US-12618585-B2 - Distributed people counting system and methods

US12618585B2US 12618585 B2US12618585 B2US 12618585B2US-12618585-B2

Abstract

System and methods for counting people in a space that is monitored by a plurality of distributed sensors are disclosed. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving a people count value output by a first sensor monitoring a portion of a space. The first sensor is one of a plurality of distributed sensors monitoring non-overlapping portions of the space. The method further includes waiting to receive additional people count values output by other sensors monitoring other portions of the space and then determining a total count of people in the space in response to receiving the additional people count values and determining that the received people count values are synchronized in time. In response to determining the total count of people in the space, one or more actions may be performed.

Inventors

Leif Roger Torbjörn NILSSON
Peter Sven Anders Lindgren

Assignees

Schneider Electric Buildings Americas, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20221123

Claims (16)

1 . A method for counting people in a space monitored by a plurality of distributed sensors, comprising: receiving a people count value output by a first sensor monitoring a portion of a space; wherein the first sensor is one of a plurality of distributed sensors monitoring non-overlapping portions of the space; wherein the plurality of distributed sensors are in communication with a plurality of controllers, and are synchronized in time; waiting, for a predefined period of time, to receive additional people count values output by other sensors monitoring other portions of the space; receiving the additional people count values output by the other sensors monitoring the other portions of the space; determining, at a master controller from the plurality of controllers, a total count of people in the space in response to: receiving the additional people count values, and determining that the received people count values are synchronized in time; performing one or more actions based on the total count of people in the space, wherein a people counting segment object in the master controller waits to receive the additional people count values for the predefined period of time, and wherein the predefined period of time is triggered by one or more of (1) each time a people count value output by a sensor from the plurality of sensors is received, or (2) by the receiving of the people count value output by the first sensor.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the people counting segment object includes a people counting segment input that combines the received people count values to determine the total count of people in the space.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the people count value is a complex value having a people count value component and a timing component and wherein the timing component of the people count values are compared with each other to determine that the received people count values are synchronized in time.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more actions include: automatically adjusting one or more parameters relating to indoor environmental air quality (IEQ) based on the total count of people in the space; automatically adjusting one or more parameters of an HVAC system based on the total count of people in the space; or providing the total count of people in the space to a room control unit or a thermostat for controlling a climate condition of the space based on the total count of people in the space.
5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining that a total count of people cannot be accurately calculated in response to determining that at least one of the received people count values is not synchronized in time with the other of the received people count values or was not received during a predefined time period.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is one of a: multi-sensor comprising a plurality of sensors including a people counting sensor or a discrete people counting sensor.
7 . A system for counting people in a space that is monitored by a plurality of distributed sensors, comprising: a plurality of controllers including a master controller comprising a people counting segment object configured to: receive a people count value output by a first sensor monitoring a portion of a space, wherein the first sensor is one of a plurality of distributed sensors monitoring non-overlapping portions of the space, wherein each sensor is hosted by a controller from the plurality of controllers, wherein each controller receives a people count value output by the respective sensor, and forwards it to the master controller; wait, for a predefined period of time, to receive additional people count values output by other sensors monitoring other portions of the space; receive the additional people count values output by the other sensors monitoring the other portions of the space; and determine whether the received people count values are synchronized in time; determine a total count of people in the space based on the received people count values that are synchronized in time; and wherein the master controller is configured to perform one or more actions in response to determining the total count of people in the space, and further wherein the predefined period of time is triggered one or more of (1) each time a people count value output by a sensor from the plurality of distributed sensors is received, or (2) by receiving of the people count value output by the first sensor.
8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the people count value is a complex value having a time component and a people count value component.
9 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the people counting segment object determines that a total count of people cannot be accurately calculated in response to determining that at least one of the received people count values is not synchronized in time with the other of the received people count values or was not received during a predefined time period.
10 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more actions include: automatically adjust one or more parameters relating to indoor environment quality (IEQ) based on the total count of people in the space; automatically adjust one or more parameters of an HVAC system based on the total count of people in the space; or provide the total count of people in the space to a room control unit or a thermostat for controlling a climate condition of the space based on the total count of people in the space.
11 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the sensor is one of a: multi-sensor comprising a plurality of sensors including a people counting sensor, or a discrete people counting sensor.
12 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more programs comprising instructions which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to: receive a people count value output by a first sensor monitoring a portion of a space; wherein the first sensor is one of a plurality of distributed sensors monitoring non-overlapping portions of the space; wherein the plurality of distributed sensors are in communication with a plurality of controllers and synchronized in time; wait, for a predefined period of time, to receive additional people count values output by other sensors monitoring other portions of the space; receive the additional people count values output by the other sensors monitoring the other portions of the space; determine whether the received people count values are synchronized in time; determine a total count of people in the space based on the received people count values that are synchronized in time; and perform one or more actions in response to determining the total count of people in the space, wherein the predefined period of time is triggered one or more of (1) each time a people count value output by a sensor from the plurality of sensors is received, or (2) by receiving of the people count value output by the first sensor.
13 . The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the people count value is a complex value having a value component and a timing component and wherein the timing component of the people count values are compared with each other to determine that the people count values are synchronized in time.
14 . The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the one or more actions include: automatically adjusting one or more parameters relating to indoor environment quality (IEQ) based on the total count of people in the space; automatically adjusting one or more parameters of an HVAC system based on the total count of people in the space; or providing the total count of people in the space to a room control unit or a thermostat for controlling a climate condition of the space based on the total count of people in the space.
15 . The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the machine, further cause the machine to: determine that a total count of people cannot be accurately calculated in response to determining that at least one of the received people count values is not synchronized in time with the other of the received people count values or was not received during a predefined time period.
16 . The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the sensor is one of a: multi-sensor comprising a plurality of sensors including a people counting sensor or a discrete people counting sensor.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION(S) This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/282,983, filed on Nov. 24, 2021, which application was filed under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) and is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure is generally related to people counting and more particularly to system and methods for people counting in a space that is monitored by multiple distributed people counting sensors. BACKGROUND Occupancy sensors are indoor motion detection devices that detect the presence of a person or persons to automatically control temperature, lights, etc. Most common occupancy sensors use passive infrared technology to detect the presence of people. Occupancy sensors can indicate only whether a room, for example, is occupied or not. People counting sensors, on the other hand, are devices that can detect and count the number of people within their field of view. People counting sensors may be based on a number of technologies such as video processing, radar, thermal imaging technology, and the like. SUMMARY Embodiments of the disclosed system includes a method for counting people in a space that is monitored by a plurality of distributed sensors. The method includes receiving a people count value output by a first sensor monitoring a portion of a space. The first sensor may be one of a plurality of distributed sensors synchronized in time and monitoring non-overlapping portions of the space. The method further includes waiting to receive additional people count values output by other sensors monitoring other portions of the space. The method then determines a total count of people in the space in response to receiving the additional people count values and determining that the received people count values are synchronized in time. In response to determining the total count of people in the space, one or more actions may be performed. The one or more actions may be related to improving energy efficiency and comfort and/or enhancing indoor air quality in some implementations. The one or more actions may also include alerting facility/safety managers when the number of people in a space exceeds the maximum or some threshold capacity for the space. Embodiments of the disclosed system includes a system for counting people in a space that is monitored by a plurality of distributed sensors. The system may comprise a plurality of controllers including a master controller comprising a people counting segment object having a people counting segment input. The segment input may be configured to receive a people count value output by a first sensor monitoring a portion of a space, wherein the first sensor is one of a plurality of distributed sensors monitoring non-overlapping portions of the space, wherein each sensor is hosted by a controller from the plurality of controllers, and each controller receives a people count value output by its respective sensor and forwards it to the master controller. The segment input may be configured to wait to receive additional people count values output by other sensors monitoring other portions of the space and determine a total count of people in the space in response to receiving the additional people count values and determining that the received people count values are synchronized in time. The master controller may be configured to perform one or more actions in response to determining the total count of people in the space. Embodiments of the disclosed system also includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more programs comprising instructions which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform a method for counting people in a space that is monitored by a plurality of distributed sensors. The method may include receiving a people count value output by a first sensor monitoring a portion of a space, wherein the first sensor is one of a plurality of distributed sensors monitoring non-overlapping portions of the space and wherein the plurality of distributed sensors are in communication with a plurality of controllers and synchronized in time. The method may include waiting to receive additional people count values output by other sensors monitoring other portions of the space, determining, at a master controller from the plurality of controllers, a total count of people in the space in response to receiving the additional people count values and determining that the received people count values are synchronized in time and performing one or more actions in response to determining the total count of people in the space. In some implementations, the waiting may be for a predefined period of time that is triggered each time a people count value output by a sensor from the plurality of sensors is received. In other implementations, the waiting may be for a predefined period of time that is triggered by receiving of the people count value output by th