The main difference between on-site and cloud-based ANPR solutions is where image processing takes place, according to Adrian Cseko, Head of Sales at Asura Technologies. In the case of cloud processing, the user sends data to the ANPR provider's cloud, and results are returned to the specified database or system.
New developments in
video analytics have tremendously boosted traffic and road safety management in the recent years. ANPR is a key feature that has played an important role in this. The main difference between on-site and cloud-based ANPR solutions is where image processing takes place, according to Adrian Cseko, Head of Sales at
Asura Technologies. In the case of cloud processing, the user sends data to the ANPR provider's cloud, and results are returned to the specified database or system.
"Thus, the advantage of cloud-based solutions is that the client does not have to purchase a server and set it up on-site to run ANPR software," Cseko said. "Moreover, most cloud-based solutions can be accessed in a subscription-type model, sometimes the pricing adjusted with processing volume. So, if avoiding CAPEX is the aim of a project, or there is simply no space to accommodate a server, a cloud-based ANPR solution may prove more beneficial. Also, as fewer elements are needed to be installed on-site, an ANPR-based operation may roll-out out earlier if a cloud-based solution is used."
The key two-fold advantage
Evidently, there are several advantages to using cloud-based ANPR solutions.
Case studies across the world have shown how beneficial they are. According to Gabor Jozsa, CMO at
Adaptive Recognition, these can be classified under technology and cost. Jozsa listed some of the significant benefits under both these categories from the perspective of the solution that their company offers.
Cost advantages
- Zero capital investment required.
- 50-60 percent Total Cost of Ownership reduction compared to on-premise systems.
- 3-4 times shorter implementation- and integration time.
- Start to recognize your own images in just 1 second after registration. Add vehicle identification to your application in just 1 hour with ANPR Cloud Start generating revenue next day.
- Transparent and flexible pricing perfectly matches to every application.
- Adaptive Recognition's ANPR Cloud offers credit-based, pay-as-you-go pricing packages.
- Minimal to zero OpEx: core engine updates, preventing maintenance, API updates are done by Adaptive Recognition. 99.9 percent SLA level secured worldwide, in all regions.
- Thanks to pay-per-use pricing, the actual cost of service is equivalent to practical use. There is no burden due to flat rates when the required service is low. You can recognize 1 million events at once and pay only for that. Then you may recognize 10,000 in the following months. You will always pay based on the service used.
Technological advantages
- Integrators can finally focus on application functionality instead of setting up- and operating an on-premises infrastructure.
- Easy to use REST APIs results are in JSON format.
- Anyone can become an ANPR expert. Simply upload your still images to Adaptive Recognition's ANPR Cloud. The rest is done by the service, which tweaks the OCR engine's internal parameters for the best results.
- ANPR Cloud is elastic, offers an unlimited scale. It is robust and stable.
- ANPR Cloud offers practically unlimited processing resources compared to on-premise, PC / server-based systems. This gives you a real competitive edge, mainly when you feed input images from all around the world. Specific OCR engines that yield the best result for one region can be run parallel in the ANPR Cloud, while this would require expensive and complex on-premises architecture.
How to get these benefits?
But cloud-based ANPR may not be suitable for every installation. According to Walter Verbruggen, Sales Director at
Avutec Computer Vision, a cloud solution is ideal for a single, existing camera somewhere in the field, streaming video to the cloud ANPR service. It does need some thinking about: what do you want to do with the ANPR data?
"In case a smart security management system would send packets of snapshot images to the cloud, network bandwidth (and costs) can dramatically being saved," Verbuggen said. "Cloud benefits in general: no local server to maintain or support, monthly subscription-based."