update readme

README.md

@@ -1,31 +1,48 @@
-# Easy local ALPR (Automatic License Plate Recognition)
+![logo](static/logo_black.webp)
+![ALPR](.git-assets/preview-webui.webp)
 
-![ALPR](preview-webui.webp)
+#  Easy Local ALPR (Automatic License Plate Recognition)
+This project is a simple local ALPR (Automatic License Plate Recognition) server that uses the [ultimateALPR-SDK](https://github.com/DoubangoTelecom/ultimateALPR-SDK) to
+process images and return the license plate information found in the image while focusing on being:
+- **Fast** *(~100ms per image on decent CPU)*
+- **Lightweight** *(~100MB of RAM)*
+- **Easy to use** *(REST API)*
+- **Easy to setup** *(one command setup)*
+- **Offline** *(no internet connection required)*
 
-This script is a REST API server that uses [ultimateALPR-SDK](https://github.com/DoubangoTelecom/ultimateALPR-SDK)  to process images and return the license plate
-information. The server is created using Flask and the ultimateALPR SDK is used to process the images.
-
-This script is intended to be used as a faster local alternative to the large and resource heavy [CodeProject AI](https://www.codeproject.com/AI/docs) software.
 > [!IMPORTANT]
-> The ultimateALPR SDK is a lightweight and much faster alternative (on CPU and GPU) to the CodeProject AI software but it has **a few limitations** with it's free version:
+> This project relies on the [ultimateALPR-SDK](https://github.com/DoubangoTelecom/ultimateALPR-SDK), which is a commercial product but has a free version with a few limitations.
-> - The last character of the license plate is masked with an asterisk
+> For any commercial use, you will need to take a look at their licensing terms.  
-> - The SDK supposedly has a limit of requests per program execution *(never encountered yet)* **but I have implemented a workaround for this by restarting the SDK after 3000 requests just in case.**
+> **I am not affiliated with ultimateALPR-SDK in any way, and I am not responsible for any misuse of the software.**
 
+> [!NOTE]
+> The [ultimateALPR-SDK](https://github.com/DoubangoTelecom/ultimateALPR-SDK) is a lightweight and much faster alternative (on CPU and GPU) to existing solutions like 
+> [CodeProject AI](https://www.codeproject.com/AI/docs/index.html) but it has **one important restriction** with it's free version:
+> - The last character of the license plate is masked with an asterisk *(e.g. ``ABC1234`` -> ``ABC123*``)*
 
 ## Usage
-The server listens on port 5000 and has a few endpoints (see below), the most important one being ``/v1/image/alpr``.
+
+The server listens on port 5000 and has a few endpoints documented below, the most important one being [``/v1/image/alpr``](#v1visionalpr).
 
 ### /v1/vision/alpr
+
 > POST: http://localhost:5000/v1/vision/alpr
 
 **Description**  
 This endpoint processes an image and returns the license plate information (if any) found in the image.  
-This endpoint follows the [CodeProject AI ALPR API](https://www.codeproject.com/AI/docs/api/api_reference.html#license-plate-reader) format *(example below)* so it can be used as a **drop-in replacement** for the CodeProject AI software.
+This endpoint follows
+the [CodeProject AI ALPR API](https://www.codeproject.com/AI/docs/api/api_reference.html#license-plate-reader) format *(
+example below)* so it can be used as a **drop-in replacement** for the CodeProject AI software.
 
 **Parameters**
-- upload: (File) The image file to process. *(see [Pillow.Image.open()](https://pillow.readthedocs.io/en/stable/reference/Image.html#PIL.Image.open) for supported formats, almost any image format is supported)*
+
-- grid_size: (Integer, optional) Size of grid to divide the image into and retry on each cell when no match have been found on the whole image *(default: 4)* **[(more info)](#more-information-about-the-grid-parameter)**
+- upload: (File) The image file to process. *(
-- wanted_cells: (String, optional) The cells you want to process *(default: all cells)* **[(see here)](#v1visionalpr_grid_debug)**
+  see [Pillow.Image.open()](https://pillow.readthedocs.io/en/stable/reference/Image.html#PIL.Image.open) for supported
+  formats, almost any image format is supported)*
+- grid_size: (Integer, optional) Size of grid to divide the image into and retry on each cell when no match have been
+  found on the whole image *(default: 3)* **[(more info)](#more-information-about-the-grid-parameter)**
+- wanted_cells: (String, optional) The cells you want to process *(default: all cells)* *
+  *[(see here)](#v1visionalpr_grid_debug)**
     - format: ``1,2,3,4,...`` *(comma separated list of integers, max: grid_size^2)*
     - *Example for a grid_size of 3:*
       ```
@@ -34,9 +51,9 @@ This endpoint follows the [CodeProject AI ALPR API](https://www.codeproject.com/
         7 | 8 | 9
       ```
 
+**Response**
 
-  **Response**
+```jsonc
-```json
 {
   "success": (Boolean) // True if successful.
   "message": (String) // A summary of the inference operation.
@@ -47,6 +64,7 @@ This endpoint follows the [CodeProject AI ALPR API](https://www.codeproject.com/
 ```
 
 ### /v1/vision/alpr_grid_debug
+
 > POST: http://localhost:5000/v1/vision/alpr_grid_debug
 
 **Description**
@@ -56,32 +74,71 @@ It is intended to be used for debugging purposes to see which cells are being pr
 **Parameters**  
 *same as [v1/vision/alpr](#v1visionalpr)*
 
-  **Response**
+**Response**
-```json
+
+```jsonc
 {
   "image": (Base64) // The image with the grid and cell numbers drawn on it.
 }
 ```
 
 ## More information about the grid parameter
-*To write*
 
+When you send an image to the server, sometimes the ALPR software cannot find any plate because the image is too big or
+the plate is too small in the image.  
+To solve this problem, if no plate is found on the whole image, the server will divide the image into a grid of cells
+and retry the ALPR software on each cell.  
+You can specify the size of the grid with the ``grid_size`` parameter in each of your requests.
+> [!CAUTION]
+> The higher the grid size, the longer the processing time will be. It is recommended to keep the grid size between 3
+> and 4.  
+> Note: The processing time is in no way multiplied by the grid size (usually takes 2x the time)
+
+You can speed up the processing time by specifying the ``wanted_cells`` parameter. This parameter allows you to specify
+which cells you want to run plate detection on.
+This can be useful if you know the plates can only be in certain areas of the image.
+> [!TIP]
+> You can use the [``/v1/vision/alpr_grid_debug`` endpoint](#v1visionalpr_grid_debug) to see the grid and cell numbers
+> overlaid on your image.
+> You can then specify the ``wanted_cells`` parameter to only process the cells you want.
+
+**If you wish not to use the grid, you can set the ``grid_size`` parameter to
+0 *(and leave the ``wanted_cells`` parameter empty)*.**
+
+### Example
+
+Let's say your driveway camera looks something like this:
+
+![Driveway camera](.git-assets/example_grid.webp)
+
+If you set the ``grid_size`` parameter to 2, the image will be divided into a 2x2 grid like this:
+
+![Driveway camera grid](.git-assets/example_grid_2.webp)
+
+You can see that cell 1 and 2 are empty and cells 3 and 4 might contain license plates.
+You can then set the ``wanted_cells`` parameter to ``3,4`` to only process cells 3 and 4, reducing the processing time
+as only half the image will be processed.
 
 ## Included models in built executable
-When using the built executable, only the **latin** charset models are bundled by default. If you want to use a different 
+
-charset, you need to set the charset in the JSON_CONFIG variable and rebuild the executable with the according
+When using the built executable, only the **latin** charset models are bundled by default. If you want to use a
-models found [here](https://github.com/DoubangoTelecom/ultimateALPR-SDK/tree/master/assets)
+different charset, you need to set the charset in the JSON_CONFIG variable and rebuild the executable with the
-To build the executable, you can use the ``build_alpr_api.sh`` script, which will create an executable named ``alpr_api`` in
+according models found [here](https://github.com/DoubangoTelecom/ultimateALPR-SDK/tree/master/assets)
-the ``dist`` folder.
+To build the executable, you can use the ``build_alpr_api.sh`` script, which will create an executable
+named ``alpr_api`` in the ``dist`` folder.
 
 ## Setup development environment
 
 ### Use automatic setup script
-You can use the ``build_and_setup_ultimatealvr.sh`` script to automatically install the necessary packages and build the ultimateALPR SDK wheel, copy the assets and the libs.
+
 > [!IMPORTANT]
 > Make sure to install the package python3-dev (APT) python3-devel (RPM) before running the build and setup script.
+> You can use the ``build_and_setup_ultimatealvr.sh`` script to automatically install the necessary packages and build
+> the
+> ultimateALPR SDK wheel, copy the assets and the libs.
 
 The end structure should look like this:
+
 ```bash
 .
 ├── alpr_api.py
@@ -96,16 +153,23 @@ The end structure should look like this:
 ```
 
 ### Important notes
-When running, building or developing the script, make sure to set the ``LD_LIBRARY_PATH`` environment variable to the libs folder
+
+When running, building or developing the script, make sure to set the ``LD_LIBRARY_PATH`` environment variable to the
+libs folder
 *(limitation of the ultimateALPR SDK)*.
+
 ```bash
 export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=libs:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH
 ```
 
 ### Error handling
+
 #### GLIBC_ABI_DT_RELR not found
+
 If you encounter an error like this:
+
 ```bash
 /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_ABI_DT_RELR' not found
 ```
+
 Then make sure your GLIBC version is >= 2.36

alpr_api.py

@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ def create_rest_server_flask():
 
         Parameters:
             - upload: The image to be processed
-            - grid_size: The number of cells to split the image into (e.g. 4)
+            - grid_size: The number of cells to split the image into (e.g. 3)
             - wanted_cells: The cells to process in the grid separated by commas (e.g. 1,2,3,4) (max: grid_size²)
         """
         interference = time.time()
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ def create_rest_server_flask():
 
         Parameters:
             - upload: The image to be processed
-            - grid_size: The number of cells to split the image into (e.g. 4)
+            - grid_size: The number of cells to split the image into (e.g. 3)
             - wanted_cells: The cells to process in the grid separated by commas (e.g. 1,2,3,4) (max: grid_size²)
 
         Returns: