# US 10,311,451 B2 · System and method for determining demographic information > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,311,451 B2 - Document ID: US10311451B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/355,652 - Filed: 2016-11-18 - Published: 2017-03-09 - Granted: 2019-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2014-05-19 - Assignees: Hoxton Analytics Limited - Applicants: Hoxton Analytics Limited - Inventors: Owen McCormack - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10311451B2 ## CPC - G06Q 30/0201: Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data - G06F 18/24: Classification techniques - G06Q 10/067: Enterprise or organisation modelling - G06T 7/20: Analysis of motion (motion estimation for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/43, H04N19/51) - G06V 40/10: Human or animal bodies, e.g. vehicle occupants or pedestrians; Body parts, e.g. hands - G06T 2207/30242: Counting objects in image - G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL - G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING ## Abstract With reference to FIG. 1, we provide a system for monitoring pedestrians, the system including: a data capture system including a data capture device; a computer system communicatively coupled to the data capture system and configured to receive data from the image capture system representative of a portion of a pedestrian, said portion including at least a foot or item of footwear of the pedestrian; wherein the computer system is operable to count pedestrian footfall and/or to determine a demographic property of the pedestrian based on the data representative of the foot or item of footwear of the pedestrian. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system for monitoring pedestrian footfall, the system including: a data capture system including an image capture device located at a target zone through which pedestrians pass; a computer system communicatively coupled to the data capture system and configured to receive data from the data capture system representative of a portion of a pedestrian, including data representing a plurality of images relating to at least a foot or item of footwear of one or more pedestrians; wherein the computer system is operable to: identity a first observation of a foot or item of footwear of a pedestrian in a portion of a first image and identify a second observation of a foot or item of footwear of a pedestrian in (i) another portion of the first image or (ii) a portion of a second image, using an image classification algorithm, compare the first observation to the second observation based on at least (i) an angle or direction of movement of the foot or item of footwear and (ii) relative locations of the first and second observations in the first image or in the first and second images to determine whether the first and second observations are of the same pedestrian; and count a number of pedestrians observed over a time interval. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) A system according to claim 1, wherein the system is operable to determine a demographic property of each pedestrian based on the data representative of the foot or item of footwear of the pedestrian. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) A system according to claim 2, further including a reporting system adapted to communicate the determined demographic property of the pedestrian to a user. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) A system according to claim 2, wherein the computer system is further configured to communicate the determined demographic property classification to a user. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) A system according to claim 2, wherein the system is operable to collate demographic data associated with a plurality of pedestrians. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) A system according to claim 1, wherein the system is configured to record a time of monitoring associated with each pedestrian monitored by the system. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) A system according to claim 1, wherein the comparison of a first observed foot or item of footwear to further observations of a foot or item of footwear identified in a subsequent image, is further based on a time of detection and a location of the foot or item of footwear identified. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) A system according to claim 1, wherein the image capture device is positioned at between 300 mm and 1000 mm above floor level. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) A system according to claim 1, wherein the computer system is operable to compare the identified foot or item of footwear in a plurality of consecutive images to determine a selected one of those images in which the foot or item of footwear is observed in a flattest state. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) A system according to claim 1, wherein the computer system is calibrated to determine a size of the foot or item of footwear based at least in part on a height-wise position of the foot or item of footwear in the image. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) A system according to claim 1, wherein the computer system is operable to count the number of pedestrians observed over a time interval using a probabilistic model that assigns a likelihood that pairs of observed feet or items of footwear belong to a single pedestrian, such that the count comprises a predicted number of pedestrians and an estimation of the accuracy of that prediction. ### Claim 12 A method of monitoring pedestrian footfalls, the method including the steps of: capturing data representing a portion of a pedestrian using an image capture device located at a target zone through which pedestrians pass; communicating data representative of the portion of a pedestrian to a computer system, including data representing a plurality of images relating to at least a foot or item of footwear of one or more pedestrians; identifying using the computer a first observation of a foot or item of footwear of a pedestrian in a portion of a first image and identifying using the computer a second observation of a foot or item of footwear of a pedestrian in (i) another portion of the first image or (ii) a portion of a second image, using an image classification algorithm, comparing, using the computer, the first observation to the second observation based on at least (i) the angle or direction of movement of the foot or item of footwear and (ii) relative locations of the first and second observations in the first image or in the first and second images to determine whether the first and second observations are of the same pedestrian and the presence of a pedestrian; and counting the number of pedestrians observed over a time interval. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) A method according to claim 12, further including determining using the computer a demographic property of the pedestrian based on the data representative of the foot or item of footwear of the pedestrian. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) A method according to claim 13, further including a step of communicating the determined demographic property classification to a user. ### Claim 15 (depends on 12) A method according to claim 12, further including a step of determining at least one property of the foot or item of footwear. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) A method according to claim 15 wherein a property of the foot or item of footwear is the size of the foot or item of footwear. ### Claim 17 (depends on 12) A method according to claim 12, including a step of recording a time of monitoring associated with each pedestrian monitored by the system. ### Claim 18 (depends on 12) A method according to claim 12, wherein the step of comparing a first observed foot or item of footwear to further observations of a foot or item of footwear identified in a subsequent image, comprises making the comparison based at least in part on a time of detection and a location of the foot or item of footwear identified. ### Claim 19 (depends on 12) A method according to claim 12, wherein the step of capturing data representing a portion of a pedestrian using an image capture device further includes a prior step of positioning the image capture device at between 300 mm and 1000 mm above floor level. ### Claim 20 (depends on 12) A method according to claim 12, further comprising comparing the identified foot or item of footwear in a plurality of consecutive images to determine a selected one of those images in which the foot or item of footwear is observed in a flattest state. ### Claim 21 A system for monitoring pedestrian footfall, the system including: a data capture system including an image capture device located at a target zone through which pedestrians pass; a computer system communicatively coupled to the data capture system and configured to receive data from the data capture system representative of a portion of a pedestrian, including data representing a plurality of images relating to at least a foot or item of footwear of one or more pedestrians; wherein the computer system is operable to: identify a first observation of a foot or item of footwear of a pedestrian in a portion of a first image and identify a second observation of a foot or item of footwear of a pedestrian in (i) another portion of the first image or (ii) a portion of a second image, compare the first observation to the second observation based on at least (i) an angle or direction of movement of the foot or item of footwear and (ii) relative locations of the first and second observations in the first image or in the first and second images to determine whether the first and second observations are of the same pedestrian; determine a demographic property of each pedestrian based on the data representative of the foot or item of footwear of the pedestrian and count the number of pedestrians observed over a time interval. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) A system according to claim 21, wherein the image capture device is positioned at between 300 mm and 1000 mm above floor level. ### Claim 23 A method of monitoring pedestrian footfall, the method including the steps of: capturing data representing a portion of a pedestrian using an image capture device located at a target zone through which pedestrians pass; communicating data representative of the portion of a pedestrian to a computer system, including data representing a plurality of images relating to at least a foot or item of footwear of one or more pedestrians; identifying using the computer a first observation of a foot or item of footwear of a pedestrian in a portion of a first image and identify a second observation of a foot or item of footwear of a pedestrian in (i) another portion of the first image or (ii) a portion of a second image, comparing the first observation to the second observation based on at least (i) an angle or direction of movement of the foot or item of footwear and (ii) relative locations of the first and second observations in the first image or in the first and second images to determine whether the first and second observations are of the same pedestrian; determining using the computer a demographic property of the pedestrian based on the data representative of the foot or item of footwear of the pedestrian, and counting the number of pedestrians observed over a time interval.