Patent attributes
The invention provides an apparatus and method for automatic monitoring and control of the ingress and egress of vehicles to and from a secure facility and various areas within the facility. A plurality of cameras, such as infrared-sensitive cameras, captures images of the license plates and/or optically readable passive tags of vehicles traveling into and within the site. The system will also be upgradeable to interface with Electronic Vehicle Identification (EVI) Systems once all vehicles emit such information. Alternatively, the system can be configured to work with RF tags providing ALL vehicles entering the site are issued with such devices and the appropriate sensing technology is installed as part of the site infrastructure. One of the advantages of the system outlined in this application is the use of the vehicle license plate or low cost passive optically readable tag as a unique vehicle identifier.