Redtortuga is a network of service stations for international transport companies with more than 525 service stations in eight countries throughout Europe. The company offers its customers the customer loyalty Diesel Card, which is exclusively valid for carriers and includes multiple advantages for transport professionals, in addition to special conditions related to fuel consumption.

Redtortuga requires an LPR solution integrated with the pump management system. The system must check whether the licence plate matches the associated card and enable the fuel pump quickly and automatically.

This means that the licence plate reading software must be able to read licence plates from multiple countries with high reliability to avoid inconveniencing customers.

The project involves the installation of the Scati Plate solution, which uses some of the most advanced algorithms to recognise optical characteristics, thereby recognising licence plates with maximum reliability. The Scati Vision solution has been implemented in conjunction with the previous solution so the user can view the stored images and the LPR on a single device.

The Axis and Sony cameras already installed in the station can be reused thanks to the open features of the Scati platform. This allows Redtortuga to make the most of its previous investment and take full advantage of the powerful video management IP system and of the Scati LPR.

Given the technical characteristics of this scenario, a comprehensive process has to be carried out to select the appropriate parameters for the settings of each camera to establish a filter that enables licence plates of the most frequent countries to be read more rapidly.

Scati has customised its Scati Plate LPR software to adapt it to the needs of Redtortuga. The integration of licence plate reading with fuel pump management requires establishing communication between both systems. Scati Plate sends the licence plate number that has been read along with an image of the licence plate to the system, which compares them and then enables the pump automatically. Licence plate reading is only possible when the vehicle has stopped at a pump and the user's card has been inserted, thereby reducing the necessary processing power.

In addition to automatic activation of the fuel pump, integration with the service station's management system enables the Redtortuga on-line tool to use static images and videos associated with the customer's ID number. Therefore, in the event of fraudulent use of the card, the company will be able to inform the customer and attach the corresponding video.

The Scati Plate user interface is accessible via a web browser and offers powerful management tools, such as interactive maps, configuration using white and black lists per areas, searches, reading logs and and generation of reports and statistics.

This is a comprehensive solution that integrates LPR and CCTV. Therefore, automatic actions can be configured in Scati Vision from Scati Plate, such as opening a barrier, moving a PTZ camera or sending alarms after detecting a specific licence plate.  

The Scati Watcher workstation has also been installed in the control room with a standard screen and an additional screen adapted to wall visualisation. Both can display licence plates from as many as 36 cameras without the need for controllers or additional devices. Operators will also be able to use Scati Watcher to manage the recorder and control recording status, make forensic searches or any other available operation. Installing the solution in the service station's control room and in the main offices of Redtortuga will enable access and management of the entire system remotely via IP.

This new system allows Redtortuga to eliminate the possibility of fraud in user cards and it has absolutely no effect on the operations of the service station or customers' user experience. The advanced technology used in Scati Plate software is designed to ensure reliable reading with maximum accuracy. Moreover, the integration between the LPR and video management offers a wide range of possibilities for automating actions, advanced video searches, etc.  Scati Plate provides a scalable LPR solution that is capable of coordinating various readers over a single database that is constantly updated so recognised licence plates can be compared automatically. The flexibility of the Scati platform and its customer-friendly features has made it a good option to create a tailored professional solution.