Accurate and reliable information lies at the heart of data-driven decision-making, there’s no other way around it. Even a 5 to 10% deviation can ruin your well-prepared and long time in the making marketing campaigns. Why make an expensive campaign riskier than it needs to be or miss out on great sales opportunities? 

When it comes to real-life traffic counting many companies use outdated technologies like beam sensors, thermal cameras, 2D or 3D counters, or even cheap security cameras. All of these technologies have several shortcomings and the data they gather is completely unreliable. Here at V-Count, we believe even 95% accuracy isn’t good enough for our customers hence why we give our 200% into making Ultima Series the best traffic counting sensors out there on the market, offering 99% accuracy. The best part is, Ultima sensors can provide you with that ultimate accuracy even under no light conditions. 

V-Count’s Ultima Sensors are powered by 3D Active Stereo Vision technology, meaning even if it’s pitch black they can count people going in and out of your physical locations without any hiccups. On top of that, it can even tell the difference between multiple people entering at the same time, tag them as a group and provide a detailed and unique approach to customer journey analysis. The best part is, all V-Count traffic counting sensors are built and developed in-house, meaning your feedback makes a difference and helps the next iteration of sensors reach the next level. 

Are Thermal Imaging Cameras (Infrared) Better?

The short answer is no. These cameras use thermal imaging technology to capture infrared light; they basically detect the heat being made by objects and living things. This allows thermal cameras to see what’s happening in the dark and count people traffic, but not in a healthy or reliable way. Thermal imaging cameras offer about 85% accuracy at best conditions and they’re prone to failure when the weather is hot and sunny. 

To put it in a better perspective, thermal imaging cameras were the second-generation solution for real-life traffic counting, and the industry is well into the sixth generation already. Thermal people counting methods are outdated, inaccurate, and prone to failure in many ways. Considering how they can’t even tell the difference between a group of people or a single individual should also be a major deal-breaker. They’ll also count other living things and non-shoppers as people, further polluting data.

No matter what kind of brick-and-mortar business you’re in, a people counting technology that’s powered by heat sensors should be something you’ve got to avoid. Thermal-based solutions fail at basic levels, hence they won’t be able to provide you with specifics like demographics and other important solutions your business may need depending on the sector. 

However, heat mapping is still the most viable technology when it comes to zone analytics and it’s extremely helpful in regard to understanding the customer journey. 

What is 3D Active Stereo Vision Technology?

The 3D active stereo vision technology is the most recent method in traffic counting technologies and it’s head and shoulders above all the other ways. V-Count’s Ultima sensors are powered by the 3D active stereo vision and AI-based people tracking technologies. 3D active stereo vision is what allows us to offer the highest traffic counting accuracy across the market worldwide and it’s the only way to count people right, even under zero light conditions.

In simplest terms, 3D active stereo vision uses multiple cameras for 3D reconstruction and people counting. It needs no external light sources to create real-time create 3D reconstructions and combined with other solutions, it can help you determine who enters or leaves your physical location, when they do, what paths they take across this location, where they spend the most time, what gender and age they are, if they’re a group or not and more. At the time of writing, V-Count is the only traffic counter provider that can offer accurate people counting under zero light conditions.

Of course, having the right hardware will only get you to a certain point. You also need a mediation tool to visualize the data in an effective and simple way if you want to better understand what your physical locations are telling you. V-Count provides a mobile-friendly online dashboard called “Business Intelligence Platform (BIP)” that converts data into actionable insights, much like Google Analytics, but specifically tailored for physical stores, museums, malls, and all other venues that can benefit from people counting. 

BIP is an in-house developed, highly customizable cloud-powered dashboard that allows you to easily access and view your traffic data metrics and generate comprehensive reports to help you understand your customers’ behavior from entry to exit. It’s fully GDPR compliant and completely secure. 

With over 200 KPIs, the platform gives you a complete overview of business performance, including draw-in rate, in and out traffic, transactions, conversion rate, average transaction value (ATV), sales, and more.

Would Your Business Ever Need To Count People in The Dark?

V-Count’s night vision feature comes at no extra cost, you need not worry about any additional costs or a possible bill shock come the paying day. However, to address the elephant in the room, yes, this is a situational feature and not every store owner has to worry about low light conditions. 

On the other hand, the customer feedback we receive suggests that often enough the night vision feature acts as a game changer, especially during autumn and winter when the days are short. Our customers up north, who experience long nights for a few months straight are also glad to have this feature; they know that they don’t have to worry about accuracy even when it’s nearly pitch black and in fact plan accordingly for their closing times.

Would Your Business Ever Need To Count People in The Dark?

While night vision is a bit situational feature, it’s also a fundamental component for reaching the ultimate accuracy. V-Count is the only technology company worldwide that offers people counting solutions under zero light conditions while offering nearly perfect accuracy. V-Count’s traffic counting sensors are bundled with various solutions and over 200 KPIs so that you can find the best tools suited for your business type and make the most informed decisions to maximize your revenue and improve efficiency. 

If you’re not sure where to start, you can always reach out to us and we’ll get you connected with one of our people counting experts. We’ll hook you up with a demo and get you exactly what you need.