US 2022/0036114 A1Published application

Edge detection image capture and recognition system

AssigneeCyclops Technologies, Inc.

InventorsJohn D. Chigos, Karthik Vishwanathan, Wenbiao Wang

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Abstract

Provided is a system and method of electronically identifying a license plate and comparing the results to a predetermined database. The software aspect of the system runs on standard PC hardware and can be linked to other applications or databases. It first uses a series of image manipulation techniques to detect, normalize and enhance the image of the number plate. Optical character recognition (OCR) is used to extract the alpha-numeric characters of the license plate. The recognized characters are then compared to databases containing information about the vehicle and/or owner.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer- executable instructions that when executed for perform a character recognition method comprising:

maintaining a database of unique identifiers, each identifier comprising at least a plurality of alpha-numeric characters;
maintaining a database of predetermined identification values associated with a plurality of alpha-numeric characters;
capturing an image containing alpha-numeric characters from an imagining device;
generating a normalized image by adjusting the range of pixel intensity values in the isolated image to a predetermined pixel intensity range;
projecting a plurality of polygons, corresponding to known parameters of a license plate as viewed from a plurality of angles, onto the isolated image;
selecting at least one of the polygons as a license plate responsive to the presence of alpha-numeric characters within the at least one polygon;
identifying at least a first and second edge within the selected polygon normalized image by performing an edge detection analysis;
identifying a first isolated alpha-numeric character candidate in the selected polygon normalized image by identifying at least one foreground pixel on the first second identified edge and demarcating the pixels connected to the at least one foreground pixel;
establishing a first recognition value for the first alpha-numeric character candidate within the selected polygon normalized image and assigning the a first recognition value to the first character candidate;
identifying a second isolated alpha-numeric character candidate in the selected polygon normalized image selected polygon by identifying at least one foreground pixel on the second identified edge and demarcating the pixels connected to the at least one foreground pixel;
establishing a second recognition value for the second alpha-numeric character candidate within the selected polygon normalized image and assigning a second recognition value to the second character candidate;
storing the first and second recognition values;
comparing each of the recognition values to the predetermined identification values;
identifying the alpha-numeric characters in the database of predetermined identification values with the highest correlation to each of the first and second recognition values;
constructing a character read result comprising a string of the alpha-numeric characters with the highest correlation to each of the first and second recognition values;
creating an alert responsive to a match between the character read result and unique identifier;
and
displaying the image containing the character read result.

15 more elements

A vehicle identification system comprising:

a database of predetermined identification values;
a pixel intensity detection module configured to compute the pixel intensity range of an isolated image;
a normalization module configured to generate a normalized image by adjusting the range of pixel intensity values in the isolated image to a predetermined pixel intensity range according to a predetermined mapping relationship;
a localization module configured to project a plurality of polygons, corresponding to known parameters of a license plate as viewed from a plurality of angles, onto the isolated image and select at least one of the polygons as a license plate responsive to the presence of alpha-numeric characters within the at least one polygon;
an edge detection module configured to identify at least a first and second edge within the normalized image;
a blob analysis module configured to identifying a first and second isolated alpha- numeric character candidate in the normalized image by identifying at least one foreground pixel on the first and second identified edge and demarcating the pixels connected to the at least one foreground pixel;
a character recognition module configured to:
establish a first and second recognition value for the first and second alpha-numeric character candidates within the normalized image and assign the first and second recognition values to the first and second character candidates;
compare the recognition values of the first and second character candidates to the predetermined identification values.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 16/942,250Filed 29 Jul 2020
Published: 3 Feb 2022
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification13 codes

G06V 10/44
Extraction of image or video features: local feature extraction by analysis of parts of the pattern, e.g. by detecting edges, contours, loops,…
G06V 20/56
Context or environment of the image: exterior to a vehicle by using sensors mounted on the vehicle
G06F 18/211
Design or setup of recognition systems or techniques; Extraction of features in feature space; Blind source separation: selection of the most…
G06F 18/22
Analysing: matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures

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