Automatic number plate localization using dynamic thresholding and morphological operations

The increase in accidents, vehicle thefts, over speeding and traffic infringements make proper traffic rule enforcement a necessity. Speed traps play an important role in reducing the rate of accidents at accident prone areas. Automation of number plate recognition system makes traffic rule enforcement an easy task without direct human intervention. In this paper we propose a less complex and effective system to detect and segment the number plate region. The method comprises of a dynamic thresholding technique, morphological operations followed by connected component analysis. Dynamic thresholding helps the system to detect the number plate region at varying illumination conditions. Morphological operations eliminate the unwanted small objects other than the number plate and connects the disconnected edges.