Burj Khalifa’s peace of mind: its ANPR access control system

Quick project facts

• Locations: Burj Khalifa, Burj Al Arab Jumeirah
• Products: Carmen^® license plate recognition software, FreewayCAM
• Key functionality: Parking management, vehicle access control
• Adaptive Recognition Partner: SSK Technologies

In a city of almost 16 million yearly visitors, security is of utmost importance.

One pillar of Dubai’s peace of mind is the way safety & security of local residents / visitors is ensured. Hotels, for example, keep track of each vehicle entering & exiting the premises – using Carmen^® Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR).

All the important landmarks such as hotels, malls & leisure lands are connected with the authorities, such as SIRA (Security Industry Regulatory Agency), to communicate the well being of the society.

Briefly about ANPR

As mentioned, keeping records of every vehicle is implemented by ANPR. In practice, this is a combination of hardware and software; including FreewayCAM, a traffic camera designed especially for ANPR purposes and Carmen^®, the industry leader license plate recognition engine that supports all Arabian plates amongst the 30,000+ known plate types worldwide.

ANPR is a complex technology, but the whole access control process happens in a blink of an eye. First, the camera captures high-quality images of the vehicle. These images are automatically sent to the server where the ANPR algorithm starts processing them.

The analytics begins by identifying the license plates on the images. Once those are located, the software looks for characters, digitalizes them, and also identifies the nationality of the vehicle – based on the number plate structure.

Benefits of ANPR in vehicle access control

Vehicle access control systems offer a long list of benefits, but with license plate data, the system brings an extra advantage. Using the ANPR information, the clients and authorities take a step forward to ensure the well-being of Dubai’s public. Some use cases are:

• Locating lost luggage in taxis
• Opening barriers for white-listed vehicles
• Locating unwarranted vehicles
• Maintaining a frequent visitor / loyal customer database
• Finding stolen vehicle
• and many more…

Actually, in Dubai, Carmen^® ANPR is used not just in the hospitality sector, but almost all over the city – in several SIRA-approved vehicle access control systems, such as Dubai Mall and Dubai Airport as well. Learn more about the mentioned products:

Carmen® ANPR software

License plate recognition for applications where accuracy matters

• OCR software for license plates
• Based on a ~30 years know-how
• Industry-praised accuracy
• Includes API for integration

FreewayCAM ANPR camera

Does ANPR recognition rate matter in your traffic project?

• Designed for optimal ANPR imaging
• Rugged & waterproof design
• Works up to 255 km/h speed
• Avoids low-contrast / overexposed images