Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems (ANPR) have been used for many years for the logging or vehicles.

Uses include police identifying unregistered vehicles being used illegally, car park time management, tracking of known suspects, automatic boom gate opening to authorised vehicles , car park’s, long distance truck timing for mandatory stops, speed detection and anti terrorism.

This traditionally has required an analogue camera be connected to a PC capture card installed in the ANPR server, which restricts the physical distances possible between the camera and servers. The image quality of analogue cameras also means only 1 lane of traffic can be covered by each camera.

IndigoVision have changed this through a partnership with CitySync, allowing all IndigoVision connected cameras to stream over any IP network to the CitySync server. This means the physical location of the cameras can be in a different building or site to the ANPR, removing the distance boundaries. It also means you get all the features of the IndigoVision Control Center, with the addition of text searchable bookmarks for each numberplate.

The standard principles of an IndigVision installation apply, where all IP cameras and encoders communicate directly to the Control Center software, with no servers in between. At the same time the cameras are recorded by the NVR, again with no servers adding a weak link. The CitySync ANPR then monitors the required cameras for any shapes that resemble a numberplate, again talking directly to the camera as either a TCP or UDP stream.
Because of the distributed architecture, there is no weak single point of failure or bandwidth bottleneck that could cause a catastrophic system failure as with most IP CCTV architectures.

Once the ANPR has identified and read a valid numberplate, the data is returned to IndigoVision in the from of a bookmark with the plate stored as text. The bookmark is appended to the video at the point the vehicle was identified, allowing it to be searched at a later date.

Because ANPR cameras often do not provide the view required for CCTV monitoring purposes, additional cameras can be recorded of a more traditional view and synchronized during playback to the ANPR camera, allowing the operator to have multiple views of the vehicle on the one screen.
An example of this is a boom gate where positive ID of the vehicles occupants is required. The ANPR camera is mounted low looking toward the front of the vehicle, with infrared lighting to give high detail of the reflective plate. A second camera is mounted to give an overview of the vehicle colour and make. A third camera is positioned to look into the drivers window to obtain a face ID image. Depending on the security risk, cameras may also be mounted to obtain additional views into the vehicle such as the back seat.

The use of HD cameras further enhances the installation, increasing the area one ANPR camera can cover from 1 lane to 2 or 3, scene dependant, significantly reducing the installation costs.
The use of a IP PTZ also allows a scene to be scanned and all visible numberplate will be registered, making it possible to have a transportable car mounted system that drives into a car park and logs every vehicle as you slowly drive through


The CitySync can read up to 8 cameras simultaneously per system and with vehicle speeds of up to 320Kmph.
Any new or existing IndigoVision installation can be connected to the CitySync system, including existing CitySync installations.