A Kent-based manufacturer developing technology to identify vehicles using cloned, disguised or deliberately manipulated number plates, such as ghost plates, has won a national innovation award after its system detected 628 suspected offenders in just 14 days.
MAV Systems manufactures intelligent automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, and were awarded the ‘Innovation of the Year’ prize at the 2026 Made in Britain Impact Awards for developing technology that can identify vehicles that typical camera systems fail to detect.
The company secured the accolade last week at The Bank House Hotel & Golf Club in Worcestershire at the annual awards organised by Made in Britain – the not-for-profit trade organisation behind the internationally recognised trademark for British-made goods.
Helen Garrett, International Business Development for MAV Systems, said:
“There are an awful lot of people hiding illegally operated vehicles in plain sight, often trying to avoid congestion charges or speeding fines by disguising their number plates so they still look genuine. The use of cloned and ghost plates often goes beyond just fine avoidance as we are witnessing their increasing presence in escalating criminal activities.
“Our technology can now see through those evasive techniques and give the police and local authorities an added advantage. It can also support the identification of vehicles carrying cloned plates by comparing vehicle classification data including make, model and colour to regisitration data,, helping authorities detect vehicles that would previously have appeared invisible to traffic and parking systems. .”
The award-winning MAV AiQ system addresses a growing challenge for police and traffic enforcement authorities: drivers using modified or fraudulent registration plates to avoid detection. Conventional ANPR cameras are vulnerable to techniques that interfere with how plates appear to camera systems. These can include altered reflectivity, infrared-absorbing materials and visual distortion.
MAV Systems has spent two years developing its proprietary GhostPlate Technology, combining specialist imaging with artificial intelligence to identify registration plates deliberately designed to evade conventional recognition systems.
The MAV AiQ also analyses vehicle characteristics, including make, model and colour, helping authorities identify potentially cloned registrations where the displayed number plate cannot be trusted.
Judges praised the innovation for its potential to strengthen road safety, support criminal investigations and improve the security of transport infrastructure.
(Picture: MAV Systems)
