People Counting Systems
A people counting system tells you how many visitors entered your store today, how many left, and how full the floor is right now. ALGI does this counting on your existing IP cameras, so there are no turnstiles, sensor bars or ceiling counters to install. Nobody is recognized and no identity data is processed; the system produces an anonymous number. Counts arrive in the dashboard by hour, by day and by door, and once you add point-of-sale data you can see how many of those visitors actually turned into buyers.
What is a people counting system?
A people counting system is a software layer that turns camera video into the number of people passing through a door or zone. It detects people in the frame, determines which direction they cross the counting line you define, and totals entries and exits separately. The output is a single figure: not who passed, but how many.
The difference from hardware counters starts at installation. A ceiling counter means a separate device, separate cabling and separate maintenance for every door. Software-based counting uses the cameras you have already mounted. To add a new door to the count, all you need is a camera that sees it.
Counting is anonymous. The system does not perform face recognition, does not identify individuals and does not match a returning visitor to an earlier visit. What you see in the dashboard is a set of counts tied to a time window and a door, nothing more. That keeps the data useful for planning staff hours, reading footfall trends and comparing branches, without turning a store camera into something it was never meant to be.
How does people counting work?
Setup follows three steps.
Connect the cameras. The RTSP streams of your existing cameras are registered with ALGI. Video is processed either on an Algi Edge device installed on site or on ALGI AI servers. You do not need to replace cameras; any camera that sees the entrance from above or at an angle is suitable for counting.
Draw the counting line. In the dashboard, you draw a line over the camera view that marks the direction of entry, and optionally a zone in which occupancy is measured. If a door is used in both directions, a single line separates entries from exits.
Start counting. Counts flow into the dashboard as hourly, daily and per-door series. You can download them as CSV or push them into your existing reporting system through the API. With an on-site Algi Edge device, live video stays in the store and only counts leave the site.
When you add receipt data from your tills, conversion rate, revenue per visitor and peak-hour distribution appear on the same screen. Staffing and window display decisions are then made from these series rather than from guesswork.
Which industries use it?
Frequently asked questions
- What is a people counting system and how does it work?
- A people counting system is software that extracts the number of people passing through a door from camera video. It detects people in the frame, determines which direction they cross the counting line you draw in the dashboard, and totals entries and exits separately. The result is an anonymous count: the system records how many people passed, not who they were.
- Does a people counting system need extra hardware?
- Not necessarily. Counting runs on the video from your existing IP cameras, so there are no turnstiles, ceiling counters or sensor bars to fit. Video can be processed on ALGI AI servers, or on an Algi Edge device on site if you want processing to stay on your premises. To add a new door, you only need a camera that sees it.
- Are my existing IP cameras compatible?
- Standard IP cameras that provide an RTSP stream are compatible, with no restriction on make or model. What matters most is the camera angle rather than image quality: a camera that sees the entrance from above or at an angle is enough for counting. Share your camera list and we will tell you which ones are suitable before installation.
- How long does installation take?
- If the cameras are accessible, a single store is set up in one day: streams are registered, counting lines are drawn and data starts flowing. For multi-branch rollouts, the first store serves as the reference and the remaining branches are opened one after another with the same configuration. The size of the chain sets the timeline.
- Is people counting compliant with GDPR and KVKK?
- The system does not perform face recognition, does not process biometric data and does not identify individuals. With an on-site Algi Edge device, live video stays in the store and only anonymous counts leave the site; with server processing, video is processed on ALGI AI servers. Your existing notice obligations for camera recording itself remain unchanged.
- Does counting continue if the internet goes down?
- With an on-site Algi Edge device, yes. Analysis runs on the device in the store, and the internet connection is only used to carry counts to the dashboard. During an outage, counting continues locally and live data is not shown in the dashboard. When the connection returns, the counts collected during the outage are uploaded, so the series has no gaps.
- How many doors and branches can be counted?
- Each door joins the count with a camera that sees it. In a store with several entrances, each one is defined as a separate door and live occupancy is calculated from the entry and exit difference across all doors. In a multi-branch setup, every door and branch is counted as its own series and brought together in one dashboard. More doors mean more cameras, and therefore more licenses.
- Is it a one-off purchase or a subscription?
- You do not buy a standalone product; you enable the people counting rule on the Algi Edge platform. Licensing is paid monthly, per camera and according to the selected rule set. A 30-day free period starts at go-live, so you see the counting working at your own doors before deciding whether to continue.
Related rules from the library
ALL →LINE_CROSSING
Total Entry Count (Per Door)
Visitors through main entrances counted and reported per door.
FLOW_RATE
Capture Rate
Passers-by vs. those entering — storefront and entrance effectiveness.
OCCUPANCY
Live Occupancy Indicator
Live visitor count from entry/exit difference; alert at capacity threshold.
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