Choosing a people counting solution affects the quality of your figures, the privacy of your visitors and the effort it takes to run the system. Here is how the most common technologies compare, and where WELLPOINT’s camera-free time-of-flight (ToF) counter fits in.
1. Camera-Based Systems
- How it works: video cameras (single or stereo) and video analytics software detect and count people in the image.
- Pros: can count well in good conditions, may reuse existing CCTV, and video analytics can do more than count.
- Cons: images are captured and processed, which raises privacy questions; poor lighting or obstructions affect results; costs rise if cameras and licenses must be added.
2. Time-of-Flight (ToF) Laser Sensors
- How it works: the sensor sends out laser light and measures the time it takes to come back, registering people in the doorway from distances, not pictures.
- Pros: no camera and no images; entries and exits counted separately; reliable entry and exit counts when mounted correctly. WELLPOINT’s counter sits beside the entrance at 1.2 to 1.4 m, so no ceiling work is needed.
- Cons: one WELLPOINT device covers a doorway up to about 2.4 m, so wider entrances need several devices; built for indoor use; needs a power socket near the door.
3. Thermal Sensors
- How it works: detects body heat to count people, usually from an overhead position.
- Pros: works in the dark, no visible images of people.
- Cons: results can suffer in strong sunlight or crowds, and closely grouped people are harder to tell apart.
4. Infrared Beam (Break-Beam) Sensors
- How it works: counts each time a beam across the doorway is interrupted.
- Pros: low cost, easy to install, privacy-friendly.
- Cons: simple single-beam models cannot tell entries from exits, and people walking side by side may be counted as one.
5. Wi-Fi Tracking
- How it works: detects the Wi-Fi signals of smartphones to estimate how many people are present.
- Pros: covers large areas, no device needed at each entrance.
- Cons: only sees people whose phones send signals, gives estimates rather than counts, and raises privacy concerns because devices are tracked.
6. Manual Counting
- How it works: staff use clickers or tally sheets.
- Pros: simple, no installation needed.
- Cons: labor-intensive, prone to error, hard to keep up all day, and figures must be typed in by hand.
What WELLPOINT’s ToF Counter Offers
- Camera-free counting: the Pulse V3 does not capture images or identify visitors. Only anonymous entry and exit counts are transmitted from the counter.
- Two-way counting with current occupancy in WELLPOINT.cloud
- Real-time reports, with data updates every 5 minutes on PLUS and PRO (hourly on LITE)
- CSV export on PLUS and PRO, API on PRO
What to Weigh When You Choose
- Do you need entries and exits separately, or is a rough total enough?
- How important is it that no images are captured at all?
- How wide are your entrances, and is there a power socket nearby?
- Does the data need to reach other systems?
A shopping mall could, for instance, keep its cameras for security only and count its indoor entrances with ToF counters, using several devices at each wide entrance.
The WELLPOINT People Counter (Pulse V3) is made by Involver System SRL in Romania, in the European Union, and is ordered on visitorcount.com.
Want to compare for yourself? Request a demo account on wellpoint.cloud – the demo runs on fictitious sample data.