ANPR Project
Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) and are used intercahangable with the term Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) is becoming more and more commonplace.
Once the exclusive realm of the police, the technology used to accurately read vehicle numberplates can now be found at supermarket and security estates entrances.
It wasn’t long ago that ANPR technology was extremely expensive to purchase and implement. Now, even the Raspberry Pi has the ability to read numberplates with high accuracy using the Pi Camera Module and open-source software.
The NPS-ANPR is an open-source LRP system developed to aid in the fight against crime in South Africa.
The NPS-ANPR is a small camera and processor that analyse images captured by the camera and detect vehicle registration numbers, if a vehicle registration number is detected the processor will contact the NPS-CLOUD servers and submit the plate for further analysis and if needed notifications.
Our NPS-CLOUD service is available at https://www.npscloud.co.za users can manage their OWN hotlists and notifications for there NPS-ANPR modules.
The NPS-CLOUD servers are fully integrated to the NP Tracker dataset of countrywide community-generated vehicle lookout reports.
For each project, one has to ask and answer the Why/What/How and Cost questions to understand it's purpose.
Contents
Why did we start this project
The ANPR project was started to aid communities and provide a low-cost solution to detect and test vehicle registration numbers on the NP Tracker database of suspect and suspicious vehicles plus link it to its NPS-CLOUD services.
What do we want to accomplish with this project?
By providing a low-cost solution to fight crime in South Africa it will not only benefit us as a community but also create an awareness of what happens in our neighbourhoods.
How to get an active ANPR system on the ground
Number Plate Systems are the custodians of the NPS-ANPS project with the aid of community supporters.
Hardware required
We do not provide hardware - this is to cut costs on the project as we do not keep stock - however, there are many suppliers that provide the hardware needed to create a functional ANPR setup see Pi Suppliers.
Equipment needed:
optional equipment (used during setup):
- Monitor or TV with HDMI inputs
- USB Keyboard & Mouse.
The project was only tested on a Raspberry Pi 3 and other hardware may not work.
Software Required
- Download the ANPR-Software bundle to your local hard disk.
- Download the SD burning software for your operating system here and burn the image to an SD Card.
Getting Started
- Programming the SD Card
- First-time setup
- Setup internet connection for NPS-ANPR
- Setup and link to your NPS-CLOUD account
- Fine-tuning NPS-ANPR installation
- Testing NPS-ANPR
Cost
The project uses a low-cost processor called a Raspberry Pi and its peripherals to provide the ANPR functionality.
The initial hardware can be bought for less than R2000 - see Pi Suppliers
We do NOT ask a service fee per device or lane, our business model is based on tokens each successful plate detection cost one token (approx 5c to <1c depending on package selection) iaw if you not using it you don't pay for it.
