An ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) network has been introduced to the public in an effort to reduce contact tracing delays. The ANPR/ALPR system is a surveillance technology that used optical character recognition in the past decades but now uses AI for much higher accuracy. This technology has been used by law enforcement agencies for many years, but it wasn’t until recently when regional contact tracing was needed in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID19.
An ANPR network that is strategically placed along roads on state borders, as well as jurisdiction borders, allows police and health officials to quickly understand how populations are moving in a live situation. This information on hand means that officials can deploy officers to specific areas very quickly and ensure the spread of a new variant is reduced.
Cloud-based ANPR solutions allow government-wide access and instant retrieval of vehicle travel data. When a person is confirmed to have a virus, their immediate contacts can be looked at on the online map interface and immediately found if the vehicle has passed an ANPR checkpoint.
By utilising a strategic network the traffic flow can be analysed with more accuracy including the direction of travel, the vehicle make and model, the colour of the vehicle, the age and even additional information such as the VIN number and the location of registration.
Having said that it’s important that the privacy of the public is adhered to, for this reason, artificial intelligence ANPR Solutions, such as Aeroranger are including redaction technology that obfuscates the plate of vehicles travelling through the checkpoint by default. Only when a vehicle of note (such as for a contact tracing requirement) is added to the management dashboard, a vehicle is opened to investigation by the relevant authorities. When this happens a full audit log is created to make sure that the lookup tool is not abused.
