Utilisation of the light polarization to increase the working range of the video vehicle tracking systems

Most of the vehicles, which can be observed by the cameras used in the Intelligent Transport Systems, are coated with reflective layers which, like car windows, are characterized by the effect of light polarisation. Utilising this effect by using a camera designed for the Intelligent Transportation System along with the linear polarizer it is possible to improve the extraction of the vehicles from the surrounding. The article presents the methods of using the polarised light for increasing the operating range of the video systems along with an illustration of the possibilities and limitations of this technique. Some experimental results obtained by the fusion of data recorded for the standard video sequences and the use of linear polarisers are also presented.