance vehicle and the target vehicles are all moving; and
providing or operating the surveillance vehicle with a computer programmed to use the license plate information to determine license plate numbers for each of the target vehicles, and alert an operator of the surveillance vehicle only upon discovering that there is a potential problem related to one of the target 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
11 Claims
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1. A method of surveilling multiple target vehicles from a surveillance vehicle, comprising:
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providing or operating the surveillance vehicle with a camera system disposed to capture license plate information on each 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, while the surveillance vehicle and the target vehicles are all moving; and providing or operating the surveillance vehicle with a computer programmed to use the license plate information to determine license plate numbers for each of the target vehicles, and alert an operator of the surveillance vehicle only upon discovering that there is a potential problem related to one of the target vehicles, all without a need for input from the operator. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification