Smart building

People Counting System at the Terabee offices

Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology is ideal for people counting and optimizing the use of space in offices.

To prove it, we developed and installed a people counting system at our own offices!

Here is how the process went.
linear sensor array

Underused space is a waste of money. Estimates suggest that by optimizing their use of space, businesses could reduce their needs by around 30%, translating to a significant reduction in costs.
Workplace Occupancy Sensor

Optimizing your space relies on understanding how your space is currently being used and figuring out which areas can be used more efficiently without disturbing your staff. Reliable and accurate people counting technology is, therefore, vital for optimizing the use of business space.

A range of people counting systems are currently available, including ultrasonic sensors, WiFi tracking, infrared sensors, CCTV, stereovision, and thermal cameras. Each method has its limitations, often concerning accuracy and protecting the privacy of people moving around a space.

Time-of-Flight (ToF) cameras are the latest technology to make a splash in the people counting industry. ToF provides accurate people counting in a package that is simple, compact, cost-effective, and easy to use. All while protecting the privacy of the people it is counting system.

At Terabee, we supply ToF sensing solutions for a range of applications, including people counting. We’ve also developed a people counting algorithm that is reliably generating 98% people counting accuracy, or better!

How does our ToF technology work?

Our cameras work by illuminating a space with pulsed light which is invisible to the human eye. Objects or people reflect the light to a sensor in the camera. By measuring the time taken for the light to travel from the camera to the object and back again, we can calculate the distance to all the objects in a scene and capture depth and intensity information simultaneously. The technology offers high frame rates and requires no additional illumination. This means it works well in low-light conditions and even complete darkness. ToF technology is currently proving to be one of the most accurate ways to monitor people within a business premises.
Terabee People Counting Solutions IoT smart buildings

Using ToF People Counting Solutions in Real Life Scenarios

In one of our first people counting projects, we tested our Terabee 3Dcam 80x60 on the main entrance of a local building and partner of ours, InnoGex. This helped them measure the success of their conferences and events. The technology proved its power and InnoGex are currently using their people counting system to measure event attendance and optimize their staffing levels accordingly.

Now, we are enhancing our solution further. And where better to test it than in our own offices?

We hoped that people counting could help us optimize our staff planning and use our space more efficiently. To do this, we needed to understand how our staff uses our premises. We also wanted to know if our buildings are the right size for our needs and whether we have the right number of meeting and call rooms. To meet all these demands, we needed a people counting system that could provide detailed data about how we use our office buildings and rooms.
People Counting In Offices

Installing our ToF hardware in our own offices

We installed our People Counting L-XL devices at the top of each entry on our premises. In total, we installed 17 devices at doorways across our eight main office spaces in four buildings.

Firstly, we needed to bring power and connectivity to all the devices we wanted to install. In places where having an ethernet cable was not practical, we had to ensure that there was a stable enough WiFi signal to push data to our analytics platform every minute.

From ToF data to actionable, visualized data

We installed single-board computers with our cameras which applied our custom algorithm to ToF data, detecting and counting people entering and leaving spaces. Our people counting system can detect multiple people moving in and out of a space simultaneously and ‘dense’ people traffic at busy times or in congested doorways. As a part of this, our background suppression feature rejects stationary objects and bystanders in the camera’s field of view to further improve count accuracy.

Data from our devices is pushed to our online dashboard every minute via WiFi or ethernet. The dashboard allows users to visualize people count data so that it is easy to understand. In our case, we use it to see how Terabee’s office space is being used over time, and key decision-makers at Terabee can access our people counting data from anywhere, at anytime. One of the things we quickly discovered was that our open-plan meeting area was poorly utilised, but that small meeting rooms were heavily utilized, so we converted the open-plan space into two new meeting rooms. We also learned when our peak work hours are and which buildings and facilities are used in which parts of the day. This data will help us make decisions about our future real-estate and office needs.
People Counting system at Terabee offices

What’s next?

Our internal people counting solutions may already be up and running, but we aren’t done yet! We’d like to connect people counting data to our heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to reduce our energy consumption and reduce our carbon footprint.

We are also continuously working on improving our people counting system. Currently, we’re making the people counting system easier to install and set up.
Building Smart Businesses with People Counting Technologies

Do you want to use ToF to optimize your business?

3D ToF technology is a cost-effective, compact, and lightweight technology that can operate in complete darkness. We’ve built high-accuracy people counting systems that are privacy compliant by default.

If you are looking for a 3D ToF technology for people counting, or for a complete solution, Terabee can help.

Related products

Terabee People Flow Counting L-XL

GDPR compliant people counting device. Optimize value and reduce costs from your retail operation, smart building or office space
INTERESTED? CONTACT US
Using advanced Time-of-Flight technology, Terabee People Flow Counting L-XL is GDPR compliant and provides accurate people counting data (98% accuracy or more) by monitoring the number of people entering and exiting doorways or corridors.

Easy to configure and install on high ceilings, the Terabee People Flow Counting L-XL fits any kind of wide indoor entrance, up to 15 meters in a multi-device setup. Our people counting algorithm is capable of filtering out static objects and counting multiple people passing in both directions below the device as they enter or leave a space.

The solution consists of an IoT people counting device and an optional IoT platform. Two product variations allow transmission of the data via Power over Ethernet or LoRaWAN. Interested? Contact us.

Terabee People Flow Counting M 2.0

Get real-time people counting data for single doorways and narrow corridors
INTERESTED? CONTACT US
Real-time data is the backbone of our modern, fast-paced world especially when it comes to monitoring space usage, occupancy, energy efficiency, security, building performance or tailored services. The Terabee People Flow Counting M 2.0 device is GDPR compliant by design, with a real-time data capability, providing seamless, accurate, and highly effective footfall measurement, at a competitive price.

Using Time-of-Flight technology, the People Flow Counting M 2.0 solution guarantees anonymity in its operations, prioritizing data privacy protection while offering robust, reliable occupancy monitoring.

People Flow Counting M 2.0 is the perfect addition to your Building Management System. The “smaller sibling” of People Flow Counting L-XL, People Flow Counting M 2.0 is designed for smaller doorways and narrow corridors. It comes in both Power over Ethernet (PoE) and LoRa models to best suit your needs.

TeraRanger Evo People Counter

Low-cost sensor module for system integrators
Purchase from Reseller
Small and discreet, the Evo People Counter module can measure bidirectional pedestrian activity. Evo People Counter is a low-cost sensor solution for system integrators seeking to integrate bidirectional people traffic data into their software solutions and services, while respecting privacy guidelines and regulations. It is ideally suited for integration with door frames, furniture, kiosks, retail point of sale assets and more.

The sensor reports data locally, via USB or UART, while sensor administration can be conducted locally via commands or GUI hosted on a computer.

The TeraRanger Evo People Counter is no longer available. You can purchase available stock from our Reseller partners using the link below.
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