There are multiple factors influencing the accuracy.
- Width of the count line / pathway / entrance
- Amount of people crossing the count line within a period of time
- Sensor technology
- Protocol of determining the count
- Installation / configuration complexity
- External interferences
Within a smart building environment most entrances are less than 4 meters wide. These are mostly doorways in offices, schools, hospitals etc.
Another area of interest is the retail environment, which may have much wider entrances.
Within these environments the focus is not on big crowds or crowd management. This is another topic that uses different techniques and estimations.
All cases can be solved by camera based or active beam solutions like horizontal People Counters.
Several questions can be asked when choosing a solution/technology.
- Costs of installation and maintenance
- Available and possible communication methods
- Ease of installation (installed by a specialist or by anyone)
- Is privacy a topic (is the device placed within the personal space of individuals)
Example case – entrance up to 4 meter.
In this situation it can be assumed that a simultaneous passage of multiple individuals is limited.
The use of a camera based solution within this setting may not result into higher accuracy.
Furthermore, keeping an as simple and easy solution possible, will gain better overall results.
Example case – wider entrances up to 8 meter.
It is more likely for multiple people crossing the count line simultaneously in this situation, on the other hand these wider entrances are required to handle higher numbers of people entering.
A high accuracy is possible when a camera based solution is applied. However the configuration of such a setup is much more complex, in most cases it requires multiple cameras to be linked together.
In case privacy is a topic a camera based solution will always evoke a discussion. Even when privacy is ensured and it still looks like a camera which is generally known as a recording device.
Nowadays it is generally expected that applying technology requires no technician. A Plug & Play solution is mandatory. For example; to define the count line, a camera based solution requires more configuration whilst placing 2 devices in opposite to each other requires none..