Colombia
Fueling time reduced by 50% at Z Energy
Driving off without making a payment? In this case, it was not the worst nightmare of the fuel station chain – it was their wildest dream come true.
About the client
Z Energy is a New Zealand fuel distributor with branded service stations. It comprises some of the former assets of Shell New Zealand and Chevron New Zealand. Since mid-August 2013, it has been listed on the NZX with the code ZEL. (Wikipedia)
Quick project facts
- Company: Z Energy
- Industry: Fuel retail
- Location: New Zealand
- Product: Carmen® license plate recognition software
- Quantity: 200+ sites
The challenge
Fuel-and-go: the idea was to enable customers to fill up and drive off – a no cash / no card system that is quick & hassle-free. For this, two major functions had to be implemented:
- an automatic payment system that is trusted by both the customer and the fuel retailer,
- and a reliable vehicle identification that works in all weather conditions, night & day.
The solution
For the vehicle identification Z Energy uses professional license plate recognition technology: the smart CCTV component of the system recognizes when a vehicle is filling up with fuel and a so-called LPR engine identifies the pre-registered vehicle.
When the fueling is completed, the payment is made automatically through a smartphone app. Not only does the new solution speed up refuelling: it also improves security by deterring potential criminals. The solution is made possible by the collaboration of Adaptive Recognition’s global market leader Carmen® License Plate Recognition technology, Axis Video Management Software, Focus Digital Security and Digifort.
Benefits
- For the drivers
Motorists save time and effort by simply filling up the car and driving off. Payment is done automatically – based on the smart analytics of video footage recorded at the fuelling station, plate- based vehicle identification and a smartphone app.
- For the fuel station
The gains of the new solution are many. One advantage is fast refuelling streamlined by cutting payment time & reducing queues at the station. Another advantage is improved fuel station security via smart CCTV surveillance. By gaining customer trust, and by creating a vehicle-based profile, fuel retailers also generate new business opportunities.
Learn more at the Z Energy Fastlane project’s official site.
About license plate recognition
This project includes the Carmen® ANPR software, the flagship of Carmen® Recognition Software family, developed Adaptive Recognition Hungary Inc. The software offers country-independent license plate recognition for not only Latin characters, but also for Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese, Korean, Thai and many more, as well as reflective, non-reflective, personalized and special interest plates that are typical for instance in many U.S. states.
Carmen® is praised for its outstanding recognition rates – a true advantage thanks to its more than 25 years of development by OCR experts. Carmen® is a proven technology, currently used by around 10,000 integrator companies, running in more than 80,000 license plate recognition systems around the world.
