Okay, so I recently had this project where I needed to figure out how many people were in a shopping mall at any given time. The idea was to help manage crowds better, especially during busy periods. Here’s how I went about it.
Finding a Starting Point
First, I needed a way to actually count people. I couldn’t just stand at the entrance with a clicker all day! I thought about using the mall’s existing security cameras. Seemed like the easiest option since they were already there and covering most of the areas I was interested in.
The Techy Stuff
Next, I had to find some software or a system that could analyze the camera feeds and count people. I played around with a few different “computer vision” programs. Basically, it’s software that can “see” and understand what’s in an image or video.
- Tried some open-source stuff: I messed around with a few free options I found online. They were okay, but not super accurate, and kinda clunky to set up.
- Looked at paid software: There are companies that sell software specifically for this kind of thing. They were definitely more accurate, but also, you know, cost money.
Setting Things Up
After messing with some software, I got one working that seemed pretty good. I connected it to a few of the mall’s cameras (with their permission, of course!). Then came the fun part – teaching the software what a person looks like!
This involved showing the software a bunch of video footage and basically saying, “See that? That’s a person. That’s also a person. That’s a shopping cart – NOT a person.” It took a while, but eventually, the software got pretty good at spotting people.
Making Sense of the Data
Now that I had the software counting people, I needed a way to actually see the numbers. I’m no coder, I set up a simple dashboard that showed the number of people in different areas of the mall in real-time.
It was pretty basic – just some graphs and numbers – but it did the job! I could see when certain areas were getting crowded and when things were quieter.
The Results
After running this for a while, I started to see some interesting patterns. Like, the food court was always packed at lunchtime (obviously!), but also at certain times in the evening. And the area near the kids’ play zone was super busy on weekends.
I can show this information to the mall management, and they can use it to make decisions. Maybe they put more staff in the food court during peak hours, or maybe they add extra security near the play area on Saturdays.
It is a real practical use to improve shopper experience.