Latest News

Diversity of License Plate Recognition - Article in Security Solutions (APRIL) (PDF)

ESTATE Access control via LPR & Facial Verification

LPR linked to Facial OPTIONS (ZIP PPT)                 User manual (PDF)

 License Plate Recognition Products

Tutorial

  SeeCAR Product LINE (PDF) 

V-Metrics (PDF)

SeeLane License Plate Recognition A Fully-Integrated Multi-Lane LPR System (PDF)

Surveillance

Education

Golf Estate

Weighbridges

 Facial Products

Facial SDK (PDF)

Discovery (PDF)

Education

visitor ID

Golf Estate

PIN & Facial Verification

Facial linked to LPR

Metro

CAMPUS

1. Purpose & Scope *

2. Referenced Documents *

3. Overview *

3.1. Product description *

3.2. System Architecture *

3.3. Installation Document overview *

4. See/Lane major elements *

4.1. Hardware *

4.2. Software *

4.3. Computer *

4.4. Connection Diagram and Scope of Supply *

5. Mechanical Installation *

5.1. Overview *

5.1.1. Installation Assumptions *

5.2. See/Car Head installation *

5.2.1. Height of See/Car/Head *

5.2.2. Distance from barrier – Front Plate *

5.2.3. Distance from barrier – Rear Plate *

5.2.4. Distance from barrier – Dual Camera per lane *

5.3. Detector installation *

5.3.1. Loop Detector *

5.3.2. Other Detectors *

6. Hardware Installation *

6.1. See/Car/Head *

6.2. Frame Grabber *

6.3. I/O Card and TBL *

6.3.1. ISA BUS set *

6.3.2. PCI BUS set with ADAM-3968 *

6.3.3. PCI BUS set with TBL 6822 *

6.4. Gate control *

6.5. Software and Driver installation *

7. Software installation *

7.1. Power up the PC *

7.2. Frame grabber Driver *

7.2.1. Installing under Windows 95/98 *

7.2.2. Installing under Windows NT *

7.2.3. Testing the installation *

7.3. I/O card driver - ISA bus boards *

7.3.1. PCL-724/731 Driver Installation *

7.3.2. PCL-724/731 Device configuration *

7.3.3. Testing the installed PCL-724/731 IO card *

7.4. I/O card driver - PCI BUS boards *

7.4.1. PCI-1751 Driver Installation *

7.4.2. PCI-1751 Device configuration *

7.4.3. Testing the installed IO card *

7.5. HASP License-Plug driver *

7.6. Prepare the SeeLane directory *

7.6.1. See/Lane Directory *

7.6.2. Short-Cut and Startup *

7.6.3. See/Lane Client *

7.6.4. Simulation *

7.7. Power up the See/Car/Head *

8. See/Lane setting *

8.1. See/Lane setting *

8.1.1. Setting the Lanes *

8.1.2. Identification Settings *

8.1.3. Communication Settings *

General Setting *

8.1.5. Video Setting *

8.2. See/Lane activation *

8.3. Dual Camera per lane *

9. Optimization and Trouble Shooting *

9.1. Verifying the images quality *

9.1.1. Collecting images for review *

9.1.2. Plate size *

9.2. Installation Problem Solving *

9.2.1. No Image (live video) *

9.2.2. No illumination *

9.2.3. No Recognition *

9.2.4. Low Recognition Rate - Image quality *

9.2.5. Missing DLLs *

9.2.6. Camera/ Lens Back-focus Procedure *

10. Support and more Information *

This document provides installation information on See/Lane, a powerful Windows application that is used to identify cars on a traffic lane or serve as an access-control/parking system. This system is based on the See/Car Vehicle License Plate Recognition (LPR) software, which is used as a DLL and is integrated into the system.

The description in this document applies to See/Lane version 3.0 and higher and has been updated for See/Lane version 4.0.

See/Car DLL - Technical information document

See/Lane - Technical information

See/Lane is a sophisticated image processing system that tracks the cars’ plates, reads and identifies their numbers. The identified number is displayed on the system display, and can be transferred to an external computer (via RS232 line) or to other Windows applications (via DDE message). The image file can also be saved on disk.

It can be placed at the side of a traffic lane or gate or in any other location that requires automatic identification. Each unit can control one to six lanes.

See/Lane is a turnkey system comprises of the following elements:

Hardware

a PC Pentium running Windows 98/NT/2000

See/Car/Head - Camera/Illumination unit (for day & night operation)

Frame Grabber - which captures the images from the camera units

I/O card - multiple I/O discrete lines - which supports the detectors, illumination control and gate-open signal (used if a barrier control is required).

Detector (sensor) to indicate the presence of a car

Software

See/Car DLL - software package which is used to analyze the images and extract license plate string

See/Lane Windows application software package

Figure 3.2: See/Lane Architecture

Two typical installations are shown in the following illustrations. They differ only in the fact that the access-control application has an additional gate that is opened by the application.

Figure 3.3: Traffic lane illustration

Figure 3.4: Access control illustration

This document is structured as follows:

Section 4 - provides an overview and definitions for the system

Section 5 - describes the physical/mechanical installation

Section 6 - describes the hardware installation (with the PC shut down)

Section 7 - describes the software and driver installation (PC powered up)

Section 8 - details the SeeLane setting

Section 9 - provides some trouble shooting and optimization tips

SCH - See/Car/Head illumination/camera unit

IO - I/O card

TBL - Terminal block for I/O card (comes with a cover and connecting cable)

FG - Frame grabber (2 types are supported: the default board which is a 6 lane RIO frame grabber, or single lane VFW frame grabber)

PS - power supply for SCH (a special 15 VDC, 110-220VAC power supply is used which was qualified to operate with the SCH unit)

DET - Vehicle detector (sensor). This document assumes that the sensor is provided by Hi-Tech Solutions, although any standard dry-contact sensor will fit.

HASP License Plug - connected to the PC, provides run-time license rights

See/Lane - Windows application (with all the See/Car components, including DLL).

Cars.txt - file with authorized vehicles (sample is provided in the software package)

PC : The PC is normally supplied by the customer.

We recommend at least Pentium III 550 with 64 MB RAM. A higher speed and RAM is always better.

Note: The PC Motherboard should be Intel BX or BX2 PCI Chip-Set to fit the frame grabber’s requirements. Most other motherboards will work with the frame grabber. Please do not use INTEL 820 PCI chip set (avoid the use of motherboard configured with PCI Bridge) since some of these boards are known to have problems with the frame grabber.

Windows - Supplied by the customer and installed on the PC. (98/NT/2000). Win95 is not recommended anymore due to possible conflicts on new motherboards.

An overall diagram of a multiple-lane access-control system is shown in the following figure.

It shows all the connections of a typical system, and also indicates the scope of supply. Note that the orange-colored wires and boxes are supplied within the SeeLane system supply, while the installer supplies the black-colored items.

The Hardware installation section details these connections.

Figure 4.1: Multi-lane Hardware typical configuration (and scope of supply)

 

This section describes the mechanical/physical installation:

Section 5.1 See/Car head installation

Section 5.2 Detector installation

A single lane configuration installation is assumed (more lanes will follow the same procedure).

The following lens are assumed:

12mm lens for European type plates (reflective plates with about 50 cm width)

16mm lens for USA type plates (reflective plates with about 30 cm width)

This will be referred as "standard lens" installation.

Non-standard installations might be required for the following cases:

Non reflective plates (illumination is critical so installation ranges are smaller)

USA size-plates using 12mm lens

Special gate requirements (might require smaller lens for closer ranges, or larger lens for longer distances)

For most installations, install the See/Car/Head (SCH) on a pole or tripod at a recommended height of 1.1 meters (or within 1m-1.2m).

This height optimizes the performance and positions the camera to look downwards in order to minimize the sun effect – since most plates are mounted at a height of 0.20 to 1.25 meters.

The SCH is screwed to the pole using 2 screws. The SCH upper hole allows some degree of rotation left/right. Note that the drilled holes on the pole might need to be slightly rotated in order to level the plate in the camera image. It is recommended to start with one hole only, and drill in the second hole after the installation is complete.

The maximum height is 3 meters. In this case the camera angle should be positioned such that the center of the vertical field of view will be looking at the trigger area. For higher installations please consult with Hi-Tech Solutions.

In case of a wall mounting, secure the See/Car/Head to the wall at the same height.

In case the See/Car/Head Anti-Vandalism Enclosure is ordered, install the metal case on the floor.

This paragraph refers to installation of the camera in the front of the vehicle.

Install the pole/wall/enclosure 2.5 Meters for standard lens (or 1.25M for non-reflective plates, or US size plates with 12mm lens) behind the barrier, in the direction of traffic, at the side (as near as possible to the lane). See the illustration below, parameter B. This corresponds to 5 meters for standard lens (or 3.5M for US size plates with 12mm lens, or for non-reflective plates) from the line of the detection of the front of the car (parameter A).

The following diagram shows this setup (for an access control system).

Figure 5.2.1: Front Installation distances (See text for explanations)

The images will be captured from the line of detection plus additional 0.5M-1M until the car stops. At the stop position it is recommended that the plate will still be visible so in case the recognition fails the plate at its stationary state will still be visible.

A possible problem that may be encountered during this installation is that the barrier blocks the effective recognition view zone (This zone is the area from the start of detection plus addition 1-1.5 meters, where the vehicle finally stops). In most gates the barrier’s height is 0.80 to 1.20 meters so this case will not occur – but in any case it should be tested and avoided.

Install the SCH as close as possible to the traffic lane, within 0.0 to 0.5 meters. See the illustration above, parameter C. This can be constructed on both sides of the traffic lane.

The installation of the camera/illumination unit in the rear of the car is possible and may occur in the following cases:

A front installation is not possible due to traffic lane limitations (such as the front is located in a public area where no installation is permitted)

There are only rear plates (such as in the United States in several states)

An additional recognition is desired in order to increase the recognition coverage (a dual camera per lane installation - which is supported in SeeLane version 3)

Figure 5.2.2: Rear Installation distances (See text for explanations)

In this case the detector should be defined in SeeLane settings (see next section) as active when the vehicle leaves the detection zone ("Normally Closed"). This also can be arranged by selecting the normally closed outputs of the loop detector. This is since the proper point of starting the images capturing is when the rear of the car leaves the detection line – in order to avoid the effect of the length of the car.

The SCH unit should be installed at 4 meters from the loop detection line for standard lens (or 3M for US size plates using 12mm lens, or for non-reflective plates). See the illustration above, parameter B. This translates to about 9 meters or more from the front of the car (for standard lens) since a typical vehicle is about 4 meters.

The side distance (parameter C) in this installation is identical – 0.0 to 0.5 meters.

A special license option configures the SeeLane application to operate in dual camera per lane (also called "Stereo" mode). In this mode 2 cameras are used to recognize the car, thus increasing the recognition rate. The application uses special logic that takes both results in consideration before sending the car plate number. This mode shares a single sensor per lane to initiate the recognition process.

A typical installation using this mode will be cameras looking at the front and rear plates. The SeeLane software setting could be set to two methods of sensing:

Separate activation: Activating the front camera at the rise of the sensor signal and activating the rear camera at the fall of the sensor signal. (The result will be sent out only after the car leaves the sensor). This mode is usually not applicable for installations with gates since the vehicle must leave the sensor detection area in order to end the recognition cycle. The installation procedure is identical for installing front and rear plates as described in the previous paragraphs.

Shared activation: Activating both cameras at same time. (The result will be sent out after the car enters the sensor detection). The installation procedure is identical for installing front and rear plates as described in the previous paragraphs, but in this case the rear-plate camera should be positioned according to typical lengths of cars. Alternatively, the cameras can be located both at front or rear but at both sides of the lane.

This mode is illustrated in the following illustration. The typical values are A front = 5 meters and A rear = 9 meters for standard lens, or Afront= 3.5 and Arear=7.5 meters for non-reflective (or USA plates using 12mm lens).

Figure 5.2.3: Front & Rear installation (dual cameras per lane, shared activation)

The "Stereo" mode can also be implemented by configuring 2 standard lanes and using one or two detectors. Please consult with Hi-Tech Solutions on the installation instructions.

This paragraph assumes that the detector is magnetic-loop detector type that can be provided by Hi-Tech Solutions. However, any standard dry-contact vehicle sensor can suffice.

1st. Read the detector’s installation guide before installation.

2nd. Install the detector (DET) loop at about 5.5m (or 4.5m for non-reflective plates) from the SCH, on the other side of the barrier (where the vehicle approaches the barrier). See front-installation illustration, parameter A.

1st. The loop should be 2m wide, 1m long, 4 turns at least (see note below) placed in the middle of the lane.

2nd. Connect the loop to the detector by twisted pair as required by the manufacturer.

3rd. The detector’s plug connects to the I/O card (this is explained below).

4th. Detector Setup (in case of Nortech type):

1. Use channel 1 of the sensor

2. Freq. Set to M-L

3. Sensitivity set to D (Normal)

4. Mode set to 1 (presence)

5th. Push reset button once after power up (with no vehicle on the loop).

6th. Use normally Open contacts for output (10,11).

Note: In some installations a different loop configuration should be used in case of a bumper to bumper line of moving cars. Please consult with us on solutions for this case.

You can use other types of dry-contact sensors. The requirement is that the contact will be made continuously during the presence of the vehicle, and without multiple contacts (such as caused by the wheels for pressure type detectors).

This section covers the hardware installation.

Note that all the next steps will be performed with the PC powered off.

1st. Connect the wire PWR from SCH to the power supply (PS). Do not plug the PS to mains yet! Make sure that the power supply is located close to the camera (up to 5 meters, recommended 2 meters).

2nd. The other connections will be connected in the following steps.

 

1st. Insert the frame grabber (FG) into a PCI slot. Don’t power up the PC yet.

2nd. Connect the coaxial cable from SCH to the FG (a BNC plug).

3rd. Use the supplied BNC connector to connect to the BNC cable: either the SMB to BNC connector (for the RIO frame grabber), or the BNC female RCA male (for the VFW frame grabber).

Note that the SMB connector and wire is delicate - please handle it with care.

4th. Try to minimize the distance from the cameras to the frame grabber (and PC) as much as possible. Recommended distances to all the SCH is about 4-5meters (as our supplied cable) up to 30-40meters.

We currently supply two sets of I/O cards and TBL terminal blocks - ISA or PCI. Both are supported by See/Lane, which automatically senses the type of the card (only on version 4.0 and higher).

There are several sets shipped:

ISA bus set (old set)

PCI bus set with ADAM 3938 (old set)

PCI bus set with TBL 6822 (new set)

Each of these sets are detailed below:

The ISA BUS set consists of the I/O board (PCL-724 or PCL-731), flat cable of 50 pins, TBL-22 terminal block with screws and leds, and cover for TBL.

1st. Verify visually that the switches settings on the IO board (as illustrated in the following diagram, which applies to PCL-724 only) are as follows:

Base address is 300 Hex:

PCL-724 switch 1 down, switches 2-8 up

PCL-731 switches 1-2 down, switches 3-7 up

Interrupt is disabled:

PCL-724 J2 on DIS position

PCL-731 J3/J4 on DIS position

Figure 6.1: PCL-724 switches and jumpers location diagram

 

2nd. Install the I/O card in one of the free ISA bus slots in the computer.

3rd. Connect the flat cable to the I/O card. On the other end is the TBL (which has 2 identical connectors for the cable).

4th. Connect the See/Car/Head (SCH) wires as follows (for the first lane; other lanes are wired at higher contacts in pairs):

white wire LSB from SCH to contact no.9 on the TBL, and

green wire MSB from SCH to contact no.10 on the TBL

5th. Connect the detector out put to contact no.1 and GND on the TBL.

6th. Note that when the PC is powered up and the See/lane application is running (this will be done after completing the software installation), the default state of the TBL will be:

all active inputs and outputs leds is off,

power-on led is on

Gate leds 17-24 are on.

G. The I/O card is limited to 4 lanes (4 X 2 outputs). If more than 4 lanes is used you can share the illumination outputs (such as lane 4 and lane 5).

The PCI BUS set consists of the I/O board (PCI-1751), flat cable of 68 pins, ADAM-3968 terminal block (TBL) with a series of screws, and a cover box. Since there are no status leds on the TBL an I/O status display was added on the See/Lane application.

1st. Do not change the factory settings on the PCI board.

2nd. Install the I/O card in one of the free PCI bus slots in the computer.

3rd. Connect the flat SCSI-68 cable to the I/O card. On the other end connect the ADAM-3968 terminal block (which has a connector for the cable).

Connect the See/Car/Head (SCH) wires, which are white (lsb) or green (msb), to the 3938 TBL screws as follows:

Lane	Wire	3938 TBL physical pin (screw #)	Logical # in application (see note)
1	White (lsb)	10	9
	Green (msb)	11	10
2	White (lsb)	12	11
	Green (msb)	13	12
3	White (lsb)	14	13
	Green (msb)	15	14
4	White (lsb)	16	15
	Green (msb)	17	16
5	White (lsb)	35	25
	Green (msb)	36	26
6	White (lsb)	37	27
	Green (msb)	38	28

Note that the See/Lane application numbers are with different logical numbers, as indicated on the right column. This might be confusing and we suggest consulting with us on the proper connections.

4th. Connect the detector out put to screw no.1 (sensor input) and screw no. 9 (ground) on the TBL. Note that the leftmost screw marked as ground is floating connection if a flat SCSI-68 cable is used - as normally shipped.

 

This PCI BUS set consists of the I/O board (PCI-1751), flat cable of 68 pins, TBL-6822 terminal block (TBL) with a series of screws and leds, and a cover box.

1st. Do not change the factory settings on the PCI board.

2nd. Install the I/O card in one of the free PCI bus slots in the computer.

3rd. Connect the flat SCSI-68 cable to the I/O card. On the other end connect the TBL 6822 terminal block (which has a connector for the cable).

The connections are similar to the TBL 22 board:

4th. Connect the See/Car/Head (SCH) wires as follows (for the first lane; other lanes are wired at higher contacts in pairs):

white wire LSB from SCH to contact no.9 on the TBL, and

green wire MSB from SCH to contact no.10 on the TBL

5th. Connect the detector out put to contact no.1 and GND on the TBL.

6th. Note that when the PC is powered up and the See/lane application is running (this will be done after completing the software installation), the default state of the TBL will be:

all active inputs and outputs leds is off,

power-on led is on

Gate leds 17-24 are on.

G. The I/O card is limited to 4 lanes (4 X 2 outputs). If more than 4 lanes is used you can share the illumination outputs (such as lane 4 and lane 5).

In case of a gate control, the TBL is connected to a relay that interfaces the gate.

Use a 5VDC 20ma max standard relay (such as Nais TX-S Relay series - TXS1L5V), and connect its activation coil to:

TBL22 or TBL6822:

Ground to GND and output pins 17 (lane 1) thru 22 (lane 6).

ADAM3938:

Grounds to either of the ground pins 9/18/27/29/31/43/52,

and output pins to screws 19 (lane 1) thru 24 (lane 6).

Note that screw #1 is not ground if a flat SCSI-68 cable is used.

In case some cases the gate fails to open, recheck the relay specification or change the gate pulse time (which is one of the on-line settings of See/Lane, as detailed later).

 

 

Now the software installation steps will be required in order to complete the installation, as described in the next section.

This section covers the software and drivers installation. It assumes that the hardware units were already inserted into the computer slots (as covered by the previous section) and the PC is yet shut down.

Power up the PC.

Wait until the Windows operating system boots up. It will notify that a new card has been detected. Only the frame grabber board is plug & play type card, so it will only detect its presence.

The following text assumes the 6-lane RIO frame grabber.

Following the Windows driver request, install the frame grabber driver that is supplied within the frame grabber package, or on the SeeLane release CD (This is included in the \driver subdirectory. There are several frame grabber directories - select the proper directory which is RIO in this case)

Click 'Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer'.

Click OK. The 'Install From disk' dialog box appears.

Insert the first Rio installation disk into the floppy disk drive or the Rio

CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.

Specify the correct path and click OK.

Follow the instructions on the screen.

After the installation has finished, run Setup.exe from the first Rio

installation floppy disk or Rio CD-ROM.

Follow the instructions on the screen.

 

Make sure you are logged on to Windows NT with administrative privileges.

Insert the first Rio installation disk into the floppy disk drive or the Rio

CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.

Run Setup.exe from the first Rio installation floppy disk or the Rio CD-ROM.

Follow the instructions on the screen.

 

After installation from Windows 95/NT, the Rio Frame Grabber can be used with the RioWin windows application, to start grabbing.

Alternatively, running the SeeLane application as described later could also perform this test.

Since the PCL-724/731 I/O card is not a plug & play type card, you need to initiate its installation. A CD is included in the IO card box.

Place the I/O card CD in your CD-ROM Device, then its setup application will

automatically activate. Now click the drivers option, then click your

operating system option (95/98/NT), then follow the setup instructions.

After this installation you need to run the device installation under the Windows operating system, as follows.

Select the device installation using the following Windows options:

start -> programs -> Advantech Drivers -> Device installation.

Figure 7.1: device installation main screen

Click Setup in the menu.

A list of installed devices will appear (will be empty at this stage)

Click add and you will get a list of devices in the lower side:

Figure 7.2: device installation

Choose Advantech PCL-722/724/731 as above.

Now click install.

The new device card setup dialog will now appear.

Please set the following:

Base Address should be 300 Hex.

Board Type - click the board type that you have got (normally PCL-724).

In/Out - all tab display should be on "out" position

Figure 7.3: Card setup (please follow text)

 

I. Hit OK to exit this window and exit the device installation program.

J. The I/O card device is ready for use.

Running the See/Lane application (this will be described in following sections) can test the IO card. The initial state of the leds on the TBL should be as follows when the application starts to run:

all active inputs and outputs leds is off,

power-on led is on

Gate leds 17-24 are on.

You can also get an I/O status display by hitting the double-arrow icon (See/Lane version 4.0 and higher). An example for PCL-731 is shown:

Figure 7.3.1: I/O status display (version 4.0 and higher on PCL-731)

Another test program is provided with the installed device driver: the device self test. Select the device self test using the following Windows options:

start -> programs -> Advantech Drivers -> Device Test

This self test allows you to set each output and see its affect on the TBL leds. It also allows to test the state of the input (high or low for each input). Use this test to verify the proper installation of the I/O card.

If this fails, uninstall and re-install the drivers and device.

Additionally, check for base address conflict on your Computer. You can select another base address; check with the board manual how to change the base address. The base address should be changed both on the driver setup and the board switches.

If the problem persists, change operating system and/or computer.

The PCI-1751 I/O card is a plug & play board and is easier to install.

Place the I/O card CD in your CD-ROM Device, then its setup application will

automatically activate. Now click the drivers option, then click your

operating system option (95/98/NT), then follow the setup instructions.

After this installation you need to run the device installation under the Windows operating system, as follows.

Select the device installation using the following Windows options:

start -> programs -> Advantech Drivers -> Device installation.

Figure 7.4: device installation main screen

Click Setup in the menu.

A list of installed devices will appear (will be empty at this stage)

Click add and you will get a list of devices in the lower side:

Figure 7.5: device installation - PCI-1751 selected

Choose Advantech PCI-1751 as above.

Now click install.

The new device card setup dialog will now appear - with the base address selected automatically by the setup program.

Please set the following:

Figure 7.6: Card setup

 

I. Hit OK to exit this window and exit the device installation program.

J. The I/O card device is ready for use.

Running the See/Lane application can test the IO card. The initial state of the I/O can be seen on the I/O status display of See/Lane, which can be selected by hitting the double-arrow icon:

Figure 7.7: I/O status display on See/Lane (version 4.0 +)

Note that you should hit F2 (or change an input) on the first time in order to get the proper status as above:

Sensors are off (red) for normally open or on (green) for normally close.

all active outputs leds is off (red), non-active in black

Gate leds 17-24 are on (green)

 

Another test program is provided with the installed device driver: the device self test. Select the device self test using the following Windows options:

start -> programs -> Advantech Drivers -> Device Test

This self test allows you to set each output and see its affect on the TBL leds. It also allows to test the state of the input (high or low for each input). Use this test to verify the proper installation of the I/O card.

If this fails, uninstall and re-install the drivers and device.

If the problem persists, change operating system and/or computer.

The license plug (HASP) dongle requires an additional installation. Install its driver that is included in the \driver\Hasp directory: run the hdd32.exe installation application.

Additionally, insert the dongle to the printer (parallel) port.

Make a SeeLane directory in your hard disk. Copy the See/Lane release directory files to your disk.

Note: If you have a different frame grabber than the default RIO 6-lane frame grabber, copy the suitable seelane.exe from the child directory according to the appropriate frame grabber (such as VFW).

Create a shortcut icon on the Windows desktop for convenience. You can also add the SeeLane to the startup menu.

You can also copy the SeeLaneClient application to the same directory. The Client application intercepts the DDE messages and saves them onto a log file.

You can also make your own application to intercept the messages.

Note that the software package also contains a simulation of the See/Lane application, which can be used to practice the operation of the program and assist in the software integration. This copy can also be copied to a different directory.

1st. Connect the PS to mains (110-240 VAC).

2nd. Check that the camera is functioning by running the live video tests using either the Windows application that is supplied with the frame grabber driver (RIO Win), or with the SeeLane application.

 

This section describes how to set the See/Lane application for best results. It assumes that all software, hardware and drivers are already installed - as covered by the previous sections.

Activate See/Lane from desktop. After a graphic banner is displayed for about one second, you will get the main screen as in the following picture:

Figure 8.1 : See/Lane Main window upon first entry

The following pages contain descriptions of the various settings (under Application/settings option).

Note that the SeeLane application is shipped with a default setting, which fits most of the applications. In case you would like to resume to the factory settings, please rename the config.dat file and a new configuration file will be created on the next run of the application.

Note also that in See/Lane version 4.0 an additional I/O status display has been added (a double arrow icon on the right side).

Perform the following procedure for each active lane. The text below assumes a single lane installation and one camera per lane. For dual camera per lane option (which is available with a special license) see a later section.

1st. Choose: Application-> Settings -> Lanes. A child window will open with a list of all the lanes, both active and inactive.

Figure 8.2: Lanes setting

2nd. Double click on no.1 = lane no.1. You will see an additional child window which will enable configuring the selected lane. In this window there is a 3 tab selections (Cameras, images and general) as below:

Figure 8.3: Lanes setting (first lane selected)

 

Click cameras tab:

Input Sensor choose no.1, check "Normally Open" box for most cases.

Select a gate control pin number - if the barrier’s gate should be controlled. The pin numbers start from 17 to 24 - user definable. The gate will open if the recognized car is found in the cars.txt file (authorization list). You can adjust the gate pulse delay (some gate control needs a longer pulse).

 

Click Images tab:

Check the "save image" box to save images. Check the "save all images" to save all images or (if unchecked) save only a single image (the "best").

In this child window you can set the following attributes:

prefix string for the image name

the format of the image (JPG, BMP), where the first type is smaller in size (and several levels of compression determine the quality of the saved image)

The folder that images will be saved. If the folder does not exist the program will ask permission to create it. Note that in case the new folder is specified at a level lower than the current directory by 2 or more levels - the program will not open this multiple chain of directories.

 

Click general tab:

Check the Active box to activate the lane. Also define if the lane is an entrance or exit (the field is optional).

 

Double-Click camera name in the camera tab to adjust the camera attributes.

Click the enable camera box and select the input channel and the first light pin (the second pin will be the chosen as pin +1).

The See/Lane application operates in a flexible hierarchical arrangement using 3 levels of capturing: images, cycles and sets. The following defines these types:

Images – a number of images (1-5) may be captured and sent to identification. All these images share the same illumination.

Cycle – each cycle is a different level of illumination (off/low/medium/high). All the images within this cycle share the same illumination.

Sets – the user may select a single set of images and cycles, or multiple sets. The latter is applied in case of recognition failure, so the multiple sets mechanism is used to overcome these cases.

You should consult with us on the specific settings of this configuration, which is Country and installation specific. A recommended default set is also defined in a later section.

In the capture set Child Window you can define and view the capture sets setting:

the illumination for each image and the number of images per cycle

To change the current sets double click on the cycle branch and change the number of the images or the illumination intensity for this cycle.

the number of cycles per set (using the add/delete cycle button)

the number of sets (using add/delete set button).

Figure 8.4 Capture sets Window

Check the "Enable Smart Identify" box for preventing pass all the cycles. This saves time yet might affect the stability.

Figure 8.5: Identification settings

Check the "Stop identifying cycle when No. x Of codes are equal" that will improve and assure the identification process, when the same result has been returned from x images the identification cycle will be stopped (x is the number in the "Number of equal images" field; we recommend to set it to 2 or 3 ).

 

Check the "move to next cycle …" if required.

Optionally check the "Identify both fields" for sending both the 2 image fields for identification. Note: we recommend this when the identification results are not well enough. If checked - the identification cycle will be slower but the results will be more stable since more verification is performed. (When checking this - the "Enable fast switching .. "option will be disabled).

"Enable fast switching .." will perform fast switch between the frame grabber channels (when check the option "Identify both fields" will be disabled.

 

For sending the results via RS232 serial port, check the "Enable" box.

The port settings should be selected according to the peripheral specifications (an example follows):

Baud Rate 9600

Data bits 8

Parity none

Stop bits 1

Flow control none

Figure 8.6: Communication setting

 

Check one of the options in the transmit mode:

3.1 Regular - for transmitting vehicle code and the name only.

3.2 Special mode - for a certain parking management system.

3.3 Custom mode – especially designed for controlling large-screen displays (see description below).

 

In custom mode the communication string can be written as a combination of different types:

ASCII (fixed regular letters and digits)

HEX codes (e.g. "0xa, 0xd Welcome" where the first 0x values represent codes that erase the digital readout display).

Additional fields using %parameter format:

%code for car code,

%back_code for back car code (only in dual cameras per lane),

%name for driver name,

%time for the event time,

%file for the image file name,

%authorized for cars defined in the authorized database file

%lane_id for the lane number where the event occurred

For example, for a 2 line display (with oxc and oxd as special codes that clear the screen and skip to the next line), a possible string can be written as such:

"0xc Welcome %code 0xd %name"

Which will be displayed as:

Welcome ABC-123

Figure 8.7: General setting

 

Set the number of allowed mismatches when searching the database. For access control or parking systems we recommend this value to be 1-2. For stolen car applications set to 0.

Check the "save dll data for debug" to save the current images in the application for debug purposes. The default state is not checked.

To protect the SeeLane settings and authorized list members click "Change Password" and set a new password. Note: Since the initial password is blank, keep the old password field empty on first change.

If the password is empty (as in default) it will not be requested when attempting to change the settings.

 

You can view the camera output using the See/Lane’s built-in live mode: Select the appropriate lane by selecting the desired lane tab, then hit the live mode icon (blue monitor button) on the SeeLane application.

Please bear in mind that when the live-mode is activated the recognition is not performed. Additionally the illumination is not activated. This implies that if you would like to view the vehicle under illumination conditions in the live mode, you will need to short the output illumination control line to ground.

Always return to recognition mode by exiting the live mode (hit again the live mode icon).

Click F9 to adjust the Video properties of the frame grabber.

You can set the AGC mode (the recommended state) and optionally change the brightness and contrast.

The anti-alias filter is recommended to be set activate since it reduces faint vertical stripes.

For optimizing the operation you may change the brightness/contrast. For example, for reflective license plate you can adjust the brightness to a low level (-32 – 64) and increase the contrast to highest value, thus you will get a black image background and only the license plate will appear strongly. We recommend to start from the default values - which can always be resumed.

8.1.5.2.1. Rio frame grabber Video Settings

 

This is the control window you will get when hitting F9 when a RIO frame grabber is installed:

Figure 8.9 Video settings window (Rio Frame Grabber)

8.1.5.2.2. BT848 frame grabber (VFW compatible)

Click F9 and then Video Source button to adjust the brightness and the contrast levels.

Figure 8.10 Video settings windows (BT848 Frame Grabber)

In main screen push the blue monitor button to enter live video mode.

In this mode the system does not perform recognition and the illumination is stopped.

Loosen the pitch (up/down) and yaw (left/right) screws on the arm (see figure below), using a 6MM HEX key tool. Move the SCH on the pole, while watching live video, to a position from where you can see the plate of the car at the beginning of the detector loop up to the barrier. Fasten SCH at this position.

Figure 8.11: Pitch & yaw screws

Monitor several cars arriving to the detector position and verify that all the cars are within the field of view.

Push the blue monitor button to exit live video mode. Now the See/Lane application will start performing recognition on each vehicle arrival.

Now every car crossing the loop detector activates the system. The state of the detector is seen on the sensor display at the top-right side.

On screen you will see the frame with the car and the license plate number in the lower right corner.

You can also use our See/Cal camera calibration tool. Please see details the on-line support page - tools section.

Recommended Capture Sets

SeeLane can accept a wide and flexible permutations of the illumination setting (off/low/medium/high), the number of images in that illumination, and the number of sets (the number of iterations in case there is no recognition). The following table summarizes the recommended settings.

This table assumes that "both fields" settings is used (so each image is identified twice per frame). If not - the number of images should be increased.

This mode is activated using a special license plug. This mode limits the maximum lanes to 3, each lane with 2 cameras (Front and Back/Rear).

After selecting a lane the following display will be seen (example):

Figure 8.12: Dual Cameras per lane setting

 

 

For the Input Sensor select number 1 (for lane1), check "Normally Open" (for most type of detectors).

Check the box "Notify rear and front" according to the following modes:

Shared activation (Check it) if there is need to start the sequence of the 2 cameras in the same time (recommended in case of a gate)

Separate activation (Uncheck it) if the front camera is activated at the sensor activation while the back camera is activated when the sensor is deactivated.

This section provides a few hints on how to optimize the results and how to solve potential problems during installation.

The quality of the installation could be judged from the images automatically collected by the application. It is recommended to save several bmp-type files and send them for Hi-Tech Solutions review.

The images are 768 pixels (side to side) and 288 (height of the field - one half of the frame resolution). Each pixel is 8 bit (a gray level 0 (=black) to 255 (=white)).

The recommended size of the plates (in general) is:

140-150 pixels (side to side) for front-car installation

150-170 pixels for rear-car installation

The different sizes are due to the fact that in the front-car case the vehicle continues to get closer to the camera after the first image (thus gets bigger), while the rear-car installation the car drives away (thus the plate gets smaller).

Note: In any case the minimum and maximum size of the plate is defined in the configuration file (format.ini). The factory settings cover a wider range that is usually encountered.

In this case no live video is seen on the SeeLane main display. We recommend to check the following:

Video cable is properly connected to the frame grabber

Power supply for the SCH is powered on (check the presence of the green led indicator on the power supply)

You can also activate the frame grabber test program to see if the live video is seen.

Verify that the SCH (See/Car/Head) is pointed on a well illuminated target plate (in live video the SCH illumination does not operate, hence the IR reflected image could be low which might appear as the case of no live video)

 

In this case no illumination effect is seen when activating the system. This could result from various reasons, which you can check as follows:

Check the lsb-msb connection on the TBL

Check the leds on the TBL (verify that they blink when SeeLane receives a trigger from the sensor)

Check the right configuration of lights under Application-Setting-Lighting option

Check that the right configuration of wiring connections is set under Application-Setting-Lighting options (lsb-msb) according to the pin numbers

 

If all the above conditions were corrected, there might be cases of no recognition at all with a good plate image. This could result from different reasons. Please check the following:

Check all the settings in the SeeLane application setting

Verify you are using the recommended format.ini configuration file.

Verify that the installed lane has recognition and active option set (under Applications-> Settings -> Lanes)

Verify that the HASP license plug is properly installed

Check the quality of the image (see Low recognition rate)

 

This is a typical problem in some installations. It could result from image quality reasons due to the following problems:

The distance from the SCH and the plate does not conform to the recommended installation distances.

The image is not in focus, as also seen on the live video image. The SCH is usually set to cover the recommended distances (6-4 meters down to 2-3 meters) but from some reason the focus setting might have changed.

The shutter is closed (or open) too much

The solutions for the above problems are:

Check the distance and proper installations

Check if the illumination is functioning (the output leds on the TBL should flicker if properly set to different illumination levels)

SCH might be out of optical setting, although factory setting sets it to the proper default state. You can (although its best if you can avoid this) change the focus and shutter position of the lens. Please consult with us.

You can also use our "See/Cal" camera calibration tool to maximize the IRIS and focus setting. Please see details the on-line support page - tools section.

In case of incorrect software installation, some of the DLLs may be missing while trying to run the SeeLane application. The following are typical problems:

ADSAPI32.DLL - the IO card software installation has not been conducted or completed. Redo the IO card installation. If this problem persists take out the IO card and redo the installation.

RIO*.DLL - the frame grabber software installation has not been installed. Redo the frame grabber installation.

 

You may find that the lens cannot be focused at either end of the specified detection range. If this problem occurs, you may need to adjust the camera back-focus. By adjusting the back focus, you are changing the position of the pick-up device in relation to the rear of the lens.

The following procedure may be used for this case (although the camera is factory calibrated using the same procedure).

Set up the plate (or test pattern) at 8Meters or more away from the camera (which is "infinite" position since the effective detection range is less). If this is not possible, choose the farthest object from the camera.

Set the iris (the outer Close/Open wheel) at wide open. If the iris is not set all the way open, objects that are in focus during the day may fall out of focus during nighttime viewing.

Adjust the focus (the inner Near/Far wheel) at extreme Far.

If the picture is good (sharp and clear) then no adjustment is required - skip the next 2 steps.

Adjust the pick-up device position screw or camera lens mount to obtain a clear picture.

Note: The locking position screw may be opened in most cases by lifting the SeeCarHead cap from the topside, using 2 flat screwdrivers. Then the locking screw can be loosen using a fine clock screwdriver. If this is not possible, please consult with us.

Tighten the pick-up device or camera lens mount set screw to ensure it does not change position.

Position the plate closer - at the maximum recommended detection range.

Adjust the focus (Near/Far wheel) for best focus. Do not move the Iris wheel which should remain in wide Open.

Close the Iris (Close/Open wheel) until a good contrast picture is obtained.

You can contact us for more information and assistance at:

Visit our Home page http://www.I-Cube.co.za and download:

demo applications

See/Lane simulation program

Latest tools and releases (in our on-line support page)

We also recommend to install pcAnywhere with TCPIP connection. This software package will allow us to view the on-line operation, fine-tune the parameters, download images and update the software. See more details in the web site support page.

I-Cube.   All rights reserved.  Revised: January 13, 2008 .