People counter
Examples include simple manual clickers, smart-flooring technologies, infrared beams, thermal imaging systems, Wi-Fi trackers and video counters using advanced machine learning algorithms.
They are commonly used by retail establishments to judge the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, building design and layout, and the popularity of particular brands.
People counting systems in the retail environment are used to calculate the conversion rate, which is the percentage of total visitors versus the number that make purchases.
[4] Combining with GPS positioning, people counting system inside a bus or train can help to measure the occupancy of buses throughout their journey.
Through Wi-Fi counting, owners can track the time a person carrying a smartphone entered and left the venue.
Multi-layer background subtraction, based on color and texture, is considered the most robust algorithm[16] available for varying shadows and lighting conditions.
[20] While not all people carry a smartphone, Wi-Fi counting can produce statistically significant metrics with a large enough sample size.
Modern mobile operating systems, such as Apple's iOS 9 and Android 6.0 Marshmallow, use MAC rotation schemes which makes Wi-Fi counting more challenging without using sophisticated algorithms.
Furthermore, since people counters may be easily mistaken for surveillance cameras shoppers may feel uneasy and distracted if they are not properly designed and installed.
If the people counter is not properly hidden or seamlessly integrated to the environment, the purchasing behavior of consumers will be affected if they are misled to believe that they are under surveillance.
The first UK beam counters were installed by Business Blueprints in 1988 at Meadowhall centre, outside Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England.
Daily manual checks were made to recalibrate each beam counter, leading to an error rate of +\-3%[citation needed], significantly more accurate than later video systems.
The simplest form of counter is a single, horizontal infrared beam across an entrance which is typically linked to a small LCD display unit at the side of the doorway.
This adds a number of important metrics for businesses, especially for the retail industry, such as the ability to determine how effective a window marketing campaign is.
