Licence Plate Recogniser - Spectra-Shield (LPR)

Executive Summary

The primary goal of this project is to enhance security and efficiency at petrol stations by using an LPR (License Plate Recognition) system to automatically recognise and verify number plates before authorising fuel transactions.

This system aims to prevent fraud and ensure only registered vehicles access services. With forecourt crime costing UK retailers an average of £10,500 per site annually, the need for such systems is underscored by the effectiveness of organisations like BOSS (British Oil Security Syndicate), which help reduce these losses significantly. Despite a 5.9% reduction in unpaid fuel incidents in Q4 2023, which brought the Forecourt Crime Index back to its Q3 2022 level, the severity of incidents has escalated, as indicated by increased average litters drawn per incident(Source: Ref 1)

Solution

Our system offers robust and reliable vehicle identification and verification, by leveraging state-of-the-art AI models and advanced computer vision techniques, This ensures that all detected vehicles are correctly matched with their registered details from DVLA, providing an additional layer of security

Architecture

Object Detection Architecture

API Architecture

Use case :

Automatic number plate recognition has a lot of use cases such as surveillance, parking management, toll collection, logistics, etc.,

Method:

The underlying technology behind the ANPR system include, image processing, optical character recognition (OCR), machine learning or deep learning, depending on the use case.

In this method, we have considered, the camera to static in one location and the objects are moving.

Model Training

This model is trained using the image obtained real-time, this can be further improved for different climatic conditions and during the night.

Output

Below is the sample GIF created from the input video fed in to the algorithm.

Business Value: • Improved security and operational efficiency at petrol stations. • Enhanced customer experience through swift service delivery. • Significant reductions in police resources dedicated to fuel theft incidents, with BOSS initiatives estimated to save over 800,000 hours annually, enhancing community safety and operational efficiency across the sector.

Advanced Vehicle History Tracking (Upcoming Enhancement):

• Prevention of Fraud and Losses: By logging each vehicle's past incidents, such as drive-offs, the system can prevent future occurrences. • Informed Decision-Making: Station operators receive detailed event histories for better transaction decisions. • Seamless Integration: Combines real-time and historical data for comprehensive assessments.

Reference 1 : https://www.racfoundation.org/media-centre/fuel-thefts-surge-77-in-a-year