Delaware-based developer of vehicle recognition systems, Rekor Systems Inc has joined the Nvidia Metropolis Software Partner Program and is using Graphics Processing Units (GPU) from the computing technology company to accelerate its OpenALPR vehicle recognition software.
Launched in 2017, Metropolis is an intelligent video analytics platform that spans multiple Nvidia products operating on a unified architecture. The Metropolis technology ecosystem is paving the way for the creation of smarter cities using artificial intelligence (AI), making them safer and smarter by applying deep learning to video streams for applications such as public safety, traffic management and resource optimization. Rekor joins more than 100 Nvidia AI City partner companies that are already providing products and applications using deep learning on its GPUs.
Rekor’s AI-based automatic license plate reader (ALPR) software can turn any IP camera into a vehicle recognition unit. Through the power of Nvidia’s AI and GPUs, the company’s sophisticated and revolutionary machine-learning enabled software not only scans and recognizes thousands of license plates per hour on multiple lanes with accuracy rates exceeding 99%, but also identifies vehicle make, model, color, and body type. Within an AI City environment, Rekor’s vehicle recognition software and systems, operating on Nvidia GPUs, can be used for law enforcement, security, electronic toll collection, parking operations, banking and insurance, logistics, traffic management and customer loyalty.
Rekor has just released an upgrade to its OpenALPR vehicle recognition software that improves processing speed on Central Processing Units (CPUs) up to 100%, enabling customers to reduce costs by deploying up to twice as many cameras using the same computing hardware. Other upgrades include performance improvements on Nvidia’s GPU, which decrease memory usage on both CPU and GPUs and reduces reads of road signs and billboards by mobile camera units. The new software also includes enhancements that improve user experience, including a new dispatch view for real-time alerting in map-view, text message alerts, greater usability for analytic reports, and increased overall efficiency.
“We are proud to be a part of Nvidia’s Metropolis Software Partner Program to further expand their thriving ecosystem. Together, we’re taking advantage of the more than 1 billion video cameras that will be in cities by the year 2020 to solve a dizzying array of problems,” commented Rekor’s chief science officer, Mathew Hill. Our customers rely on OpenALPR for its speed, accuracy and scalability, so we’re pleased that the Nvidia enhanced version will also reduce their need to purchase additional expensive hardware.”
