Saturday, March 8, 2014

Digital Recognition Network

The subject business enterprise was referenced in the prior blog commenting of license plate recognition.  This company is located at 4150 International Plz #800 (or ste 2-B10) Fort Worth, Texas.  Telephone 817-877-0077.  Chris Metaxas (and here) is the CEO.  It was founded in 2010 and privately held.  Johnie Cort  Dehart is president, John Nethery is manager.  Kent Bradshaw is Finance, Whitney Neve is Marketing, Bruce Cummings is Data Acquistion, John Morgan is Business Development.  Brett Balint is an Affiliate Manager.  Stefan Swienton, IT.  Richard Rodenbusch, Product Development.

From this link:

It offers DRNWebRepo, a proprietary technology software; DRNAffiliate program; Web-based routing and reporting tools; and DRNDashView and DRNInteliRouting, which helps to monitor efficiencies and results in a Web-based environment. The company has strategic partnerships with American Recovery Association Inc., Recovery Management Incorporated, Dynamic, RDN, and Vigilant Video. Digital Recognition Network, Inc. was incorporated in 2010 and is based in Fort Worth, Texas.

BetaBoston has a story about this company.

The company website is digitalrecognition.net  My browser could not verify the identity of the website and says the root certificate is not trusted:  root@vceprdlpor01.drnce.local.  It requires a user name and password to enter.  However, accessible through submit a ticket there is more info on the company.  The latest company news is from 2011.

This at the company website: digital recognition.net

The other company website is DRNdata.com

About DRN

Digital Recognition Network is the only asset location company that combines proprietary license plate recognition (LPR) technology, a national network of LPR camera-equipped vehicles, and integration with repossession software companies to create an asset location solution designed specifically for automotive lenders and recovery professionals. DRN's LPR2.0/Locate, Pickup, Real-Time platform further establishes DRN as the undisputed leader in asset location technology and services. DRN currently has contracts in place with 36 of the top 100 automotive lenders, who collectively represent 69% of the total volume of automotive loans underwritten in the United States.
With a national network of more than 440 recovery professionals ("Affiliates") operating 1,800 cameras covering all of the major metropolitan areas 24/7, DRN is increasing recovery rates and reducing risk for lenders and repossession professionals all over the United States. To date, DRN's Affiliate network has scanned over 300 million plates and consistently scans in excess of 1 million plates per day.


LPR 3.0 is DRN software product.  The newest member of SmartRecovery product Suite.  Some blog chatter about LPR  and DRN here.

This link to MBSI Capital of Phoenix AZ product:  LPRKloud which is associated with DNR LPR as well as MVTRACK, PRA Location Services and Plate Locate.  MBSI partners here.   Repostat is an MBSI product although there are no recent google hits on Repostat.


LPRKloud is very interesting.  It consolidates LPR information.  An obvious evolution of independent data bases to a consolidated cloud benefitting all industry participators.  Easy to see that writing on the wall.  "LPR Assignments" is a frequently used phrase that I interpret to mean wanted License Plate info.  and "Assignment Status" to mean reports of LPR sightings.  Nowhere on the website is the word "license" used nor "license plate recognition".

Compliance Made Easy is an MBSI product

Vigilant's website is PR oriented toward law enforcement solutions citing numerous examples of the use of Vigilant information contributing to police work.  "Contributing" by providing access to the Vigilant data base, not necessarily using Vigilant products to create their own local managed law enforcement data base although police agencies do that using their own equipment and personnel.  Police managed systems however do not, at least publicly, cruise shopping centers or otherwise "vacuum up" license plate data just for the purpose of a general surveillance data base to be used when necessary to find some perp among all the info in the data base, 99% of which is probably just normal car traffic.

The NSA does not collect license plate data either but certainly pays to get it.  That makes a big difference.  Government Big Brother is not watching and recording.  Free private enterprise is doing it.

If Companies are people can people do what companies do?  Collect information for commercial purposes?  Who are the people that drive around with LPR equipment vacuuming up license plate numbers?

If Mac addresses are not protected are they fair game for being collected also by anyone and associated to individuals?

My city does not use LPR readers and replied to the ACL saying that.

"The City of --- Police Department currently does not use automatic license plate readers (ALPR); therefore, policy and information regarding ALPR is not available. "

What should be asked is:  Who do you request license plate recognition data from?  List government agencies.  List commercial agencies.

"No, we do not collect the data" does not suffice.  Maybe they just get it by paying for it like the NSA?

Homeland Security wants national LPR data.  Data from governmental agencies I suppose but also from private business in that business I assume.








No comments: