Selecting cameras for license plate recognition (LPR) starts with the choice between LPR-specific cameras or non-LPR network cameras. SDM examines five differences between them that should be considered.
In the past, if you wanted to compete for a project in license plate recognition (LPR), you were restricted to quoting camera systems specifically designed for LPR applications. However, as general network cameras have continued to advance, it has opened up the possibility to use them for LPR functions. In addition to a major cost argument, technology advancements are reducing non-LPR cameras’ previous shortcomings and are even allowing companies like ipConfigure, Norfolk, Va., to place LPR functions right on the camera.
“Off-the-shelf, standard surveillance cameras can be used for LPR functions today. That is possible because of the better sensors and the additional computing power available on the cameras. I see more surveillance cameras now than ever before that are applicable to LPR and that will continue to be the case as they continue to evolve,” says R. Cortland Tompkins, director of Computer Vision, ipConfigure.