Beonic Thermal Sensor Introduction.

Documentation prepared by Mike Allen from Faraday Group. Material Supplied originally from Beonic Documentation.

 The Beonic Thermal Sensor is a ceiling mount people counting sensor with the imaging optics, sensor, high speed signal processing and interfacing electronics all contained within a molded plastic housing. The unit functions optically, sensing heat generated by people only, passing underneath as thermal images, through a 60º-germanium lens.

The thermal sensor can instantaneously report how many shoppers pass the front of the store and how many enter and exit the store. The units may be used as a single counting node, or configured to span a wide opening.

 FIELD OF VIEW

Beonic Thermal Sensor View

  • Sensor is downwards looking.
  • Counts moving FREE-FLOWING People.

  • An UNOBSTRUCTED view is essential.

WHAT THE SENSOR 'SEES'

Beonic Thermal Sensor Actual View

Sees people as 'HOT SPOTS'.

  • Sees temperature differences between person & background.
  • People may be hotter or colder than the background.
  • If hotter they appear white, if colder they are black.
  • A person who stops will fade from view.
  • When they move they will be detected again.

EQUIPMENT - THERMAL SENSORS

There are three types of Thermal sensors provided by Beonic. Care should be taken to ensure that the correct sensor for the job is present as the sensors all look the same on the lens side. The difference can only be determined by the underside of the sensor. They are:

1) Single Thermal Sensor

This sensor type is designed to be used in a stand alone manner where one sensor is enough to cover the width of the entry being counted. This sensor requires 1 cable running to the event Logger and 1 cable running to the configuration point (See Diagram 1)

2) Master Thermal Sensor

The Thermal master sensor is designed to be the lead sensor in a chain of sensors. It is often necessary to link sensors together in order to get a field of view wide enough to count a wide entry, e.g. at a supermarket or shopping centre entry. The master sensor is the controller unit for the Slave thermal sensors connected to it. It requires 1 cable running to the Event logger, 1 cable running to the configuration point and 1 cable connecting to the first slave thermal sensor. (See Diagram 2)

3) Slave Thermal Sensor

As mentioned above, it is often necessary to link sensors together in order to get a field of view wide enough to count a wide entry, e.g. at a supermarket or shopping centre entry. The slave thermal sensor operates as a counting unit that is controlled by the master thermal sensor. Up to 30 slave thermal sensors can be connected together. The slave thermal sensor requires 1 cable connecting to the configuration point and 1 cable connecting to the next slave thermal sensor (if there is one). (See Master/Slave Configuration Diagram)