Couple Linux with OpenCV, then throw in an affordable embedded system and what do you have? BeagleEye, a fully autonomous computer vision system that detects license plates on automobiles.
$ sudo apt-get install python-numpy python-scipy python-opencv python-mysqldb
$ sudo apt-get install mysql-client
OpenCV 3.0 beta is what is used to build the project
$ sudo apt-get install libopencv-*
$ sudo sudo apt-get install cmake git libgtk2.0-dev pkg-config libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libswscale-dev libtbb2 libtbb-dev libjpeg-dev libpnp-dev libtiff-dev libjasper-dev python-dev