A hybrid RFID-LPR system for vehicle access control during Pilgrimage season in Saudi Arabia

RFID (radio frequency identification) and license plate recognition (LPR) technologies have proven to be very effective in providing innovative solutions to numerous real world applications. In this paper, we propose an RFID-based system supported by license plate recognition (LPR) technology for monitoring and controlling entry of vehicles to the Holy region of Makkah (Saudi Arabia) during Hajj (Pilgrimage) season. Authorized vehicles are provided with passive RFID tags that are programmed to specify their schedule of entry. This is useful in allowing entry of service vehicles during low traffic periods of pilgrims´ vehicles. The proposed LPR system is based on a two-stage license plate-character recognition algorithm. The license plate region is detected using morphological filtering while the character recognition stage uses a neural network approach. The extensive tests we conducted showed that the system is robust to different traffic conditions and is able to limit unauthorized vehicles from entry during Hajj period. A vehicle recognition accuracy of around 95% was achieved under normal conditions.