A great majority of businesses are updating their rules and policies to enforce new social-distancing measures and occupancy caps. To assist in these efforts, Hanwha Techwin adapted its 4K artificial intelligence (AI) surveillance cameras to provide business owners with the data they need to keep their employees and clientele safe.

For instance, the company’s Occupancy Monitoring Application (OMA) uses deep-learning to track how many people enter and exit a location. If occupancy exceeds a threshold set by a business owner, the OMA can post a message onto connected digital signage to let patrons know they should wait outside. When occupancy drops below that threshold, the OMA will invite patrons inside so they can conduct their business while maintaining social distancing.

The OMA utilizes cameras equipped with edge-based, AI-video analytics operating within a serverless architecture. This is a first in the surveillance industry and allows users to easily monitor large numbers of people. Rather than relying on a central computer for processing, the OMA runs quietly in the background on individual cameras, eliminating the need for a central-processing location. Instead, multiple OMA-running cameras are networked together with one designated as a master unit. The network aggregates and processes the data from its cameras to maintain an accurate and regularly updated occupancy count.

An added benefit to the OMA is that it can be run from cameras installed in traditional surveillance locations whereas other occupancy trackers require cameras specially installed in overhead positions. This allows business owners to use fewer cameras for occupancy tracking, surveillance, and business intelligence – such as customer-heat mapping, conversion-rate calculations, and purchasing-activity tracking.