- Sep 06, 2023
This clever tech has transformed our roads – and car parks. Find out all about it.
ANPR stands for Automatic Number Plate Recognition. It’s an advanced security/monitoring system capable of reading car number plates without the need for human intervention.
ANPR systems are used by police forces around the country and also in areas such as traffic control, tolling, bus lane enforcement and car park management.
How does ANPR work?
ANPR is an innovative technology that can read a number plate or a vehicle registration number (VRN) on a car, allowing for the details to be checked against certain databases.
As a vehicle passes by an ANPR camera, a picture of its number plate is taken and passed to a specially-designed reader, which finds the VRN and reads the letters and numbers on the registration plate. Once the VRN is identified, it is stored on a secure server. Here, it can be looked up by the police, for example, if they believe the vehicle is of interest to them.
How do ANPR cameras work in car parks?
As the demand for parking spaces typically outstrips availability, ANPR has become a crucial aspect of car park management strategies.
It is important for car park owners to have a reliable way of enforcing their car park rules, such as parking within the spaces provided, ensuring disabled spaces are used by disabled motorists only, and that parking tickets are bought and used, where applicable.
ANPR systems help you manage your car park effectively. The technology is proven to be highly accurate in the reading of vehicle number plates.
Car park management companies like Creative Car Park use high-speed image capturing with supporting illumination and character detection within the captured image to allow them to store information on any car or vehicle that passes through your car park.
This enables them to determine how long a vehicle has stayed in your car park and assesses your capacity at any given time. Without the need for regular walkarounds and manual checks, which could lead to human error and missed revenue opportunities, you will be able to manage your car park more efficiently.
What are the benefits of ANPR?
There are a number of benefits to having an ANPR system as a form of car park management due to its many applications.
ANPR systems can be used for parking automation and ticketless parking, which reduces the amount of time you’ll need to spend on administrative work.
Car park administration can drain finances and resources. Just think about the amount of time and effort you might spend handling and managing complaints, and challenging unauthorised users. By providing irrefutable proof to support your claims, ANPR will reduce this burden significantly.
Other applications include car theft and ‘lost ticket’ fraud prevention, parking access automation, lost vehicle guidance, and also gathering useful customer data around car park user habits which could help you manage your car park more efficiently by understanding your peak usage times.
For retail businesses, ANPR can also increase store revenue, through the use of ‘free parking’ schemes under the condition of purchase.
Need a helping hand?
Creative Car Park offers offers a sophisticated ANPR-powered solution that takes the time and hassle out of car park management.
To get the most from your car park through our ANPR management systems, contact one of our experienced advisers today by clicking here.