

We Built an Urban Intelligence Platform - dfine
http://blog.placemeter.com/2015/06/22/placemeter_platform_launch/?utm_source=hacker-news&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=launch

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mswen
I looked around the site a bit. Looks like pretty interesting data collection
using simple IP cameras and computer vision algorithms to identify unique foot
and vehicle traffic and counting and time tagging each one. The business use
case that I read - narrowing 4 potential new retail locations down to one due
to some logic about foot traffic and their target market seemed plausible. Of
course we don't really know what would have happened if the store had opened
in the higher traffic location but with lower foot traffic and the desired
times. Bricks & mortar locations are not A/B testable in quite the same cost
effective manner as a digital store.

Still there is often remarkable strength in doing something as simple as
counting - when you are able to do it more accurately and afford to do it
continuously over extended periods of time.

Question: can the computer vision capture behavior such as speed of gait,
stopping and turning to look at the store-front, dwell time before turning
away and continuing to walk? Distinguish and code for type of clothing to
distinguish between someone on their way to work and someone such as a
tourist? Could you distinguish between someone arriving at a store doorway
purposefully - like they already knew to come here versus someone who has
stumbled upon the store while walking?

