Benchmark Innovation Awards 2018 Business Intelligence Winner: AI Tech – AI Retail
AI-Retail is a cutting-edge video analytic solution, developed by A.I. Tech for the delivery of business intelligence, which allows retailers to improve sales and marketing performance, enhancing the customer experience and providing accurate reports and statistics that enable a detailed analysis of business conditions to be implemented.
The system makes use of standard digital video surveillance cameras and advanced video analytic algorithms. The combination enables the retailer to easily access statistical data related to the flow and behaviour of customers in the retail space, and can often be used in conjunction with legacy security investments. As such, it adds value and increases return on investment.
The solution can offer a definitive benefit for business intelligence and retail space optimisation, providing information about customers and their preferences, as well as assisting in the management of employee shifts and product placements. It can additionally increase customer satisfaction, with efficient and effective queue management, reducing waiting times for customers which can lead to abandonment if too long.
AI-Retail is available as an edge-based software application which is installed directly onto cameras (Axis Communications and Hanwha Techwin devices are supported), as a server-side program installed on a server with a compatible VMS, or as an embedded solution integrated in the AI-Appliance box, which is supplied by A.I. Tech.
AI-Retail incorporates six different intelligent video analytic modules to manage a range of needs. AI-People can be employed in transit areas or gates and is linked to a virtual line detection algorithm. This plugin counts the number of persons crossing this line in a given direction.
AI-Crowd can be deployed in crowded areas where people stop or move slowly, determining queueing situations. AI-Crowd estimates the number of people inside one or more areas of interest, allowing evaluation of customer response to a display, as well as aiding queue management.
AI-Overcrowd detects overcrowding situations, raising an alarm when the number of people inside an area is too high. This is the definitive solution for queue management.
AI-Heat classifies different areas in the store depending on the time spent in them by customers, distinguishing between the most visited areas (hot spots) and the less crowded ones (dead areas).
AI-Occupancy evaluates the occupancy percentage of one or more areas of interest. AI-Overoccupancy detects situations in which the occupancy percentage is higher or lower than a given threshold.
Finally, the last module is AI-Dash, the interactive dashboard which can be viewed via web or by using a mobile app. AI-Dash allows access to all the statistical data and generates graphs and reports.