ALPR System
License Plate Recognition
Overview
A system that automatically reads license plates from cameras. Used by parking lots, restricted traffic zones, and security systems to know who enters and exits. The problem? Commercial cameras cost €5k-10k each and are closed systems.
I developed a custom system that works with normal IP cameras (€200-300) and recognizes plates with 98.5% accuracy. The AI (YOLO11) is trained on 50k+ photos of Italian plates in every condition: night, rain, dirty, angled. The system reads the plate, converts it to text (OCR), and automatically corrects typical errors (0 vs O, 8 vs B).
Flexible architecture: either central server processing recorded video, or mini-computer on the camera (edge computing) processing in real-time with <100ms latency. Handles multiple cameras simultaneously. Web dashboard to see transits, manage white/black lists (e.g., parking subscribers), and statistics.
Use cases: parking lots with automatic barriers, restricted zone access control, condos with resident lists, warehouses tracking vans.
Key Features
- 98.5% accuracy plate recognition with AI trained on 50k+ Italian photos
- Works with normal IP cameras (€200-300) instead of proprietary systems (€5k-10k)
- Automatic ambiguous character correction (0/O, 8/B, 1/I) using Italian plate patterns
- Flexible architecture: central server or edge computing <100ms on camera