Quercus Technologies Offers Insight on the Future of License Plate Recognition

In our latest Parking Talks, we heard from industry experts about the benefits of license plate recognition for parking operators and drivers. During the discussion, Albert Górriz, Quercus Technologies' North America General Manager, talked us through the many applications for LPR and what developments we might expect over the next few years.

What Are the Benefits of LPR for the Parking Experience?

"We cannot achieve excellence in the parking experience without license plate recognition, both for the parking operator and for the driver. In off-street parking nowadays, LPR goes beyond reading the license plate at the entry and exit of the parking garage, as we are seeing more LPR that can monitor every parking space through a camera-based parking guidance system.

"For operators, we must not forget other applications of LPR such as plate inventory, vehicle-mounted LPR and handheld devices for enforcement. With all these, LPR benefits the provider in terms of fraud prevention, reservations, and facility usage data. For example, operators can see how fast vehicles move from the entrance to vacant spaces, and reserve spaces for specific plate numbers.

"From the driver’s perspective, LPR is the basic element that provides well-known customer service improvements, such as fast-gate opening, parking subscriptions, pre-paid parking, solutions for when a ticket is lost and Find Your Car features."

How Can Facilities Not Already Using LPR Benefit from LPR Installations?

"We can summarize by saying that control over the parking facility improves the parking operation from the very first day because turnover and security can easily be increased, and so the return on investment is obvious. Efficiency for parking operators and a good parking experience for drivers, these are the important benefits provided by LPR. Also, efficient mobility in parking facilities makes a positive contribution to environmental sustainability."

What Future Developments Do You Think There Will Be in LPR?

"At Quercus Technologies, we are making a great effort in R&D, and this department has experienced the most growth over the past couple of years. We envision a future where LPR technology will become even more accurate and fast, but in my point of view, the major novelties will lie in better integrations with other systems such as revenue, police departments, and most importantly, mobile apps. Such integrations will bring all LPR benefits closer to drivers, from the moment that they plan a trip to the point at which they have parked their vehicle."

What Plans Does Quercus Have for the Next Year or So?

"Quercus is growing, and at the beginning of the year, we created the mobility division to expand our camera-based parking guidance solution. And, our detection division continues to handle the commercialization of our LPR solution. In the pipeline are many important projects where our customers will benefit from having both solutions - LPR and parking guidance, under the umbrella of our software suite, BirdWatch. And finally, there will be different features and new improvements to our products and our software platform. We find ourselves at an exciting point in time in the parking industry, and so we will move forward at the same pace."

For more insight from Albert, and to hear from Carrida and Survision, watch the full Parking Talks discussion:

About Quercus Technologies

Quercus Technologies manufactures and markets smart vehicle detection units based on advanced computer vision algorithms, which aim at improving mobility and security in parking facilities. 

Quercus products are based on highly technological computer vision algorithms and include All-in-One license plate recognition units, overview cameras, and digital video recorders. We market our LPR units exclusively to system integrators and one of our aims is to help them get the maximum benefit from our products and contribute to the success of their projects. Quercus provides customers with added-value services such as certificate professional training and on-site technical support to help them to get the most out of our leading-edge technology.