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Talk of the Bay
Company locks in on license plates
By DAVE GUSSOW
Published September 4, 2006
License plates in Europe and China have simple designs and are easy to read for high-tech systems used to look for stolen vehicles. Not so in the United States, where states like Florida have specialty plates by the bushel. That makes producing an effective license plate recognition system a challenge, says Mark Brumby, director of marketing and public relations for Cyclops Technologies in Clearwater. Cyclops, a startup with about 10 employees, is among companies competing for law enforcement attention. Its system was initially developed in China, then brought here for major tweaking to adapt to U.S. plates. Unlike four units bought by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office at $20,000 each from a North Carolina company, Cyclops touts affordability. Its system runs $1,295, Brumby said. The Hillsborough Sheriff's Office tested it - nabbing two stolen cars. The Pinellas Sheriff's Office will be taking a look, too. During the company's tests in Pinellas, it found two stolen cars. But there were no citizen arrests. Said Brumby: "We called the cops."
[Last modified September 4, 2006, 06:00:50]
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