Casey Smith Doug Ritchie Fred Lloyd Michael Geary School of Electrical and Computer Engineering December 15, 2011 ECE 4007 Automated Speed Enforcement Using a Digital Imaging System

2 Project Overview A prototype speed enforcement system which processes images captured by a pair of webcams to determine remote controlled car speed and locate license plates –Improve roadway safety while producing revenue for governments which choose to deploy them –Potential customers of the finished product include local, state, and federal law enforcement officials –Development Cost: $227.61

3 Project Illustration

4 Camera Only Design Approach Advantages Easy to interface with a computer for processing No need to interface several physical detection devices Disadvantages More coding compared to other methods Must capture multiple images of vehicles

5 Design Objectives FeatureProposedCurrent SystemSoftware which captures images, detects motion, calculates car speed, isolates license plate Meets Specification Accuracy±1 mphMeets Specification Area of OperationIndoors OnlyMeets Specification Development CostUnder $405Exceeds Specification

6 ASED Specifications FeatureProposedStatus Image AcquisitionCapture images every 500ms Capture images every 300ms Motion DetectionDetects when an object enters an image Meets Specification Speed Detection±1 mph accuracyMeets Specification License Plate LocationExtracts images of license plate Below Specification

7 Software Algorithm

8 Image Acquisition Key component of ASED Acquires two images every 300ms –SD camera captures images of vehicles travelling perpendicular to its field of view –LPL camera captures a rear image of the vehicle passing through its field of view Dynamic image filename structure for data storage and later processing

9 Motion Detection: Input Images Input Images before manipulation

10 Motion Detection: Image Comparison and Thresholding Subtracted Image Image After Thresholding

11 Speed Detection: RC Car Distance Computation The RC Car will travel perpendicular to the SD Camera at 8 feet away –We can then use the camera’s field of view to calculate distance d

12 Speed Detection: Finding Regions of Interest Using a particle filter specifies the region of interest to be the front of the RC car

13 Speed Detection: Determining RC Car Speed Picture size is 640x480 pixels so we can use a ratio to find real world distances in the pictures –Given that we know the ROI lines are at x1 and x2 respectively we can perform the following to calculate our speed in miles per hour

14 License Plate Location: Input Images Input Images

15 License Plate Location: Isolation Subtracted ImageMask Image

16 License Plate Location: Extraction License Plate Image Extracted License Plate

17 Project Demonstration Setup cameras in proper locations to create test area Run the car once in the test area above the set speed limit (5mph) Run the car once in the test area below the set speed limit (5mph) To be considered successful the ASED must correctly detect whether or not the car is speeding and locate the license plate of the speeding car.

18 Problems and Solutions ASED ProblemsSolutions Compatibility with LabVIEW 2009 and Bumblebee XB3 camera Two webcams used in placed of Bumblebee XB3 camera Calculating speed via TriangulationCalculation of speed involved a ratio of real world distances to pixel locations at a given range (8ft) Unable to compensate for varying environmental conditions Prototype only operates indoors

19 Final Budget Material Cost (USD) DescriptionQuantityPrice Microsoft LifeCam Cinema 720p R/C Mud Slinger Hummer H Techni-Mobili Rolling Desk R/C Rock Crawler USB Extension Cable29.60 Total227.61

20 Recommended Future Work Design should allow for full functionality in non-ideal environments Using motor vehicles with standard license plates instead of remote controlled cars with paper license plates Incorporating cameras with more advanced image processing functionality built-in

21 Questions

22 Alternative Speed Detection Devices Pneumatic road tubesInfrared Sensors Radar Gun LiDAR

23 Speed Error Values

24 Speed Error Values

25 Speed Error Values