International. Vivotek presented its solution to maintain maximum occupancy, as well as a safer and healthier environment. Crowd control solutions can easily monitor the number of people entering and leaving a store, thus providing customers and staff with a safer environment.
How Countries Have Advocated for Social Distancing Regulations
Based on advice from the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO), each country has been urged to publish its own social distancing regulations. All states in the United States have issued guidelines or orders limiting social interaction. In the European Union (EU), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak, providing risk assessments, public health guidance and advice on response activities to EU Member States and the EU Commission. Meanwhile, across Asia, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan have implemented strict social distancing policies.
Individual supermarkets have introduced their own policies to keep customers at an appropriate distance. At the same time, an increasing number of retail, healthcare, banking, and hospitality industries have adopted IP surveillance and business intelligence systems to reduce the burden on manual management while mitigating the risk of infection of employees and customers at their facility.
Video analytics during COVID-19
As the IP surveillance industry enters the era of AI, security network cameras (IP cameras) have seen great strides through the application of AI and deep learning technologies. These next-generation cameras are equipped with high-performance computing power and video analytics, allowing users to transform real-time images into big data analytics.
Based on supermarkets' aforementioned social distancing practices, there are four video analytics techniques that are commonly implemented to take precautionary measures.
1. Row management
• Queue management was designed to optimize customer experiences and reduce wait times. During the pandemic, queue management focuses on managing customer flows and avoiding physical queues to maintain social distance.
2. People counting
• In response to input control management needs, a people counting solution is the ideal video analytics tool for supermarket chains. You can easily identify occupancy levels and monitor in real time the number of people entering and leaving a store, thus providing customers and staff with a safer environment.
3. Crowd detection
• Crowd detection video analysis can be used to identify how many people are present in a given area. Stores and businesses can effortlessly manage and maintain distances between customers, automatically sending alert notifications when maximum capacity is exceeded.
4. Detection of personal protective equipment (PPE)
• PPE can protect the user against health or safety risks. These items include safety helmets, gloves, eye protection, high-visibility garments, safety footwear, etc. During the COVID-19 pandemic, advanced video analytics can identify people who are not wearing masks, helmets, vests, or other critical equipment, providing a safe and healthy environment for both frontline workers and customers.
Crowd Control Solutions
"These AI-powered video analytics and smart edge cameras are enabling IP surveillance solutions to better help users manage their businesses under the increasing pressures of pandemic conditions," Liu continued. "Vivotek's intelligent camera and people count analysis system can be deployed at entry points to areas with a higher probability of social interaction, such as stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, banks and restaurants."
The following are the benefits of the brand's crowd control solutions:
1. Social Distancing Compliance
• Putting safety first, implementing the crowd control solution allows for effective crowd management in places where social distancing must be maintained.
2. High accuracy
• When business owners recruit security personnel or part-time employees to manually count traffic, this leads to a less than satisfactory outcome. The stereo counting 3D camera provides accurate tracking and counting accuracy of up to 98 percent. This accuracy is further increased by the ability to transfer large data sets.
3. Real-time analysis
• By combining artificial intelligence with deep learning analytics, video data can be collected, analyzed, and applied in real time, allowing staff to respond quickly to any changes.
4. Decreased risk of infection
• The implementation of the brand's crowd control solution also means a minimization of physical contact, providing customers and employees with a safer work and shopping environment.
