GIF showing Outsight's lidar software dashboard for passport control in an airport

LiDAR in Public Spaces: Top 6 Key Advantages for Improved Operations and Maintenance

Discover the benefits of LiDAR technology in public spaces: people counting, anonymity, public safety, easy installation, and error-free data.

Mar 21, 2023
Anne-Sophie Dubois

As processes and machines become increasingly automated and sophisticated, the use of LiDAR technology has emerged as a significant breakthrough in extracting data sources that can be leveraged to enhance them.

This cutting-edge technology is proving to be also a game-changer in Public Spaces, offering a wealth of data that can be easily applied to optimize performance and efficiency but also increase safety and security.

Once the sensors capture the spatial data, LiDAR software is used to actually process this information and create real-time KPIs and alerts that can be easily reconfigured for various use cases with only a few clicks of the mouse.

The software also allows for adjusting parameters like the field of vision, resolution, or points of interest, which are then translated into various mounting options.

Operations within public spaces, like airports, stadiums, or train stations, are just one example of the many fields that can benefit from smart sensing solutions such as 3D LiDAR hardware and software.

Outsight's Spatial Intelligence Platform is helping airports, like Paris Charles-de-Gaulle Airport, to enhance their passport control management

LiDAR Solutions Key Advantages for Public Spaces

1. People Counting and Crowd Management with High Precision

People counting and crowd management technology has never been more crucial to public health than it is now, when communities worldwide are still on the road to recovery from the COVID-19 epidemic and restrictions are being lifted.

Here is where LiDAR technology comes in, with its ability to deliver precise, real-time data: it can accurately identify, count, classify, and track the movement of people and items (such as trolleys, passengers, and other objects) in a given area.

This can help public space operators to optimize traffic flow and prevent overcrowding in high-traffic areas.

Additionally, LiDAR technology can aid in the planning and design of public spaces, providing valuable insights into how people use and interact with the environment.

In the upcoming years, it will be imperative to implement computer vision based perception technology - like LiDAR - to help identify safety issues, minimize risk, improve operations, and make rail more competitive.

2. Anonymity Thanks to LiDAR Technology

Moreover, anonymity is crucial in public spaces. Compared to other sensor technologies, such as cameras, which can record people's biometrics characteristics, LiDAR technology has a significant advantage since it can't gather any private information.

This personal information is not required to perform crucial use cases such asverifying the number of people getting in a certain stadium zone or checking the general flow of passengers at any given moment around a train station.

Outsight software allows for individual and aggregated people tracking in a queue without requiring personal identification

3. Ensuring Crowd Safety Now and in the Future

After the data and reports are accumulated, they can be accessed, processed, and used for managing crowds public safety now and in the future through predictions.

Moreover, Outsight's software can be used to track passengers full trajectory as they move across the whole facilities or to assess occupancy by counting and tracking the direction of people over a specific area.
Outsight's software allows for detecting and tracking people anonymously, including precise trajectory and speed

4. Accurate Detection of Intrusions

While it may seem simple to anticipate where large crowds would congregate in these public areas, gaining access to this information in real time about certain individuals might be difficult. 

This can be answered with LiDAR solutions, like the one from Outsight, which can improve the efficacy of perimeter intrusion detection systems (PIDS) for elevated-security zones, allowing for far more accurate detection of incursions or unauthorised groups into critical sections inside these places.

More than detecting and tracking, Outsight's LiDAR Software can also be integrated with a PTZ camera that would autonomously move to a target based on the movements detected

5. Easy Installation and Customization

The LiDAR sensors are straightforward to set up. Unlike similar sensor technology, which is often set up to point straight down, LiDAR sensors provide versatile sensor mounting choices to monitor and track regions from almost any vantage point.

This makes the system easy to install and tailor since the counting zones can be defined with a few clicks in the perception software.

GIF of how easy setting up the lidar sensors for passenger flow is
A full people flow monitoring solution can be easily installed in only a few days

6. Cost-efficiency Solution

Saving money on labor is a persuasive argument in favour of LiDAR technology. Because the field of vision and detection range can be so high (up to 300m), fewer sensors are required to monitor a large region.

Due to the fact that it is capable of performing multi-point scanning, LiDAR solutions are also well suited for use in busy and crowded spaces.

Finally, LiDAR solutions can equally function in the dark; thus, they can give uninterrupted and real-time measurements even at night, enabling round-the-clock surveillance of the whole airport.

Graphic showing the large area capabilities lidar have
LiDAR solution provides highly-accurate information using an optimal number of sensors even in large environments such as an full stadium, an airport terminal or a big train station

What's Next?

3D Perception Software Solutions have become an invaluable tool for public space operators worldwide, offering many benefits that improve safety, efficiency, and sustainability, and tend to play an increasingly important role in the future.

Download our whitepaper and schedule a meeting with a Product Specialist to start improving your venue operations efficiency and safety from today.

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