Trial run with AI-equipped cameras begins on Expressway

Srirangapatna: A trial run of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based cameras [Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) camera, also known as Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) camera] commenced on Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway this morning, hours before the scheduled visit of CM Siddharamaiah.

Many speeding vehicles were penalised at the Gananguru and Kanaminike Toll Plazas and receipts were issued through hand-held gadgets. A few motorists were taken by surprise as the Policemen stopped their vehicles.

Before imposing the penalty, the Policemen showed the photos of their speeding vehicles that had been captured by the cameras and as such, the travellers had no scope for argument. 

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for Traffic and Road Safety Alok Kumar announced the commissioning of the cameras yesterday (July 28) on Twitter, expressing hope that these initiatives would help in reducing accidents and fatalities on the access-controlled road.

The technology uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and image processing techniques to automatically read vehicle registration plates. The ANPR camera is designed to capture high-resolution images of licence plates, extract the characters from the image and convert them into alphanumeric data.

Six AI-equipped cameras have been installed as of now and during the trial run, vehicles exceeding the prescribed speed limits were penalised. Officers briefing CM Siddharamaiah led by Alok Kumar and Project Manager of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) Archana told the CM that more such cameras will be installed in the coming days and tenders have been called. 

Alok Kumar told the CM that the speed detector camera has been set at a limit of 60 kms per  hour on the left lane, 80 kms per hour on the middle lane and 100 kms per hour on the right lane.

Vehicles exceeding the speed limit will be captured and penalties will be levied in the next Toll Plaza. The data collected from the cameras are sent to Kanaminike and Gananguru Toll Plazas, where fines are imposed. The ADGP said that the technology can capture clear image even in low-light conditions or at night.

If the vehicle passes the Toll Plaza without detection, challans will be sent to their homes, Alok Kumar explained. The images of the violating vehicles will go directly to the mobile phones of the Police Officers at the Toll Plazas and receipts are issued.

The ADGP told the CM that in the coming days, a system will be worked out where the penalty amount will be directly debited from the FASTag accounts so that there is less human intervention. The introduction of AI-based cameras will be useful during night-time when deploying Police Officers to monitor violators could be a difficult and impractical task.