Okay, so I’ve been wanting to track how many people are coming in and out of different areas in a mall. You know, get a better sense of where people are congregating, what stores are popular, that kind of thing. So I started messing around with this idea of a “smart” foot traffic counter.
The Initial Idea (And What Didn’t Work)
My first thought? Cameras and some fancy software. I figured I could set up a camera, point it at an entrance, and then use some pre-built program to count people going in and out. Seems easy, right? Nope.
First off, finding software that actually worked reliably was a pain. Most of the stuff I found was either super expensive, way too complicated, or just plain didn’t do what it said it would. And even when I did find something that seemed promising, the camera setup was a nightmare. Getting the right angle, dealing with lighting changes, and making sure the camera didn’t get bumped or messed with…it was just too much hassle.
The Pivot: Simpler is Better
After banging my head against the wall for a while, I decided to try something totally different. I remembered those little infrared beam sensors you see at some store entrances – you know, the ones that ding when you walk through? I thought, “What if I could just use those?”
So I grabbed a couple of those cheap sensors and a cheap little microcontroller. Basically, when someone walks through the beam, it breaks the connection, and the microcontroller registers that as a “count”. Super simple.
Building the Thing
Here’s what I did, step-by-step:
- Got the Parts: A couple of IR breakbeam sensors (the kind with a transmitter and a receiver), an Arduino (you could use any microcontroller, really), some wires, and a power source.
- Wired it Up: Connected the sensors to the Arduino. It’s pretty straightforward – one wire for power, one for ground, and one for the signal. The Arduino website has tons of tutorials if you’re not sure how to do this.
- Wrote the Code: This was the “smart” part. I wrote a simple program for the Arduino that basically said, “Every time the beam is broken, add 1 to the count.” I also added some code to send that count to my computer so I could see it.
- Set it Up: I put the sensors at the entrance I wanted to monitor. I had to play around with the placement a bit to make sure they were reliably triggered, but it was way easier than dealing with the camera.
The Results (So Far)
It’s not perfect, of course. If two people walk through at exactly the same time, it might only count as one. And it doesn’t tell you which direction people are going (in or out). But for a simple, cheap, and easy way to get a general idea of foot traffic, it works surprisingly well!
I’m still tweaking things. I’m thinking about adding a second set of sensors to try and figure out direction, and maybe even connecting it to a little display so I can see the count in real-time without needing my computer. But even in its current state, it’s already giving me some pretty interesting data. It’s definitely a big improvement over my first camera-based attempt!
It just goes to show, sometimes the simplest solution is the best one. Don’t overthink it!