Speed Violation Documentation via Segmented Camera and Flash Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current speed monitoring systems are inadequate in providing conclusive documentation of speeding violations, as they fail to accurately determine average speed and do not sufficiently illuminate the passenger space for driver identification, leading to insufficient evidence for prosecution.
Innovation Solution
A method and arrangement that captures vehicle registration plates at entry and exit points of a road section using low-resolution cameras for OCR, with high-resolution images and flash illumination triggered only upon speeding violations to identify the driver, ensuring sufficient illumination and minimizing disruption to other traffic.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If low-resolution cameras are used for vehicle registration plate recognition, then manufacturing cost and computing resources are reduced, but the passenger space cannot be sufficiently illuminated and the driver cannot be identified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the imaging system into two separate camera units: a first camera for capturing vehicle registration plates at low resolution, and a second camera for capturing high-resolution images of the driver. This segmentation allows each camera to be optimized for its specific function, with the second camera only activated when needed for driver identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system first captures vehicle registration plate information using the low-resolution camera before determining whether a speeding violation has occurred. Only after a violation is confirmed does the system activate the second camera to capture the driver's image, performing the high-resolution imaging only when necessary.
2Reliability
If flash illumination is continuously activated, then the driver can always be identified, but other traffic is excessively disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The flash illumination and second camera are activated periodically and selectively only when a speeding violation has been confirmed, rather than continuously. The system checks the average speed calculation results and triggers the illumination and imaging only in violation cases, minimizing disruption to normal traffic flow.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary speed calculation and violation determination before activating the flash illumination and second camera. This ensures that the disruptive illumination occurs only when necessary for documenting a confirmed violation.
3Reliability
If high-resolution cameras are used for both vehicle registration plate recognition and driver identification, then driver identification is enabled, but manufacturing cost and computing resources increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the imaging function into two separate camera systems with different resolution requirements. The first camera uses low-resolution sensors optimized for capturing registration plate characters, while the second camera uses high-resolution sensors specifically for driver identification. This reduces the overall system cost compared to using high-resolution cameras throughout.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies different quality levels to different imaging tasks: low-resolution imaging suffices for vehicle registration plate recognition, while high-resolution imaging is applied locally only when driver identification is required. This optimized quality distribution reduces manufacturing and computational costs.
4Device complexity
If speed monitoring is performed at fixed points only, then system complexity is reduced, but drivers can temporarily reduce speed and then resume excessive speed
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by capturing vehicle registration plate information and calculating average speed over a section of road before triggering the final documentation. This preliminary measurement phase allows the system to identify vehicles that maintain excessive speeds throughout the monitored section, not just at specific fixed points.
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
This approach provides accurate average speed determination and conclusive documentation of speeding violations, enabling effective prosecution by ensuring the driver can be identified in images, while minimizing disturbance to other traffic.
Implementation Method 1
the reception area of the image recording device struck by the radiation reflected by the vehicle registration plate
Implementation Method 2
Infrared-sensitive cameras are particularly well-suited for vehicle registration plate recognition because, in the infrared range, illumination can be carried out in the invisible region
Data Source
AI summary
By means of the method according to the invention, a vehicle is detected when it drives into and out of a specified section of a roadway, the detection time is acquired, and an image recording in which the vehicle registration plate of the vehicle is detected is produced so as to be associated with each detection time. The image recordings in which the same vehicle registration plate was determined are correlated, and an average speed is determined from the difference of the associated detection times and the known length of the section of road and is compared with a specified maximum speed. If a speeding violation is determined, a high-resolution image recording of the driver of the vehicle is generated.