People Counting (footfall), Logging, Display and Reporting Software
The Video Turnstile system is supplied with:
- the VT Setup program, which lets you send instructions to the footfall counters
- the VT Collect program, which regularly downloads the footfall count data
- the VT Real Time program, which shows the updating footfall count
- the VT View Log program, which shows an historical record of the footfall counts
- the Windmill suite of data acquisition software.
You can use any reporting software you like, such as Visualize or Excel. The VisitorTrends Lite software creates presentation quality reports and has range of charting options.
VT Setup | VT Collect | Windmill Software | Reporting and Analysis Software
VT Setup for Configuring the Counting Units
The VT Setup software runs under Windows and lets you send instructions to the Video Turnstile people counters. With VT Setup you can, amongst other things:
- Set the interval over which the Video Turnstile unit is to log people counts—number of people per hour or per half-hour for example
- Change the position and size of the counting zone
- Set the system to count people turning sharp left or right after entering
- Set up counting through wide entrances
- Set which doorway is to be shown on a television monitor
- Set the video format: PAL or NTSC for example
- Set the system for crowded situations
- Set the minimum and maximum size of a person to be counted
- Set the minimum gap between two people side-by-side
- View live counts
- Compensate for under- or over-counting
- Combine counts from several doorways
- Schedule the VT Collect software to log data
You can download the Help file for VT Setup. You need to unzip the files before you can use them. In Windows double-click the vtsetup.zip file and from the File menu choose Extract All.
VT Collect for Downloading Data to the PC
The VT Collect program reads the footfall or people counts from the Video Turnstile Logger and saves them in a text file on the PC. VT Collect runs at regular intervals, such as once a day. To download an example of the file, where counts are being logged every hour, right click bvt270803.txt.
An example of a file saved by VT Collect and opened in Wordpad.
VT Collect can also preform calculations on the data, for example adding counts of several doorways together. These are saved in a new column. So you might have three columns of data: People In for door 1, People In for door 2, and Total People In.
Windmill Software
You may find that the VT Collect software is sufficient for your needs. However, for some applications the Windmill Software suite may be more suitable.
Windmill lets you
- See real-time data (the current counts at that moment)
- Log accumulating counts at a rate you choose, every 5 minutes for example, independent of the logging epoch in the Video Turnstile units
- Chart the count
- Purchase additional programs to let you, for example, see a floor plan with incrementing counts at each doorway.
Extending Windmill's Capabilities
Windmill has many optional programs. The Windmill Graphics software, for example, lets you design your own display (graphical user interface). You could draw a picture of your premises, and have a count of people displayed by each doorway. Windmill Alarm Logger, on the other hand, can alert staff by telephone should counts cross pre-defined limits. For more on Windmill see the Windmill Data Acquisition Software website.
Reporting and Analysis Software
The VisitorTrends Lite software is low-cost and easy-to-use with a range of interactive charting and information options. Optionally, you can view your data over the Internet through a VisitorTrends web portal. The raw data is saved on your PC in text format, so you can view and manipulate the counts in Microsoft Office and many other applications. For more information read on, or download our new colour leaflet explaining the options (in pdf format).
Real-Time Charts and Historic Data Analysis
For quick and easy analysis of data, we can supply the VisitorTrends Lite software. This charts your data and lets you spot real-time and historic trends. You can also create printable reports in PDF format.
Chart produced by VisitorTrends Lite.
Just one of the many different styles of chart available.
Web Portal Reporting
Another option is to view your data over the Internet through a web portal. You will be regularly e-mailed daily, weekly or monthly reports. The web site will automatically check the raw data and alert you to abnormal situations, such as if data for a Monday is outside the normal bounds for that day. You can also view events which have an impact on visitor numbers: weather information and school holidays for example. Finally you can compare people counts with other information such as sales data and special promotional events.
Microsoft Office and other Applications
Perhaps you would prefer to analyse your data in a spreadsheet like Excel? As the raw count data is stored on your computer in ASCII text files, you can import it into most other reporting software, including Microsoft Office applications.
Request a Quote for a People Counting System
To request quote for a people counting system, or to discuss your application, please fill in our on-line questionnaire.