Methods of estimating a throughput of a resource, a length of a queue associated with the resource and/or a wait time of the queue

A computing system for estimating a throughput of a resource within a venue, the computing system comprising a processor and memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing system to:

• determine, by a server, an operating throughput of the resource;
• receive, by the server, event schedule data identifying a plurality of scheduled times corresponding to a plurality of events occurring at one or more of the resource and nearby points of interest, wherein the events cause the throughput of the resource to deviate from the operating throughput of the resource;
• estimate, by the server, the throughput of the resource based on the operating throughput, and the event schedule data;
• and
• perform one or more of:
• displaying, by the server and via a map user interface of a front-end device, the estimated throughput;
• sending, by the server, the estimated throughput to one or more of a front-end device and mobile devices corresponding to venue guests;
• determining, by the server and based on the estimated throughput, an estimated current wait time and sending the estimated current wait time to one or more of a front-end device and mobile devices corresponding to venue guests, wherein determining the estimated current wait time is based on an estimated number of venue guests in a queue associated with the resource, determined by:
• for each of a first subset of a plurality of images, estimating a number of pixels of the image that correspond to venue guests in the queue by applying a weighting to each pixel based on a gradient mask applied to the image, wherein the gradient mask causes a lower weighting to be applied to pixels corresponding to areas that are closer to a corresponding camera and a higher weighting to pixels corresponding to areas that are further from the corresponding camera, to account for perspective effects in the image;
• determining, by the server and based on the estimated throughput, a time at which a venue guest joining a queue is permitted entry to the resource and automatically sending, to a mobile device corresponding to the venue guest, a notification indicating when the venue guest is permitted entry to the resource;
• managing, by the server and based on the estimated throughput, a virtual queue, wherein managing the virtual queue comprises automatically sending, to mobile devices corresponding to venue guests included in the virtual queue, notifications indicating when the corresponding venue guests are permitted entry to the resource;
• or
• regulating, by the server, access to the resource by one or more venue guests by receiving, from a mobile device corresponding to a venue guest, a request to access the resource, adding the venue guest to the virtual queue associated with the resource, and managing the virtual queue by removing the venue guests from the virtual queue at a rate based on the estimated throughput of the resource.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a computing system, cause the computing system to estimate a throughput of a resource within a venue by:

• determining, by a server, an operating throughput of the resource;
• receiving, by the server, event schedule data identifying a plurality of scheduled times corresponding to a plurality of events occurring at one or more of the resource and nearby points of interest, wherein the events cause the throughput of the resource to deviate from the operating throughput of the resource;
• estimating, by the server, the throughput of the resource based on the operating throughput, and the event schedule data;
• and
• performing one or more of:
• displaying, by the server and via a map user interface of a front-end device, the estimated throughput;
• sending, by the server, the estimated throughput to one or more of a front-end device and mobile devices corresponding to venue guests;
• determining, by the server and based on the estimated throughput, an estimated current wait time and sending the estimated current wait time to one or more of a front-end device and mobile devices corresponding to venue guests, wherein determining the estimated current wait time is based on an estimated number of venue guests in a queue associated with the resource, determined by:
• for each of a first subset of a plurality of images, estimating a number of pixels of the image that correspond to venue guests in the queue by applying a weighting to each pixel based on a gradient mask applied to the image, wherein the gradient mask causes a lower weighting to be applied to pixels corresponding to areas that are closer to a corresponding camera and a higher weighting to pixels corresponding to areas that are further from the corresponding camera, to account for perspective effects in the image;
• determining, by the server and based on the estimated throughput, a time at which a venue guest joining a queue is permitted entry to the resource and automatically sending, to a mobile device corresponding to the venue guest, a notification indicating when the venue guest is permitted entry to the resource;
• managing, by the server and based on the estimated throughput, a virtual queue, wherein managing the virtual queue comprises automatically sending, to mobile devices corresponding to venue guests included in the virtual queue, notifications indicating when the corresponding venue guests are permitted entry to the resource;
• or
• regulating, by the server, access to the resource by one or more venue guests by receiving, from a mobile device corresponding to a venue guest, a request to access the resource, adding the venue guest to the virtual queue associated with the resource, and managing the virtual queue by removing the venue guests from the virtual queue at a rate based on the estimated throughput of the resource.