This article describes the Gevis VIS 1000 high-speed video-based Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) system, and its use to increase traffic flow through gated toll plazas in the Austrian Alps. The VIS 1000 system automatically reads and records vehicle registration numbers in fractions of a second, and was developed specifically for outdoor use. It requires 0.5-0.7s to read a number plate, and it can use a buffer memory if vehicle processing or recognition is required at shorter intervals. Its recognition accuracy averages 85% during a year, and can be as high as 95% under favourable conditions. The VIS 1000 is based on a personal computer (PC) system, so that it supports all standard PC interfaces and networks, and can transmit data via a modem. When loaded with database software, it can check or search for given registration numbers, then open a toll barrier automatically. It can also be expanded for long-distance video transmission facilities. In 1994, several automated lanes, using the VIS 1000, were set up on the Schonberg and Stubai tollgates on the A13 motorway over the Brenner pass in Austria. A new automatic toll payment facility, using the VIS 1000, was also completed on the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse in mid-1995.
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