Icomera, the world’s leading provider of integrated connectivity solutions for public transport and a subsidiary of EQUANS, the newly-created leader in multi-technical services, has entered a Memorandum of Understanding with Glimpse Analytics.
The parties will combine their experience and capabilities to offer a robust, software-based AI video analytics solution that monitors vehicle passenger load in real-time. Successfully trialled on South Western Railway (SWR) trains, the solution empowers passengers and operators to make decisions based on onboard occupancy. During the COVID pandemic, it also proves particularly useful in ensuring optimal social distancing and compliance with safety measures during travels, through features such as mask detection.
The innovative video analytics system connects to existing video surveillance cameras to capture, analyse, and report occupancy data in real-time in the form of a RAG (Red/Amber/Green) status. Passengers can see how busy individual train carriages are at any time via station information screens, a downloadable app, and the operator’s website.
The ability to effectively gauge occupancy levels inside vehicles makes it easier for passengers to choose less crowded environments to travel in, ensuring that they are safely socially distanced throughout their journey. For transport operators, understanding passenger travel patterns and volumetrics in the post-COVID world is also vital for managing timetabling and fleet planning.
Glimpse’s onboard software runs natively on the same Icomera X-Series wireless connectivity platform already used to support other systems, such as Passenger Wi-Fi. With no need for additional hardware, the video-based passenger counting solution can be installed ‘over the air’ quickly and efficiently, offering considerable time and cost savings.
Analytics information collected from the onboard video feeds is broken down into metadata and then fed back to the software integrated into the transport operator’s back-office system. Passengers’ privacy is protected, as all data collected by the system is fully anonymized, and footage is not recorded or stored.
John Price, Glimpse Analytics’ CEO, said: “The advantages our ground-breaking AI technology can offer to operators and passengers are numerous. We can improve onboard passenger safety with a solution installed quickly and inexpensively, with no need for on-site visits in most cases. Our tried and tested analytics system can also be used to monitor passengers’ adherence to safety measures (for example, wearing face coverings), offering extra peace of mind.”
Peter Kingsland, Icomera’s Senior Vice President for UK, Asia & Australia Regions, added: “As passengers return to public transport, they will look for reassurances regarding their personal safety and quality of experience. This partnership with Glimpse demonstrates how Icomera technology can be used to deliver applications that offer passengers journey certainty, while delivering considerable operational benefits to transport operators.”
Read this story as a PDF.
Read the SWR video analytics trial case study here.
