Appendix A – Staff Exclusion Methods

Introduction

Staff exclusion is an additional functionality that FootfallCam provides to exclude staff footfall from the total footfall traffic. With this extra consideration, the data will be able to provide the true value of the visitors. 

There are 4 different methods of staff exclusion available, which are Staff Exclusion Line, Staff Exclusion Zone with Button, Staff Exclusion (Patterned Staff Tag) and Staff Exclusion (Fabric Staff Tag).

 

Method 1: Staff Exclusion Line

1.1 How Does It Work?

Staff Exclusion Line is a tuning parameter (the cyan color line as shown in the video) which could be added apart from the In / Out line so that people who walked across the exclusion line will not be counted as In or Out.

 

Staff exclusion in action: Notice that the person on the right who walked across the exclusion line is excluded from counting, whereas the person in the middle is counted as usual. 

1.2 Hardware & Environmental Requirements

Hardware Requirements	People Counter Model FootfallCam 5D ProTM FootfallCam 3D Pro2TM FootfallCam 3D Max2TM FootfallCam 3D MaxTM FootfallCam 3D Plus2TM FootfallCam 3D PlusTM
Firmware Requirements	v3.1.0 and above

1.3 Pros

• • Cheapest option (no additional hardware required, only tuning service charge).

1.4 Cons

• • Genuine visitors would also be discounted if they walked across the exclusion line.
  • Staff are required to only walk through their designated walk path in order to be excluded from counting.

1.5 Use Case

• • Ideal for entrances where there is a dedicated path for the staff to exit or enter the store.

 

Method 2: Staff Exclusion Zone with Button

2.1 How Does It Work?

Staff Exclusion Zone (the cyan zone as shown in the video) is a tuning parameter that defines a zone (usually in front of the wall) to discount the people who are standing within the zone when the button is pressed and they will not be counted even if they have walked across the tracking lines.

For more information, please refer to the datasheet provided.

 

Staff exclusion in action: Notice that the person in brown shirt is excluded from counting (marked with a cross sign) after pressing the button in the exclusion zone, whereas the subsequent person on the right is counted as usual.

2.2 Hardware & Environmental Requirements

Hardware Requirements	People Counter Model FootfallCam 3D PlusTM SE FootfallCam 3D PlusTM GPIO FootfallCam 3D MaxTM GPIO FootfallCam 3D Max2TM GPIO FootfallCam 3D Pro2TM GPIO FootfallCam 5D ProTM GPIO Accessory FootfallCam Exclusion Wall ButtonTM
Firmware Requirements	v3.1.0 and above

2.3 Pros

• • Can be configured so that visitors do not interfere with the staff exclusion process (e.g. in the picture shown, the Staff Exclusion Button and Zone are far away from the usual traffic of visitors).
    

2.4 Cons

• • The coverage of the counter needs to be big enough so that the Staff Exclusion Zone covers more area to avoid staff accidentally not standing in the zone when pressing the button.

2.5 Use Case

• • Suitable for any sites with a wall next to the entrance for mounting the Staff Exclusion Button.

 

Method 3: Staff Exclusion (Patterned Staff Tag)

3.1 How Does It Work?

FootfallCam Patterned Staff Tag^TM is an additional accessory with a unique pattern recognisable by the people counter. When a person enters the live view of the FootfallCam counter, the counter will be able to identify the person with the staff tag and exclude he/she from the visitor count even if they have walked across the tracking line.

The tag interacts with the counter passively, as the tag does not have battery and does not emit any signal or radio waves to the counter. Staff is only required to wear the tag on the shirt, and behave usually.

For more information, please refer to the datasheet provided

 

Staff exclusion in action: Notice that the person is excluded from counting (marked with a cross sign) after the counter has detected the patterned staff tag on his chest.

3.2 Hardware & Environmental Requirements

Hardware Requirements	People Counter Model FootfallCam 5D ProTM FootfallCam 3D Pro2TM FootfallCam 3D Max2TM FootfallCam 3D MaxTM FootfallCam 3D Plus2TM Accessory FootfallCam Patterned Staff TagTM
Firmware Requirements	v3.4.2 and above

• • Staff Exclusion tag MUST be FootfallCam design of stripe pattern.
  • Ceiling Height
    • NOT supported for 2.5m and below.
    • Recommended ceiling height is 2.5m ~ 3.2m.
    • NOT supported for 3.2m and above.
  • Only for Normal Counting or Area Counting mode. Not Supported for Queue Counting or Heatmap Counting.
  • Live view must have enough walking space (> 2m from centre of live view, equivalent to > 4m coverage in the walking direction) for staff to be detected.
    • Enough unblocked walking space.
      
  • If the entrance is a sliding door, position FootfallCam People Counter at least 1m away from the door. If the entrance is a swing door, position FootfallCam People Counter at least 1m away from the edge of the door when it is widest open.
    • Cannot be too close to the entrance, otherwise part of the view will be blocked by the bar above the entrance.
      
  • The floor must be flat. No staircases, slanted or elevated ground.
    • No slanted floor or ramp.
      
    • No staircases.
      
  • Live view is clear of any blocking object.
    • No ceiling bar.
      
      
    • No decoration or exit sign.
      
    • No ceiling TV or air-conditioner.
      
  • Environment is bright and well lit.
    • No dark environment.
      

3.3 Pros

• • No additional actions are required for staff to perform.
  • No maintenance needed after the first set up.
  • No wireless emission and battery maintenance.

3.4 Cons

• • Additional cost needed for the Patterned Staff Tag.
  • Environment requirements need to be fulfilled for staff to be detected.
  • Accuracy might be affected if the guidelines for wearing staff tag are not followed.

3.5 Use Case

• • Suitable for sites where the device is able to cover enough unblocked walking space.

3.6 Guideline To Wear Staff Tag

• • Peel off the protective film on the Staff Exclusion Tag before use.
  • Wear tag in the centre of upper chest area for the best accuracy.
  • Wear tag upright, and not dangling downwards.
  • Wear tag in landscape orientation as shown below.

• • Do NOT wear tag with a lanyard or hide tag in pocket or cover tag with other objects such as tudung, scarf, hair, hand.
  • Do NOT hold the tag with hand.
  • Simple and plain coloured shirt works better than colourful shirt with complex patterns/stripes.
  • Walk at normal speed, otherwise motion blur might affect accuracy.

 

Method 4: Staff Exclusion (Fabric Staff Tag)

4.1 How Does It Work?

FootfallCam Fabric Staff Tag^TM is an additional accessory that uses the latest Time-of-flight technology to exclude any person wearing the tag from being counted. It adds a tuning parameter called TOF coverage zone (the dark blue color bounding zone as shown in the video), where it will discount any people wearing the fabric tag when they walk underneath the counter AND pass through the exclusion zone in dark blue color.

For more information, please refer to the datasheet provided.

 

Staff exclusion in action: Notice that the person in white shirt is excluded from counting (marked with a cross sign), whereas the other two subsequent people following him are counted as usual.

4.2 Hardware & Environmental Requirements

Hardware Requirements	People Counter Model FootfallCam 5D ProTM Accessory FootfallCam Fabric Staff TagTM
Firmware Requirements	v3.4.1 and above

• • Fabric Staff Exclusion tag MUST be FootfallCam design of reflective materials.
  • Live view must have enough walking space (> 2m from center of live view, equivalent to > 4m coverage in the walking direction) for staff to be detected.
  • If the entrance is a sliding door, position FootfallCam People Counter at least 1m away from the door. If the entrance is a swing door, position FootfallCam People Counter at least 1m away from the edge of the door when it is widest open.
  • The floor must be flat. No staircases, slanted or elevated ground.
  • Ceiling Height
    • NOT supported for 2.5m and below.
    • Recommended ceiling height is 2.5m ~ 3.5m.
    • NOT supported for 3.5m and above.
  • Only for Normal Counting or Area Counting mode. Not Supported for Queue Counting or Heatmap Counting.

4.3 Pros

• • No maintenance needed after first set up
  • The line-of-sight of fabric tag from the counter is less likely to be obscured by human action and visible from many angles.
  • Low cost, no battery required.

4.4 Cons

• • -

4.5 Use Case

• • Suitable for any sites.

4.6 Guideline To Wear Fabric Tag

Step 1:  The fabric tag should be placed on the shoulder side of your staff uniform as shown in figure above. Make sure the silver material is always facing upward and not blocked by any obstacle. You may apply the fabric tag with iron (heat lamination) or sewing.

Counter live view with TOF coverage zone (dark blue color bounding box)

Step 2:  Run Walk Test with access to FootfallCam 5D Pro^TM, the Fabric Staff Tag must be exposed to the counter directly (line of sight). The coverage area would be with the centre of liveview as origin. Staff should always walk near to the center line of the counter position. The bounding box in dark blue color only serves as a reference of the estimated area for detecting the presence of staff tag. The effective area might shrink depending on the environment condition (e.g. ambient light level, target distance and reflectance, etc.). 

**Walk at normal speed, otherwise motion blur might affect accuracy.