I’ve been in the license plate recognition (LPR) business for years, and I’ve seen how much vehicle data has changed. We used to run plates on the radio, and now we have systems that can tell us the make and model in an instant. Yet, a fundamental challenge has persisted: the inability to search for a vehicle with the same level of descriptive detail as we use in the real world.
If the only lead is a witness describing “a dark-colored pickup with some damage,” that crucial information has traditionally been stuck in our heads or on a notepad. Our standard search tools, while great for a specific plate or partial plate, have been limited to make, model, and/or color—rigid fields that don’t always tell the whole story.
That is, until now.
Search How You Speak
Motorola Solutions recently introduced Assist, purpose-built AI designed to enhance public safety operations by providing real-time support, intelligent automation, and context-aware insights. It acts as a “human-AI collaboration” tool, offering assistance to both officers in the field and dispatchers in the command center.
Now part of VehicleManager, Assist introduces an intuitive search capability that understands how you work. It’s not a replacement for your standard search; it’s an intelligent assistant designed to help you turn ambiguous details into actionable leads – faster.
- Natural Language Search: Simply describe the vehicle in plain English. A query like “red sedan with a bumper sticker” now returns relevant images, translating human observation directly into a searchable query.
- Unstructured Data Analysis: Go beyond simple keywords. Assist can identify vehicles based on unique attributes like damage, stickers, or writing, and even discern the location of these attributes. You can now search for a “blue SUV with damage on the rear passenger side.”
- Proactive Insights: Assist helps you find what you’re looking for even when a standard search returns no results. By identifying vehicles with closely related attributes, it transforms a dead-end query into a new avenue of investigation.
A Dual-Approach for Any Challenge
The introduction of Assist within VehicleManager creates a powerful, dual-search strategy that helps your team work faster and smarter.
- Use Standard Search for quick, definitive lookups when you have a specific plate or clear vehicle information.
- Use Assist to investigate ambiguous leads from witness testimony or partial descriptions, turning them into clear, actionable intelligence.
Together, these tools help ensure your agency is prepared for any investigative challenge. This is the next logical step in vehicle intelligence, a testament to the principle that the best tools should work alongside you, not just for you.
The Journey of a Learning Partner
This is just the beginning for Assist within VehicleManager. As a learning system, its ability to recognize and interpret even more nuanced descriptions will improve with further development. We are excited to see how this powerful new tool will transform your operations and look forward to building its future with you.
