Multi-query privacy-preserving parking management system and method

A mufti-query privacy-preserving parking management system, comprising:

• at least one image capturing unit among a plurality of image capturing units, said at least one image capturing unit having built-in integrated functions including image processing, data formatting, data compression, imager-positioning, range-finding, and a flash bulb;
• a database that stores information collected at entry and enables query-by-image and query-by-license plate number functionalities;
• at least one entry point wherein when a vehicle enters, at least one image of said vehicle is captured and at least one image signature associated with at least one image of said vehicle computed by embedding said image into a descriptor space and stored in said database, said descriptor space including at least one patch descriptor and wherein said at least one license plate image signature is computed and stored in said database as at least one Fisher Vector image signature, said descriptor space comprising a same descriptor space as a descriptor space used for an image associated with said at least one image signature;
• at least one exit point wherein when said vehicle proceeds to exit through said at least one exit point, at least one image of said vehicle is captured and an entry-exit association performed with respect to said vehicle by searching for a signature most similar to said at least one image signature in said database;
• and
• at least one kiosk that enables said query-by-license-plate number functionalities with respect to said at least one image signature database and wherein said at least one kiosk further enables payment operations including marking a parking ticket as paid and including a payment timestamp, wherein said payment timestamp is stored in said database.

A multi-query parking management method, said method comprising:

• computing a first image signature with respect to an image of a vehicle part captured by said at least one image capturing unit among a plurality of image capturing units at an entry point by embedding said image into a descriptor space and storing said first image signature in a database together with relevant metadata, said at least one image capturing unit having built-in integrated functions including image processing, data formatting, data compression, imager-positioning, range-finding, and a flash bulb;
• calculating a second image signature with respect to an image of said vehicle part captured at an exit point by at least one image capturing unit having built-in integrated functions including image processing, data formatting, data compression, imager-positioning, range-finding, and a flash bulb and storing said second image signature in said database;
• performing an entry-exit association by searching and retrieving a most similar image signature with respect to said second image signature from said database;
• computing a text signature from a textual query rendered at said electronic kiosk and facilitated through a touch screen display associated with said electronic kiosk;
• utilizing said text signature to assist in confirming said vehicle;
• and
• querying said database via an electronic kiosk that communicates with said database to obtain information about a vehicle associated with said vehicle part, and wherein computing said text signature further comprises synthesizing said license plate image for a corresponding license plate number wherein embedding of said license plate number comprises an image signature of said synthesized plate and wherein said image of said vehicle part comprises a license plate image.