G+_Jay Hutfles Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 What are everyone's thought on making a personal license plate reader? Any legal ramifications? I'd like to make one just to educate people about how easy it is nowadays. But this borders on creepy... https://github.com/openalpr/openalpr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Travis Hershberger Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I don't think you'd have a problem with obtaining public information via any sort of method, ie license plate numbers. The real question is what does knowing the plate numbers get you? It is a major infraction for John Q Public to access DMV license plate records, and it's just as a large infraction for a public servant to access those records for John Q Public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Eddie Foy Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 The reader isn't any violation. its just taking pics of things in public view. But like Travis Hershberger said, what to do with the data? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jay Hutfles Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 I really want to educate what LPRs are capable of, so the public can be more informed when they're local governments start implementing these. Maybe provide a UI where people can see how often they drive past? Maybe tie it with MAC addresses in phones with WiFi on? Private companies are doing stuff like this all the time, and the general public doesn't realize it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Eddie Foy Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Awareness does what exactly? The gov't does X. The people don't like it. Gov't keeps doing it (if overtly or covertly. The FISA court can over rule anything in secret. Just claim 'terrorist' or 'children' and its a-ok) Most states have laws against anything covering the plate (so you can't 'opt-out' on your own). Some states even banned the plate frames. But I am with ya on this type of thing is crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_E. Matt Armstrong Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Interesting idea. I want to build a dashcam for my car out of a Rpi. This might be something to add to its functions. But what to do with the data. See how often I drive behind the same car. Geo-loc the tag and put it in a web searchable database would be the creepy thing to do. It would be like airplane tail spotting for cars. My gut tells me the government would use this on busy roads to track your mileage then raise or add on to our taxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jay Hutfles Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 Wow, this is a really pessimistic set of comments... I realize it's a controversial topic, so let me rephrase it this way: What benefits could the public get from having this data at their dispostal? If there are benefits for retailers and law enforcement, shouldn't there also be benefits for the average person? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Eddie Foy Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Only benefit would be the equiv of a security cam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Eddie Foy Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I tied to install it but it failed. (oh how I love linux) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G+_Jay Hutfles Posted August 31, 2015 Author Share Posted August 31, 2015 Wayne Hobbins I disagree. You have time and location, as indexed by a license plate number. That's a lot. Say I live on a busy street, or across from a school. I can determine predictive patterns for how often I see the same license plate. Imagine a site where I present this data, and offer a best guess as to when you're most likely to pass by. It doesn't have to be tied to a specific person, just the car. Metadata can be just as informative as the actual data. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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