One thing that consistently spoils the experience of driving on an expressway is queuing up at tollbooths. RFID scanners are usually unreliable, and there are cases of barriers closing prematurely and hitting vehicles as a result. But San Miguel Corporation says that it is working hard to alleviate these issues.

Proof of that is the recent completion of its initiative to equip all active toll plazas in its 220km expressway network with cameras that can read license plates. While equipment like this is nothing new elsewhere in the world, the company claims that its cameras come with artificial intelligence that should help them accurately decipher plates.

SMC did make it clear that RFID will still be the primary method of collecting toll fees, and the cameras will simply serve as backup. It also mentioned that it is ready to remove the tollbooth barriers at any time. But we’re not quite sure if that will even happen, given how certain motorists will find ways to defeat systems like this.