Impact of character spacing on the performance of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems through simulation

Work on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) as part of road safety by detecting and deterring a range of illegal road users is currently a key research work undertaken by the School of Engineering and Technology in collaboration with the UK Home Office¹ and Hertfordshire Constabulary. A key research problem identified is the lack of an objective and independent assessment process for benchmarking ANPR systems in the UK. With this is mind, it is proposed to generate key data sets through a simulation process that will generate car number plate images. As a first step, such plates will show variability in character spacing for assessing ANPR systems which will demonstrate the principles for benchmarking. Such a system will avoid the need for carrying out any resource intensive field trials by the Police Force which is currently the case.