# Leveraging Model Fusion for Improved License Plate Recognition

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.04331 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.04331/

## Key facts

- Cited by 10 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 21 of its 51 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 8 Sep 2023.

## Builds on (most cited first, 21 of 21)

- [YOLOv4: Optimal Speed and Accuracy of Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.10934/) (2020)
- [An End-to-End Trainable Neural Network for Image-based Sequence Recognition and Its Application to Scene Text Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1507.05717/) (2015)
- [What Is Wrong With Scene Text Recognition Model Comparisons? Dataset and Model Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.01906/) (2019)
- [A Comprehensive Review of YOLO Architectures in Computer Vision: From YOLOv1 to YOLOv8 and YOLO-NAS](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.00501/) (2023)
- [Robust Scene Text Recognition with Automatic Rectification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1603.03915/) (2016)
- [Vision Transformer for Fast and Efficient Scene Text Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.08582/) (2021)
- [Recursive Recurrent Nets with Attention Modeling for OCR in the Wild](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1603.03101/) (2016)
- [Rosetta: Large scale system for text detection and recognition in images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.05085/) (2019)
- [A Robust Real-Time Automatic License Plate Recognition Based on the YOLO Detector](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.09567/) (2018)
- [An Efficient and Layout-Independent Automatic License Plate Recognition System Based on the YOLO detector](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1909.01754/) (2019)
- [A Robust Attentional Framework for License Plate Recognition in the Wild](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.03919/) (2020)
- [Benchmark for License Plate Character Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1607.02937/) (2016)
- [On the Cross-dataset Generalization in License Plate Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.00267/) (2022)
- [Rethinking and Designing a High-performing Automatic License Plate Recognition Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.14936/) (2020)
- [A First Look at Dataset Bias in License Plate Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2208.10657/) (2022)
- [Do We Train on Test Data? The Impact of Near-Duplicates on License Plate Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.04653/) (2023)
- [Towards Image-based Automatic Meter Reading in Unconstrained Scenarios: A Robust and Efficient Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.10181/) (2020)
- [Unified Chinese License Plate Detection and Recognition with High Efficiency](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.03582/) (2022)
- [Out-of-Vocabulary Challenge Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.06717/) (2022)
- [Super-Resolution of License Plate Images Using Attention Modules and Sub-Pixel Convolution Layers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.17313/) (2023)
- [Benchmarking Probabilistic Deep Learning Methods for License Plate Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.01427/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [Enhancing License Plate Super-Resolution: A Layout-Aware and Character-Driven Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.15103/) (2024)
- [Improving Small Drone Detection Through Multi-Scale Processing and Data Augmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.19347/) (2025)
- [Toward Enhancing Vehicle Color Recognition in Adverse Conditions: A Dataset and Benchmark](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.11589/) (2024)
- [Toward Advancing License Plate Super-Resolution in Real-World Scenarios: A Dataset and Benchmark](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.06393/) (2025)
- [LPLC: A Dataset for License Plate Legibility Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.18425/) (2025)
- [Toward Unified Fine-Grained Vehicle Classification and Automatic License Plate Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.05271/) (2026)
- [LPLCv2: An Expanded Dataset for Fine-Grained License Plate Legibility Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.08741/) (2026)
- [ICPR 2026 Competition on Low-Resolution License Plate Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.22506/) (2026)
- [Multi-Feature Aggregation in Diffusion Models for Enhanced Face Super-Resolution](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.15386/) (2024)
- [Confidence-Aware Ensemble and Long-Word Refinement for Artistic Text Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.29970/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

License Plate Recognition (LPR) plays a critical role in various applications, such as toll collection, parking management, and traffic law enforcement. Although LPR has witnessed significant advancements through the development of deep learning, there has been a noticeable lack of studies exploring the potential improvements in results by fusing the outputs from multiple recognition models. This research aims to fill this gap by investigating the combination of up to 12 different models using straightforward approaches, such as selecting the most confident prediction or employing majority vote-based strategies. Our experiments encompass a wide range of datasets, revealing substantial benefits of fusion approaches in both intra- and cross-dataset setups. Essentially, fusing multiple models reduces considerably the likelihood of obtaining subpar performance on a particular dataset/scenario. We also found that combining models based on their speed is an appealing approach. Specifically, for applications where the recognition task can tolerate some additional time, though not excessively, an effective strategy is to combine 4-6 models. These models may not be the most accurate individually, but their fusion strikes an optimal balance between speed and accuracy.