CROWDSCAN

Crowdscan, a spin-off from imec and University Antwerp, uses secure and low-energy radio waves to accurately, anonymously and in real time count the number of people present at a location. This data is the basis for many smart mobility applications, such as crowd monitoring by security services or providing a crowd barometer for travellers or potential visitors. A pilot project at the busy Groenplaats metro station was the start of an international roll-out.

CrowdScan grew out of the (post)doctoral research of Ben Bellekens and Stijn Denis under the watchful eye of Professor Maarten Weyn. "In 2015, the Antwerp Mayor once mentioned that it would be interesting to know how many people walk on the Meir. Maarten started to think about it and eventually set up a research project," says Bellekens. "From this fundamental question, we started to investigate which wireless technologies we could use to map people. 

"One day we wanted to try out our 'tagless localisation', as it was called at the time, on a large scale. There we were, screwing trays to the wall in Tomorrowland. We were given carte blanche as long as it was out of sight," laughs Ben Bellekens. "It was also there, in 2019, that we had our eureka moment. We had equipped the Freedom Stage, the VIP area and the bridge with our sensors, so we could analyse different flows and compare them with the organisation's own counts and cameras. Our sensors worked and the continuous real-time monitoring proved that we had a unique security solution on our hands".