ALPR camera
An Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) camera is a camera connected to an
ALPR unit that produces high resolution close-up images of license
plates.
ALPR context
An ALPR context is an ALPR optimization that improves license plate
recognition performance for license plates from a specific region (for example, New
York) or from a group of regions (for example, Northeast states).
ALPR Manager
The ALPR Manager role manages and controls the patrol vehicle
software (Genetec
Patroller™), Sharp cameras, and parking zones. The ALPR Manager
stores the ALPR data (reads, hits, timestamps, GPS coordinates, and so on) collected by
the devices.
ALPR rule
ALPR rule is a method used by Security Center and AutoVu™ for
processing a license plate read. An ALPR rule can be a hit rule or a parking
facility.
ALPR unit
An ALPR unit is a device that captures license plate numbers. An
ALPR unit typically includes a context camera and at least one ALPR
camera.
AutoVu™
The AutoVu™ automatic
license plate recognition (ALPR) system automates license plate reading and
identification, making it easier for law enforcement and for municipal and commercial
organizations to locate vehicles of interest and enforce parking restrictions. Designed
for both fixed and mobile installations, the AutoVu™ system is ideal for a variety of applications
and entities, including law enforcement, municipal, and commercial
organizations.
Config Tool
Config
Tool is
the Security Center administrative application used to
manage all Security Center users and to configure all
Security Center entities such as areas, cameras,
doors, schedules, cardholders, patrol vehicles, ALPR units, and hardware
devices.
context camera
A context camera is a camera connected to an ALPR unit that
produces a wider angle color image of the vehicle whose license plate was read by the
ALPR camera.
contract permit parking
Contract permit parking is a parking scenario where only
drivers with monthly permits can park in the parking zone. A whitelist is used to grant
permit holders access to the parking zone.
dynamic permit
In a system that uses the Pay-by-Plate
Sync plugin, a dynamic permit holds a list of
vehicles that is updated by a third-party permit provider. For example, in a system
where vehicle owners pay for parking at a kiosk or using a mobile phone app, the list of
vehicles are dynamically managed by a third-party permit provider.
enforce
To enforce is to take action following a confirmed hit. For example, a
parking officer can enforce a scofflaw violation (unpaid parking tickets) by placing a
wheel boot on the vehicle.
entity
Entities are the basic building blocks of Security Center. Everything
that requires configuration is represented by an entity. An entity can represent a
physical device, such as a camera or a door, or an abstract concept, such as an alarm, a
schedule, a user, a role, a plugin, or an add-on.
failover
Failover is a backup operational mode in which a role (system
function) is automatically transferred from its primary server to a secondary server
that is on standby. This transfer between servers occurs only if the primary server
becomes unavailable, either through failure or through scheduled downtime.
fuzzy matching
Environmental factors such as dirt or snow can partially
obstruct license plate characters and increase the likelihood of partial plate reads
occurring. In addition, similarly shaped letters and numbers, like “2” and “Z” or, “8”,
“B”, and “0”, can also reduce plate read accuracy. Fuzzy matching lets AutoVu™ compare reads not only to exact matches in
hotlists, but also to potential or probable matches.
hit
A hit is a license plate read that matches a hit rule, such as a hotlist,
overtime rule, permit, or permit restriction. A Genetec
Patroller™ user can choose to reject or accept a hit.
An accepted hit can subsequently be enforced.
hit rule
A hit rule is an ALPR rule used to identify vehicles of interest
(called "hits") using license plate reads. The hit rules include the following types:
hotlist, overtime rule, permit, and permit restriction.
Hits
The Hits task is an investigation task that
reports on hits reported within a selected time range and geographic
area.
hotlist
A hotlist is a list of wanted vehicles, where each vehicle is
identified by a license plate number, the issuing state, and the reason why the vehicle
is wanted (stolen, wanted felon, Amber alert, VIP, and so on). Optional vehicle
information might include the model, the color, and the vehicle identification number
(VIN).
Hotlist and permit editor
The Hotlist and permit
editor task is an operation task. You can use it to edit an existing hotlist or
permit list. A new list cannot be created with this task, but after an existing list has been
added to Security Center, you can edit, add, or delete
items from the list, and the original text file is updated with the changes.
illuminator
An illuminator is a light in the Sharp unit that illuminates the plate, thereby
improving the accuracy of the images produced by the ALPR camera.
license key
A license key is the software key used to unlock the Security Center software. The license key is specifically generated for each computer where the
Directory role is installed. To obtain your license key, you need the System ID
(which identifies your system) and the Validation key (which identifies your
computer).
license plate read
A license plate read is a license plate number captured from
a video image using ALPR technology.
manual capture
Manual capture is when license plate information is entered into
the system by the user and not by the ALPR.
Monitoring
The Monitoring task is an operation task
that you can use to monitor and respond to real-time events that relate to selected entities.
Using the Monitoring task, you can also monitor and respond to
alarms.
multi-tenant parking
If you use AutoVu™
Free-Flow to manage transient parking and
contract permit parking in parking zones, you can install the AutoVu™
Free-Flow plugin to manage parking lots where
parking spots are leased to tenants.
notification tray
The notification tray contains icons that allow quick access
to certain system features, and also displays indicators for system events and status
information. The notification tray display settings are saved as part of your user
profile and apply to both Security
Desk and Config
Tool.
OCR equivalence
OCR equivalence is the interpretation of OCR (Optical Character
Recognition) equivalent characters performed during license plate recognition. OCR
equivalent characters are visually similar, depending on the plate’s font. For example,
the letter “O” and the number “0”, or the number “5” and the letter “S”. There are
several pre-defined OCR equivalent characters for different languages.
overtime rule
An overtime rule is an entity that defines a parking time
limit and the maximum number of violations enforceable within a single day. Overtime
rules are used in city and university parking enforcement. For university parking, an
overtime rule also defines the parking area where these restrictions
apply.
parking lot
A parking lot is a polygon that defines the location and
shape of a parking area on a map. By defining the number of parking spaces inside the parking
lot, Security Center can calculate its percentage of
occupancy during a given time period.
parking zone
The parking zones that you define in Security Center represent off-street parking lots
where the entrances and exits are monitored by Sharp cameras.
permit
A permit is an entity that defines a single parking permit holder
list. Each permit holder is characterized by a category (permit zone), a license plate number,
a license issuing state, and optionally, a permit validity range (effective date and expiry
date). Permits are used in both city and university parking enforcement.
permit hit
A permit hit is a hit that is generated when a read (license plate
number) does not match any entry in a permit or when it matches an invalid
permit.
permit restriction
A permit restriction is an entity that applies time
restrictions to a series of parking permits for a given parking area. Permit restrictions can
be used by patrol vehicles configured for University Parking Enforcement and for systems that
use the AutoVu™
Free-Flow feature.
Plate Reader
Plate Reader is the software component of the Sharp unit that processes the images captured by the
ALPR camera to produce license plate reads, and associates each license plate read with a
context image captured by the context camera. The Plate Reader also handles the
communications with the Genetec
Patroller™ and the ALPR
Manager. If an external wheel imaging camera is connected to the Sharp unit, the Plate Reader also captures wheel
images from this camera.
plugin
A plugin (in lowercase) is a software component that adds a
specific feature to an existing program. Depending on the context, plugin can refer
either to the software component itself or to the software package used to install the
software component.
plugin role
A plugin role adds optional features to Security Center. A plugin role is created by using
the Plugin role template. By default, it is represented by an orange puzzle piece
in the Roles view of the System task.
Before you can create a plugin role, the software
package specific to that role must be installed on your system.
privilege
Privileges define what users can do, such as arming zones,
blocking cameras, and unlocking doors, over the part of the system they have access
rights to.
Reads
The Reads task is an investigation task that
reports on license plate reads performed within a selected time range and geographic
area.
Reads/hits per day
The Reads/hits per day task is an
investigation task that reports on license plate reads performed within a selected time
range and geographic area.
Reads/hits per zone
The Reads/hits per zone task is an
investigation task that reports on the number of reads and hits per parking area for a
selected date range.
role
A role is a software component that performs a specific job within
Security Center. To execute a role, you must assign one or more servers to host
it.
Security Center
Security Center
is a truly unified platform that blends IP video surveillance, access control, automatic
license plate recognition, intrusion detection, and communications within one intuitive and
modular solution. By taking advantage of a unified approach to security, your organization
becomes more efficient, makes better decisions, and responds to situations and threats with
greater confidence.
Security Desk
Security
Desk
is the unified user interface of Security Center. It
provides consistent operator flow across all of the Security Center main systems, Omnicast™, Synergis™,
and AutoVu™. The unique task-based design of Security
Desk lets operators efficiently control and
monitor multiple security and public safety applications.
SharpOS
SharpOS is the
software component of a Sharp unit. SharpOS is responsible for everything related to plate
capture, collection, processing, and analytics. For example, a SharpOS update can include new ALPR contexts, new
firmware, Sharp
Portal updates, and updates to
the Sharp's Windows services (Plate Reader, HAL, and
so on).
Sharp Portal
Sharp
Portal
is a web-based administration tool used to configure Sharp cameras for AutoVu™ systems. From a web browser, you log on to a specific
IP address (or the Sharp name in certain cases) that
corresponds to the Sharp you want to configure. When
you log on, you can configure options such as selecting the ALPR context (for example,
Alabama, Oregon, Quebec), selecting the read strategy (for example, fast moving or slow moving
vehicles), viewing the Sharp’s live video feed, and
more.
Sharp unit
The Sharp unit is a
proprietary ALPR unit of Genetec Inc. that
integrates license plate capturing and processing components, as well as digital video
processing functions, inside a ruggedized casing.
static permit
In a system that uses the Pay-by-Plate
Sync plugin, a static permit holds a list of
vehicle license plates that is not updated by a third-party permit provider. For
example, a list of employee vehicles that are authorized to park in the lot are manually
maintained as a static list.
tile
A tile is an individual window within the canvas, used to display a
single entity. The entity displayed is typically the video from a camera, a map, or
anything of a graphical nature. The look and feel of the tile depends on the displayed
entity.
transient parking
Transient parking is a parking scenario where the driver must
purchase parking time as soon as the vehicle enters the parking lot.
unit
A unit is a hardware device that communicates over an IP network that can
be directly controlled by a Security Center role. We distinguish four types of
units in Security Center:
- Access control units, managed by the Access Manager role
- Video units, managed by the Archiver role
- ALPR units, managed by the ALPR Manager role
- Intrusion detection units, managed by the Intrusion Manager role
user
A user is an entity that identifies a person who uses Security Center applications and defines the rights
and privileges that person has on the system. Users can be created manually or imported
from an Active Directory.
Zone occupancy
The Zone occupancy task is an
investigation task that reports on the number of vehicles parked in a selected parking
area, and the percentage of occupancy.