Statens Vegvesen - the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) - is to deploy Q-Free's Intrada Insight solution across the Nordic nation’s tolling network.
The system will power NPRA’s nationwide ANPR system for AutoPass - Norway's electronic tolling programme - which covers roads stretching from urban centres to the Arctic Circle.
The organisations have worked together for some years.
This new contract - a four-year term with options up to seven years - covers both automated recognition and manual image review of all toll passage images, processing more than 760 million images and 400 million transactions annually.
Intrada Insight will process image review data from every toll gantry across the AutoPass network, and create billable vehicle data.
NPRA requires reliable detection and character recognition in all weather and lighting conditions, and Norway’s weather and geography notoriously make things difficult for camera and recognition systems.
“Norway’s environmental conditions present some of the harshest operational challenges anywhere in the world — from snow and glare to lengthy periods of darkness — yet our systems continue to deliver exceptional accuracy and reliability,” says Q-Free CEO Mark Talbot.
Q-Free says its tech is currently contracted to maintain a 98% automation rate and last month reached 99.29%.
“NPRA consistently challenges the market to innovate,” adds Talbot. “Their rigorous procurement and performance requirements raise the bar for the entire industry."
