Among the most common questions in the last weeks, we can surely identify the following ones: Can we evaluate the number of people in my sales area? Is it possible to analyze and to estimate the flows? Can we verify if the social distance is respected?
Let’s find out together the possibilities that A.I. Tech offers in order to respond to these and other needs. Because the answer is: absolutely yes! And there are several ways to do this, depending on specific customer requests.
One of the best video analytics solutions powered by A.I.Tech, awarded in 2018 as the most innovative solution in the Business Intelligence category by Benchmark Magazine, within the 2018 Benchmark Innovations Awards, is AI-RETAIL.
Based on best of breed machine learning and computer vision algorithms, AI-RETAIL combines six different video analysis plugins, including AI-PEOPLE, AI-CROWD, AI-OVERCROWD, AI-OCCUPANCY and AI-OVEROCCUPANCY. The sixth one is AI-HEAT, for the evaluation of the heatmap, namely a map that highlights the most crowded and the less crowded areas. The six plugins mentioned above can be installed both in the form of a single plugin, and in the form of the AI-RETAIL bundle, which includes 6 in 1!
Like all the plugins of A.I. Tech, all the solutions mentioned above, including the AI-RETAIL bundle, can be installed on three different platforms:
- Edge version: the plugins are installed directly on board specific camera models, without the need for an external server;
- Server version: the plugins are installed on the customer’s server (also on virtualized machines);
- Embedded version: the system is supplied in the form of a mini server, AI-Appliance, a small hardware box on which the software is already pre-loaded.
As evident, the Server and Embedded versions can also be used where the cameras are already installed. An upgrade of the existing installation, but without adding infrastructure costs. Obviously, this may be possible if the cameras are installed in a good way, good with respect to the constraints imposed by the specific plugins.
Let’s see in more details the feature of the different plugins and their installation constraints:
AI-CROWD allows you to estimate the number of people moving within a specific area of interest; it can work both in indoor and outdoor environments;
AI-OVERCROWD allows to detect overcrowded situations, related to the presence of a high number of people inside an area; if there are too many persons, an alarm is raisen;
AI-OCCUPANCY: it allows to evaluate the percentage of occupation of one or more areas of interest. Differently from AI-Overcrowd, it does not provide information on the number of people inside an area, but only about the percentage of occupation of that area;
AI-OVEROCCUPANCY: allows to identify if inside one or more areas of interest the percentage of occupation is higher than a given threshold.
The difference between the two types of plugins (AI-CROWD, AI-OVERCROWD vs AI-OCCUPANCY – AI-OVEROCCUPANCY) is basically twofold; on the one hand, in fact, it is related to the type of data extracted, that is respectively the estimate of the number of people (AI-CROWD, AI-OVERCROWD) and the percentage of occupation (AI-OCCUPANCY – AI-OVEROCCUPANCY). On the other hand, it is related to the installation constraint. In fact, the camera must be installed, in the case of AI-CROWD and AI-OVERCROWD, with a zenithal view. It is therefore difficult in this case to think about using the existing cameras.
In order to exploit the existing surveillance system, without renouncing the possibility of estimating the number of people, it is still possible to use AI-CROWD-DEEP. Based on deep learning, the last frontier of artificial intelligence, AI-CROWD-DEEP allows to overcome the limits of traditional machine learning algorithms, ensuring high performance even if you decide to take advantage of the existing installation. Thanks to the ability to distinguish people from other objects in the scene, even if in motion, AI-CROWD-DEEP can be used both indoor, in the retail, business intelligence and transportation areas, and outdoor, in the smart city area. Differently from the AI-RETAIL suite, however, it is not available on board the camera or in the embedded version, but requires the presence of a server.
To conclude, we cannot fail to mention AI-PEOPLE, which allows the counting of people through the gates, both entering and exiting. Combined with AI-DASH-PRO, it allows to know the number of people within an area and to notify an alarm (for example to allow the light of a traffic light to become red) when a certain threshold related to an excessively high number of people inside the area is exceeded. Viceversa, it will also be possible to raise a new alarm if the condition is no longer met (for example to make green the traffic light).
At this point, you just have to choose the most suitable solution for your needs.
