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No info about the tech in this article, but from the video I guess it's just a very long telephoto lens? No fancy letter-detection radar algorithms or anything like that?

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It is likely a more powerful LIDAR, a laser with a very narrow beam width (but weak enough to not affect eyesight). Combine this with retroreflective paint on the license/number plate to get both speed and the number.

Here is some info about building a lidar detector.

https://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/usenet-arc/sub00243/msg00000.htm...

Also, license plates in the UK must adhere to a standard font which presumably makes them easier to read in software: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/...

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