Abstract: The present disclosure relates to apparatus (1) for estimating confidence in a vehicle reference velocity (V). The apparatus includes a controller having an electronic processor (21) having an electrical input for receiving at least one first vehicle operating parameter; and an electronic memory device (23) electrically coupled to the electronic processor and having instructions stored therein. The electronic processor (21) is configured to access the memory device (23) and execute the instructions stored therein such that it is operable to monitor the at least one first vehicle operating parameter; and to calculate a confidence value (F1) representing the confidence in the vehicle reference velocity, the confidence value (F1) being calculated in dependence on the vehicle operating parameter.

Abstract: A portable undercarriage vehicle inspection system (UVIS) (100) uses an under vehicle imaging (UVI) module (110) to capture an image of the undercarriage of a vehicle. The UVIS also includes multiple scene cameras (120) that capture the associated vehicle scene images. The scene cameras are easy to view and manipulate. The undercarriage image and the associated vehicle scene images are provided to a power and communications unit (PCU) (140) through a network (130) such as Ethernet. These images may be stored in a database repository connected to the network. A notebook computer will serve as an operator workstation (150, 152, 154) for display of real-time, as well as historical, vehicular records. An operator viewing the images can enter additional information related to the images, such as comments and remarks, and archive all of the information for future reference and comparisons.

Abstract: A portable undercarriage vehicle inspection system (UVIS) (100) uses an under vehicle imaging (UVI) module (110) to capture an image of the undercarriage of a vehicle. The UVIS also includes multiple scene cameras (120) that capture the associated vehicle scene images. The scene cameras are easy to view and manipulate. The undercarriage image and the associated vehicle scene images are provided to a power and communications unit (PCU) (140) through a network (130) such as Ethernet. These images may be stored in a database repository connected to the network. A notebook computer will serve as an operator workstation (150, 152, 154) for display of real-time, as well as historical, vehicular records. An operator viewing the images can enter additional information related to the images, such as comments and remarks, and archive all of the information for future reference and comparisons.

Abstract: A video camera produces an image of a license plate on a vehicle, and a scanning apparatus finds a license plate number in the image. The identification of the license plate number is verified in a confidence check section by checking for the presence of a state logo. Next, a character extractor identifies individual characters of the number by finding and tracing a contour along interior portions of the character edges, and the contour length, character height, and character width are then checked in a validity checking section to determine whether they are within predetermined acceptable ranges. To correct for obscuring objects on the license plate, a character alignment section determines the top line and baseline of the license plate number and disregards portions of the characters that appear to be outside of these limits, and a license plate frame correction section is utilized to extract the characters when a portion thereof is obscured by a license plate frame.