DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The present disclosure relates to people counter. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a system and a method for counting people using Infrared (IR) and Passive Infrared (PIR) sensors.

BACKGROUND
[002] Counting people in showrooms, shopping malls, retail stores and various other establishments is used for analysis purposes. Counting the people is used to calculate percentage of total visitors versus the number of people that make purchases. Maintenance of services are undertaken when the people traffic is less. Counting the people helps in determining popularity of different brands with different entrances in a shopping mall.

[003] In the traditional methods, people were counted manually, or mechanical counters are used where a person increments a count of the mechanical counter. Traditional methods require a store employee to keep the count or increment the count. The other methods include pressure sensitive sensors that count people based on the number of footsteps on a pressure sensitive platform and mats. The traditional methods are inaccurate due to human error and the pressure sensitive devices are prone to damages as people walk on the sensors.

[004] The information disclosed in this background of the disclosure section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

SUMMARY
[005] In an embodiment, the present disclosure discloses a system for counting people. The system comprises a transmitting device and a receiving device. The transmitting device comprises an Infrared (IR) transmitter for transmitting IR signals. The receiving device comprises a counter having a count value. The receiving device further comprises an IR receiver for receiving the IR signals transmitted by the IR transmitter at a time instance. Furthermore, the receiving device comprises a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor for receiving heat signals corresponding to humans at the time instance. Furthermore, the receiving device comprises a processor. The processor is configured to receive an input from each of the IR receiver and the PIR sensor at the time instance. The processor is further configured to increment the count value of the counter based on the input received from each of the IR receiver and the PIR sensor.

[006] In an embodiment, the present disclosure discloses a method for counting people using a system comprising an Infrared (IR) transmitter, a counter, an IR receiver, a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor, and a processor. The method comprises transmitting, by the IR transmitter, IR signals. Further, the method further comprises receiving, by the IR receiver, the IR signals transmitted by the IR transmitter at a time instance. Furthermore, the method comprises receiving, by the PIR sensor, heat signals corresponding to humans at the time instance. Moreover, the method comprises receiving, by the processor, an input from each of the IR receiver and the PIR sensor at the time instance. Thereafter, the method comprises incrementing, by the processor, the count value of the counter based on the input received from each of the IR receiver and the PIR sensor.

[007] In an embodiment, the present disclosure discloses a processor for counting people. The processor is configured to receive an input from an IR receiver and a PIR sensor of a system at a time instance. Further, the processor is configured to increment a count value of a counter based on the input received from each of the IR receiver and the PIR sensor.

[008] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS
[009] The novel features and characteristic of the disclosure are set forth in the appended claims. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

[0010] Figure 1A shows an exemplary environment for counting people using IR and PIR sensors, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0011] Figure 1B shows an internal architecture of a processor for counting people using IR and PIR sensors, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0012] Figure 2 shows an exemplary flow chart illustrating method steps for counting people using IR and PIR sensors, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0013] Figure 3A-3C show exemplary illustrations for counting people using IR and PIR sensors, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0014] Figure 4 shows an exemplary environment illustrating a communication between a system and a central server, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0015] It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views of illustrative systems embodying the principles of the present subject matter. Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams, state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent various processes which may be substantially represented in computer readable medium and executed by a computer or processor, whether or not such computer or processor is explicitly shown.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0016] In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

[0017] While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the scope of the disclosure.

[0018] The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a setup, device or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or apparatus.

[0019] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a system, methods, a processor for counting people. The system comprises a transmitting device and a receiving device. The transmitting device comprises an Infrared (IR) transmitter. The receiving device comprises a counter for counting a count value. The receiving device further comprises an IR receiver, a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor and a processor. The IR transmitter transmits IR signals. The IR receiver receives the IR signals at a time instance. The PIR sensor receives heat signals corresponding to humans at the time instance. The processor receives an input from each of the IR receiver and the PIR sensor at the time instance. The processor increments the count value of the counter based on the input received from each of the IR receiver and the PIR sensor.

[0020] Figure 1 shows an environment comprising a system (100) for counting people. The system comprises a transmitting device (101) and a receiving device (102). The transmitting device (101) comprises an Infrared (IR) transmitter (103). The IR transmitter (103) continuously transmits IR signals. The receiving device (102) comprises an IR receiver (104), a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor (105), a processor (106) and a counter (107). The IR receiver (104) receives the IR signals transmitted by the IR transmitter (103) at a time instance. The PIR sensor (105) receives heat signals corresponding to humans at the time instance. In an embodiment, the PIR sensor (105) may be configured to receive heat signals of wavelengths radiated by the humans. In an embodiment, the IR sensor may be configured to receive heat signals above a particular height to avoid receiving the heat signals from animals. The processor (106) is configured to receive an input from each of the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105) at the time instance. The processor (106) is associated with the counter (107). The counter (107) may be a hardware counter or a software counter associated with the processor (106). The processor is configured to increment a count value of the counter (107) based on the input received from each of the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105). For example, the processor may determine any obstacle crossing the system as a human, based on the input received from each of the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105). The counter (107) may have the count value as 0. The processor may increment the count as 1, when the human is detected. In the present description, the terms humans and people are used interchangeably. As shown in the figure 1A, the transmitting device (101) and the receiving device (102) may be installed at an entrance of a showroom to count the people entering the showroom. In another example, when the entry and exit is same, the processor (106) may divide the count value by two.

[0021] Figure 1B shows an internal architecture of the processor (106) for counting the people, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The processor (106) may comprise at least one data processor for executing program components for executing user or system-generated requests. The processor (106) may be associated with a memory (114) communicatively coupled to the processor (106).

[0022] In an embodiment, data (108) may be stored within the memory (114). The data (108) may include, for example, sensor data (109) and count data (110).

[0023] In an embodiment, the sensor data (109) may comprise data from the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105). The sensor data (109) from the IR receiver (104) may be control signals. For example, a value 0 may be received from the IR receiver (104) when the IR receiver (104) receives the IR signals and a value 1 may be received when the IR receiver (104) does not receive the IR signals from the IR transmitter (103) or a break in the signal is received by the IR receiver (104). A person skilled in art will appreciate that any kind of control data may be transmitted from a sensor to a processor and is not limited to binary values. In the present description, the control signals received from the IR receiver (104) is termed as first control signals. The processor (106) may be receiving the control signals. When a human or an obstacle obstructs the IR signal transmission, there may be a break in transmission of the IR signals from the IR transmitter (103) to the IR receiver (104). The processor may receive the control signal as 1 during such a break in the IR signal transmission. The processor may determine the break in the IR signal based on the control signal. The sensor data (109) from the PIR sensor (105) may also be a control signal. For example, a value 0 may be received from the PIR sensor (105) when the PIR sensor (105) receives the heat signals radiated by the humans and a value 1 may be received when the PIR sensor (105) does not receive the heat signals radiated by the humans. A person skilled in art will appreciate that any kind of control data may be transmitted from a sensor to a processor and is not limited to binary values. In the present description, the control signals received from the IR receiver (104) is termed as second control signals. The heat signals may be received from the PIR sensor (105) upon presence of the human.

[0024] In an embodiment, the count data (110) may comprise the count value of the counter (107). The count value (107) may be incremented when the processor (106) determines the people based on the input received from the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105). In an embodiment, the count data (110) may comprise the timestamp corresponding to an increment in the count value. For example, the count value may be 5. The processor may detect the human at 11:00 AM based on the control signal transmitted by the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105). The count value may be incremented to 6. The count value of 6 along with the timestamp 11:00 AM may be stored as the count data (110). In an embodiment, the processor (106) may transmit the count value using a communication module to a central server for each increment in the count value. In another embodiment, the processor (106) may store the count values along with the timestamp in the memory (114) and transmit the count data (110) periodically to the central server. For example, the processor (106) may transmit the count data (110) every week. In another example, the processor (106) may transmit the count data (110) in consecutive or alternate days.

[0025] In an embodiment, the data (108) in the memory (114) may be processed by modules (111) of the processor (106). As used herein, the term module refers to an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC), a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that provide the described functionality. The modules (111) when configured with the functionality defined in the present disclosure will result in a novel hardware.

[0026] In one implementation, the modules (111) may include, for example, an information receiving module (112) and count determination module (113). It will be appreciated that such aforementioned modules (111) may be represented as a single module or a combination of different modules.

[0027] In an embodiment, the information receiving module (112) may receive the first control signals and the second control signals from the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105) respectively. The information receiving module (112) may continuously receive the first control signals indicating whether the IR signals are received by the IR receiver (104). The information receiving module (112) may receive the second control signals indicating whether the PIR sensor (105) is receiving the heat signals radiated by the humans. The second control signals may be received from the PIR sensor (105) upon presence of the human.

[0028] In an embodiment, the count determination module (113) may increment the count value of the counter (107) based on the input received from the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105). The count determination module (113) may determine the break in the IR signal based on the first control signal at a time instance. Further, the count determination module (113) may receive the second control signal when heat signals corresponding to the humans are received by the PIR sensor (105) at the time instance. The count determination module (113) may increment the count value of the counter (107) when the first control signal is 1 and the second control signal is 0. For example, the count determination module (113) may determine the break in the IR signal and the heat signals corresponding to humans based on the first control signal and the second control signal at the same time instance. The count determination module (113) may increment the count value of the counter (107) when the first control signal is 1 and the second control signal is 0. The counter (107) may have a value of 10. The counter (107) may increment the value of the counter (107) to 11.

[0029] In an embodiment, the processor (106) may transmit the count data (110) via the communication module to a cloud storage. The communication module may be a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) module, a ZigBee module, a Bluetooth module and the like. The central server may be associated to the cloud storage. A mobile device or a computer configured to Internet of Things (IoT) device at backend of the system (100) may fetch the count data (110) from the central server.

[0030] In an embodiment, the system (100) comprises a power management unit (not shown in Figure) and an indication unit such as a Light Emitting Diode (LED) (not shown in Figure). An input power adaptor provides an input (e.g., 5V,1A) to the system (100). The system (100) comprises a power input protection block which protects the system (100) from over voltage and prevents short circuit. The system consumes very low power. The power management unit may monitor power of the system (100). The system may run on Alternate Current (AC) or a Direct Current (DC). The LED may indicate a status of the battery, a status of the communication module, and a status of the IR transmitter (103) and the IR receiver (104). The LED may indicate any error or an abnormal condition. In an embodiment, there may be a break in the IR signal for a predefined time period. The LED may blink in predefined pattern to indicate that an obstacle is blocking the system (100). Additionally, / alternatively, a sound indication may be used to indicate the person to move away from the system. Further, such instances may be reported to the central server as well. The central server may be located in a monitoring room or a control room of a store or an establishment. An operator in the control room may take actions based on the indication. For example, a person may be standing near door of a mall for 5 mins. This may be reported to concerned personnel associated with the mall. The concerned personnel may take appropriate action to inform the person to move away from the system.

[0031] In an embodiment, the system (100) may have plastic Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) body which is water and dust resistant. The plastic body may provide an advantage of accuracy in transmission of the IR signals, which may not be obtained by using metallic body. A person skilled in art will appreciate that any suitable material can be used.

[0032] Figure 2 shows an exemplary flowchart illustrating method steps for counting the people, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in Figure 2, the method (200) may comprise one or more steps. The method (200) may be described in the general context of computer executable instructions. Generally, computer executable instructions can include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, procedures, modules, and functions, which perform particular functions or implement particular abstract data types.

[0033] The order in which the method (200) is described is not intended to be construed as a limitation, and any number of the described method blocks can be combined in any order to implement the method. Additionally, individual blocks may be deleted from the methods without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein. Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware, software, firmware, or combination thereof.

[0034] At step (201), transmitting, by the IR transmitter (103), the IR signals. The IR transmitter (103) may be continuously transmitting the IR signals to the IR receiver (104). The IR transmitter (103) and the IR receiver (104) may be communicating in a Line-of-Sight (LOS) communication. Referring to example in Figure 3A, IR signals (301) are transmitted from the IR transmitter (103) to the IR receiver (104).

[0035] Referring back to Figure 2, at step (202), receiving, by the IR receiver (104), the IR signals transmitted by the IR transmitter (103) at a time instance. The IR receiver (104) may receive the IR signals transmitted by the IR transmitter (103) continuously. As shown in the Figure 3A, the IR receiver (104) receives the IR signals (301) transmitted by the IR transmitter (103).

[0036] Referring back to Figure 2, at step (203), receiving, by the PIR sensor (105), the heat signals corresponding to the humans at the time instance. The PIR sensor (105) continuously scans for the heat signals radiated by the humans. As shown in the Figure 3A, the PIR sensor (105) scans for the heat signals (302) corresponding to the humans.

[0037] Referring back to Figure 2, at step (204), receiving, by the processor (106), the input from each of the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105) at the time instance. The processor (106) may be continuously receiving the first control signals when the IR signals (301) are received by the IR receiver (104). Upon presence of the obstacle, there is break in the LOS communication between the IR transmitter (103) and the IR receiver (104). The IR signal is not received by the IR receiver (104). The processor (106) determines the presence of the obstacle when the first control signal is 1. The PIR sensor (105) may receive the heat signal corresponding to humans. The processor (106) may determine the obstacle as the human when the second control signal is received as 0 from the PIR sensor (105). Referring to Figure 3B, there is a break in the IR signal (301) when a human (303) is present. The break may be at a time instance of 12:00 PM. Referring to Figure 3C, the PIR sensor (105) receives the heat signal (302) corresponding to the human (303). The PIR sensor (105) may receive the heat signal (302) at the time instance of 12:00 PM.

[0038] Referring back to Figure 2, at step (205), incrementing, by the processor (106), the count value of the counter (107) based on the input received from each of the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105). The processor (106) increments the count value of the counter (107) when two conditions are satisfied. The first condition is when there is break in the IR signal and the first control signal is received as 1. The second condition is when the heat signal is received by the PIR sensor (105) and the second control signal is received as 0 by the processor (106). Referring to the Figure 3C, when both conditions are satisfied, i.e., when there is break in the IR signal and the heat signal is received by the PIR sensor (105), the count is incremented to 0001 from initial value 0000.

[0039] In an example, a person may enter a retail store carrying a trolley. The count value of the counter (107) may be 20. The trolley may be in front of the person. When the trolley enters, there is break in the IR signal. The PIR sensor (105) does not receive the heat signal as the PIR sensor (105) may be configured to receive the IR radiation emitted by humans only. Hence, the count value will remain 20. When the person enters, there is a break in the IR signal and the heat signal is received by the PIR sensor (105) and the count value may be incremented to 21.

[0040] Figure 4 shows an exemplary environment illustrating a communication between the system (100) and a central server (403), in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The processor (106) in the receiving device (102) may transmit the count data (110) via the communication module to a cloud storage (402). The communication module may be a Wi-Fi module (401). The central server (403) may be associated to the cloud storage (402). A mobile device (404) or a personal computer (PC) (405) configured to the IoT device at backend of the system (100) may fetch the count data (110) from the central server (403). Further, the central server (403) may report any error to store operator or concerned personnel associated with the establishment so that necessary actions may be taken.

[0041] The present disclosure provides accuracy in counting people in establishments. The use of only IR receiver and IR transmitter detects any obstacles. The use of PIR sensor ensures that count is incremented only when humans are detected. The aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in existing solutions. The use of IR and PIR sensors in the system (100) is inexpensive and less complex. The present disclosure provides easy installation, people friendly configurations, device configuration with smart phone through Wi-Fi and error event reporting.
[0042] The terms "an embodiment", "embodiment", "embodiments", "the embodiment", "the embodiments", "one or more embodiments", "some embodiments", and "one embodiment" mean "one or more (but not all) embodiments of the invention(s)" unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0043] The terms "including", "comprising", “having” and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to", unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0044] The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms "a", "an" and "the" mean "one or more", unless expressly specified otherwise.

[0045] A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention.

[0046] When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article or a different number of devices/articles may be used instead of the shown number of devices or programs. The functionality and/or the features of a device may be alternatively embodied by one or more other devices which are not explicitly described as having such functionality/features. Thus, other embodiments of the invention need not include the device itself.

[0047] The illustrated operations of Figure 2 shows certain events occurring in a certain order. In alternative embodiments, certain operations may be performed in a different order, modified or removed. Moreover, steps may be added to the above described logic and still conform to the described embodiments. Further, operations described herein may occur sequentially or certain operations may be processed in parallel. Yet further, operations may be performed by a single processing unit or by distributed processing units.

[0048] Finally, the language used in the specification has been principally selected for readability and instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected to delineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. It is therefore intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by any claims that issue on an application based here on. Accordingly, the disclosure of the embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative, but not limiting, of the scope of the invention, which is set forth in the following claims.

[0049] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.
,CLAIMS:We claim:
1. A system (100) for counting people, the system (100) comprising:
a transmitting device (101), comprising an Infrared (IR) transmitter (103), for transmitting IR signals; and
a receiving device (102) comprising:
a counter (107) having a count value;
an IR receiver (104), for receiving the IR signals transmitted by the IR transmitter (103), at a time instance;
a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor (105), for receiving heat signals corresponding to humans at the time instance; and
a processor (106), for:
receiving an input from each of the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105) at the time instance; and
incrementing the count value of the counter (107) based on the input received from each of the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105).

2. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiving device (102) further comprises a communication module for transmitting the count value to a central server (403).

3. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor (106) increments the count value when there is a break in the IR signal and when the heat signals corresponding to humans is received by the PIR sensor (105) at the time instance.

4. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat signals corresponding to the humans are IR radiations emitted by the humans.

5. The system (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the receiving device (102) provides an indication to a central server (403) through an application, when there is break in the IR signal for a predefined time period.

6. A method for counting people using a system (100) comprising an Infrared (IR) transmitter (103), a counter (107), an IR receiver (104), a Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor (105), and a processor (106), the method comprises:
transmitting, by the IR transmitter (103), IR signals;
receiving, by the IR receiver (104), the IR signals transmitted by the IR transmitter (103) at a time instance;
receiving, by the PIR sensor (105), heat signals corresponding to humans at the time instance;
receiving, by the processor (106), an input from each of the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105) at the time instance; and
incrementing, by the processor (106), the count value of the counter (107) based on the input received from each of the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105).

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the count value is transmitted to a central server (403) using a communication module connected to the receiving device (102).

8. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the processor (106) increments the count value when there is a break in the IR signal and when the heat signals corresponding to humans is received by the PIR sensor (105) at the time instance.

9. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein an indication is provided to a central server (403) through an application, when there is break in the IR signal for a predefined time period.

10. A processor (106) for counting people configured to:
receive an input from an IR receiver (104) and a PIR sensor (105) of a system (100) at a time instance; and
increment a count value of a counter (107) based on the input received from each of the IR receiver (104) and the PIR sensor (105).

11. The processor (106) as claimed in claim 10, wherein the processor (106) increments the count value when there is a break in the IR signal and when the heat signals corresponding to humans is received by the PIR sensor (105) at the time instance.