Urbanica S.A. combines high-performance ANPR and centralized data management to support automated vehicle access and traffic monitoring across Athens’ Limited Traffic Zone.
The access and monitoring locations across Athens’ historic center presented different challenges. Some required automated vehicle access control through retractable bollards, while others needed license plate recognition for traffic monitoring. Each location had its own installation requirements, yet all needed to operate as part of a unified system.
As part of Athens’ smart city infrastructure, Urbanica S.A. implemented a unified ANPR system for the Municipality. Using 60 Einar cameras and Adaptive Recognition’s GDS software, the solution supports real-time vehicle identification, automated access control, and traffic monitoring throughout the Limited Traffic Zone.
The Challenge
Reliable vehicle identification was essential to the project, both for traffic monitoring and automated access control. Cameras had to recognize license plates accurately in real time, during both day and night operation, despite varying traffic, lighting, and environmental conditions. At locations equipped with automatic bollards, the system also had to check whether a recognized vehicle was authorized to enter and grant access without unnecessary delays.
The scale of the deployment added another layer of complexity. Urbanica needed to manage recognition data from multiple locations and provide the Municipality with a consistent overview of vehicle movements throughout the controlled area.
The rollout also had to accommodate different site conditions, civil works, and approval processes. Individual locations needed to be commissioned independently while ultimately operating as part of the same centrally managed system.
The Solution
Urbanica selected Adaptive Recognition’s Einar cameras for their recognition accuracy, reliability, compact design, and integration capabilities. The company also had confidence in Adaptive Recognition based on previous experience with its technology and the technical and commercial support provided by the team.
Einar cameras use onboard ANPR technology to recognize license plates in real time under varying traffic and lighting conditions. GDS collects and manages recognition data from all 60 cameras at high speed, providing a centralized platform capable of handling large volumes of traffic data. Urbanica integrated GDS with its own software to support vehicle monitoring and automated access control across the controlled area.
The cameras perform different functions depending on their location. At sites equipped with automatic bollards, the system identifies authorized vehicles and grants access automatically. Other locations use ANPR to identify and monitor vehicles without physical barriers. The Municipality can manage both applications through the same central system.
“For a project of this scale, we needed an ANPR solution that we could rely on both for monitoring and for real-time access control. The Einar cameras gave us the recognition performance and integration flexibility we needed, while allowing us to connect the cameras directly with our own software platform. The successful deployment of 60 cameras across central Athens has confirmed that we made the right choice.”
— Urbanica S.A.
The Results
Urbanica successfully completed the deployment across Athens’ Limited Traffic Zone. The project delivered three key outcomes:
- Centralized vehicle monitoring. Recognition data from all 60 cameras is available through a single system, giving the Municipality a consistent way to identify and monitor vehicle movements throughout the controlled area.
- Automated access control. At locations equipped with automatic bollards, authorized vehicles are identified and granted access automatically, significantly reducing the need for manual intervention and allowing vehicles to pass with minimal delay.
- Flexible implementation. The system’s architecture allowed individual locations to be commissioned independently as site conditions, civil works, and approvals permitted, while connecting them to the same central platform.
Urbanica reports that the system has proven stable and reliable in real-world operation. With 60 Einar cameras and GDS working together, the Municipality of Athens now has a unified ANPR infrastructure that supports both automated access control and vehicle monitoring across its Limited Traffic Zone.
