Hypothetical question about avoiding ANPR cameras
Discussion
You might have seen in the news people trying to disguise their face from facial recognition cameras, this sort of thing
With ANPR cameras popping up at every supermarket, fast food car park, etc, what would happen if you applied letting around your actual number plate to confuse the camera? TBC the lettering would not be over the actual legal plate just around it to confuse the AI reading the plate. As shown in this expertly created mockup:
If the ANPR can't read it, would it just get sent to a human to review it? Would it be legal to drive on the road like this?
To be super clear I have no intention of doing this and I am not a freeman of the land, I was just wondering if you could legally do this and what it would it do to the ANPR cameras.
With ANPR cameras popping up at every supermarket, fast food car park, etc, what would happen if you applied letting around your actual number plate to confuse the camera? TBC the lettering would not be over the actual legal plate just around it to confuse the AI reading the plate. As shown in this expertly created mockup:
If the ANPR can't read it, would it just get sent to a human to review it? Would it be legal to drive on the road like this?
To be super clear I have no intention of doing this and I am not a freeman of the land, I was just wondering if you could legally do this and what it would it do to the ANPR cameras.
Lenovo said:
You might have seen in the news people trying to disguise their face from facial recognition cameras, this sort of thing
With ANPR cameras popping up at every supermarket, fast food car park, etc, what would happen if you applied letting around your actual number plate to confuse the camera? TBC the lettering would not be over the actual legal plate just around it to confuse the AI reading the plate. As shown in this expertly created mockup:
If the ANPR can't read it, would it just get sent to a human to review it? Would it be legal to drive on the road like this?
To be super clear I have no intention of doing this and I am not a freeman of the land, I was just wondering if you could legally do this and what it would it do to the ANPR cameras.
Probably PTCoJ or something on public roads. Not sure about private land though. At a guess, nothing really?With ANPR cameras popping up at every supermarket, fast food car park, etc, what would happen if you applied letting around your actual number plate to confuse the camera? TBC the lettering would not be over the actual legal plate just around it to confuse the AI reading the plate. As shown in this expertly created mockup:
If the ANPR can't read it, would it just get sent to a human to review it? Would it be legal to drive on the road like this?
To be super clear I have no intention of doing this and I am not a freeman of the land, I was just wondering if you could legally do this and what it would it do to the ANPR cameras.
If it did get reviewed by a real human I suspect a dim view would be taken of the attempt at deceiving the cameras, leading to the driver being done for every offence that could be pinned on him.
It's like riding a bike past a speed camera with the plate covered and making rude gestures at the camera- it's taking the piss and may lead to someone making a special effort to identity you!
Much easier to just have a cloned plate?
It's like riding a bike past a speed camera with the plate covered and making rude gestures at the camera- it's taking the piss and may lead to someone making a special effort to identity you!
Much easier to just have a cloned plate?
In the mid 00's, I worked for a company making ANPR software and cameras. The system would have read all the characters and, in your example, would have created about 20 records. There would have been a high chance one of them would have been the right plate. I imagine between then and now, things have come a long way.
FWIW, we used to see what we could get away with - Sharpie on wood/show plates/carbon fibre plates/blocking strips/pieces of paper etc and for the most part, as long as it was clear in the image, the software could read it.
FWIW, we used to see what we could get away with - Sharpie on wood/show plates/carbon fibre plates/blocking strips/pieces of paper etc and for the most part, as long as it was clear in the image, the software could read it.
PistonRings said:
In the mid 00's, I worked for a company making ANPR software and cameras. The system would have read all the characters and, in your example, would have created about 20 records. There would have been a high chance one of them would have been the right plate. I imagine between then and now, things have come a long way.
FWIW, we used to see what we could get away with - Sharpie on wood/show plates/carbon fibre plates/blocking strips/pieces of paper etc and for the most part, as long as it was clear in the image, the software could read it.
That's interesting. ~5 years ago I used to do lots of travelling for work, the carpark at the airport always struggled to read my plate as it was very slightly delaminated in the middle. This was so slight that it didn't even warrant an advisory at MOT time. I did think about changing it just to save me having to press the help buzzer at the barrier each time but I took the easier option of selling the car. FWIW, we used to see what we could get away with - Sharpie on wood/show plates/carbon fibre plates/blocking strips/pieces of paper etc and for the most part, as long as it was clear in the image, the software could read it.
ts.
Turbobanana said:
Lenovo said:
You might have seen in the news people trying to disguise their face from facial recognition cameras, this sort of thing
I love that disguising your face like this instantly makes you even more recognisable than you were before."Oh look, it's those people with the warpaint on again!".
TheLurker said:
Turbobanana said:
I've seen it all now! Who even comes up with these ideas?TheLurker said:
Turbobanana said:
I've seen it all now! Who even comes up with these ideas?"Dazzle Club’s main purpose isn’t to cheat surveillance tech. Their project is about using art to question normalisation of the surveillance that’s happening in the first place"
Last summer, I was using my 1975 Triumph Toledo quite a bit, with silver on black number plates. Several car parks failed to read it and I had to use the help button to get out, and sometimes even in! I wonder if that's why you seem them illegally used on more modern cars so much... 
Note: Despite the advice of several websites, and some other 'beards,' which are incorrect, yes, they were originally only legal on pre-1973 cars. When the VED exemption and 'Historic vehicle' class was extended however, in 2014 to 40-year-old cars, the right to use these plates was included, and was overlooked. It has now been stopped and only cars registered before 1980 are permitted to use them.
Note: Despite the advice of several websites, and some other 'beards,' which are incorrect, yes, they were originally only legal on pre-1973 cars. When the VED exemption and 'Historic vehicle' class was extended however, in 2014 to 40-year-old cars, the right to use these plates was included, and was overlooked. It has now been stopped and only cars registered before 1980 are permitted to use them.
PistonRings said:
In the mid 00's, I worked for a company making ANPR software and cameras. The system would have read all the characters and, in your example, would have created about 20 records. There would have been a high chance one of them would have been the right plate. I imagine between then and now, things have come a long way.
FWIW, we used to see what we could get away with - Sharpie on wood/show plates/carbon fibre plates/blocking strips/pieces of paper etc and for the most part, as long as it was clear in the image, the software could read it.
That wasn't Derwent Systems was it?FWIW, we used to see what we could get away with - Sharpie on wood/show plates/carbon fibre plates/blocking strips/pieces of paper etc and for the most part, as long as it was clear in the image, the software could read it.
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