Monitoring Apparatus Supplemental Lighting Modulation for Plate Recognition
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional monitoring apparatuses struggle to recognize vehicle plate numbers under varying reflective materials due to issues with light reflection, either from over-exposure with high reflective materials or low illumination with low reflective materials.
Innovation Solution
An image capturing method with supplemental lighting modulation, where the lighting unit emits supplemental light with adjustable intensity in multiple sub-periods, allowing the image detecting unit to capture images under different illumination conditions to optimize recognition of vehicle plate numbers made from diverse reflective materials, and includes a learning process to adjust light intensity for accurate recognition.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If high intensity supplemental light is used, then low reflective material plates can be recognized, but high reflective material plates become over-exposed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the supplemental light intensity adjustable and changeable over time. The control unit dynamically adjusts the light intensity between first and second intensity levels based on the reflective characteristics of different plate materials, enabling the system to adapt to varying conditions rather than using a fixed intensity setting.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of light intensity to resolve the contradiction. By switching between at least two different intensity levels (first intensity for high reflective materials, second intensity for low reflective materials), the system can optimize plate number recognition while avoiding over-exposure, thus changing a key physical parameter to accommodate different object characteristics.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If low intensity supplemental light is used, then high reflective material plates avoid over-exposure, but low reflective material plates cannot be recognized clearly
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between different light intensity levels based on the detected plate characteristics. When a low reflective material plate is detected, the control unit increases the supplemental light intensity to the second level, ensuring sufficient illumination for clear recognition while maintaining the ability to prevent over-exposure when appropriate.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the light intensity parameter from a fixed low level to a variable level that can switch between first and second intensity levels. This parameter change enables the system to provide sufficient illumination for low reflective materials while maintaining the capability to use lower intensity for high reflective materials, thus resolving the recognition problem.
3Ease of operation
If fixed intensity supplemental light is used, then the system is simple to operate, but it cannot adapt to different reflective materials
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies self-service by automatically detecting the plate's reflective characteristics and autonomously adjusting the supplemental light intensity without requiring manual intervention. The control unit itself performs the adaptation by switching between intensity levels based on real-time conditions, making the system both easy to operate and adaptable to different materials.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback by using the image capturing results to inform subsequent lighting adjustments. The control unit receives feedback from the image quality and plate recognition outcomes, then adjusts the supplemental light intensity accordingly, creating a closed-loop system that adapts to different reflective materials while maintaining simple operation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables clear recognition of vehicle plate numbers regardless of the reflective material, by capturing images under appropriate illumination conditions and actively adjusting light intensity to ensure accurate image recognition, even with unknown materials.
Implementation Method 1
driving the lighting unit to respectively emit supplemental light with different intensity during the first sub-period and the second sub-period
Implementation Method 2
the vehicle plate may have various forms (such as the motorbike plate, the new and former type of the automobile plate and the trunk plate) and be made by various reflective material
Data Source
AI summary
An image capturing method with supplemental lighting modulation is applied to a monitoring apparatus having a lighting unit and an image detecting unit. The image capturing method includes dividing a working period of the lighting unit into at least one first sub-period and at least one second sub-period, driving the lighting unit to respectively output supplemental light with different intensity during the first sub-period and the second sub-period, driving the image detecting unit to respectively capture a set of monitoring images with a predetermined amount during the first sub-period and the second sub-period, comparing the monitoring image captured in the first sub-period with ones captured in the second sub-period, analyzing definition of the set of monitoring images, and selecting a corresponding monitoring image having the definition greater than a threshold to execute image recognition.