Case Study

APT SKIDATA: AUTOMATED NUMBER PLATE RECOGNITION

The Company

APT Controls Group provides parking management solutions and secure access control for vehicle and pedestrian applications.

Each operating company provides a unique blend of industry leading products and technologies complemented by diligent project management, installation and after sales service. Based in Harrow, North West London, APT Controls Group employs over 150 staff and has completed over 10,000 successful installations.

From being an early pioneer in the field of automatic controls for parking and access control the Group has steadily expanded into the growing high security market whilst branching out into stadia, theme park and exhibition access management, always embracing the latest technological developments. APT Controls Group has been tried, tested and trusted for over 45 years. 

Background

The Hub first started working with APTskidata in 2008 related to an introduction from MasterCard and a stadia Unattended Payment Terminal (UPT) initiative. The Hub already had a proven UPT Solution as it was the first UK company to obtain accreditation from a UK acquiring bank for unattended payments from RBS back in 2006.

The Solution

The Hub integrated their UPT with the APTskidata turnstile solution known as Handshake. A rapid installation followed in Norwich Airport and then subsequently Blackpool Airport.

APTskidata were also looking to expand their service offer in Car Parks. Although leading the market it was felt that they needed to move into the public sector with a new product based on Automated Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) The Hub created the product name Plato Pay and subsequently developed a multi-channel www, mobile and UPT integrated solution with a central database capable of managing enforcement from multiple sites.

The Results

The units in Airports are used to charge passengers to go airside and the return on the original investment was achieved within 3 months of installation on both sites.

The Multi-channel Plato Pay solution developed was taken in house to be integrated with APTskidata solutions having passed all required proof of technology. The ANPR market has been slow to pick up and APTskidata have decided to develop the solution with additional functionality from another application before going to market.

The Hub ecommerce platform now has both stadia turnstile and car parking applications that can be integrated into many of the solutions we are looking to provide in both transit and hospitality locations.

Conclusions

Part of the original ambition of The Hub v5.0 multi-channel development was to include car park access and exit as well as turnstile entrance as part of the multi-channel services offer. The Hub platform is now able to claim APIs to do both. 

As smartcard technology develops and over the air management develops. Access and exit will become integrated with payment devices. The Hub is now well positioned to do both. We cannot only issue these cards in market but also encode both the payment and access elements of these cards i.e. club cards can be used for parking, turnstile and in stadia payments all of which contribute to CRM data and reward loyalty.