City trade can be developed with IR technology

Tue 28 Nov 2017 15:52

A successful test in the research project SMART at Mid Sweden University allows city trade to evolve. New IR technology, or heat radiation, has been developed in cooperation with HÄR, Handel och Möten i Härnösand. The technology measures how people move in central Härnösand. The test will now be permanent on a larger scale.

- We are very pleased with the test. In particular, we wanted to ensure that the method does not violate human integrity and we now see that it is impossible to identify people. We measure heat radiation only, but technology allows us to follow people's movement patterns, which was the purpose of the experiment, says Mattias O'Nils, Professor Mid Sweden University.

The City Movements test was conducted earlier this autumn during a day when a device with two IR cameras was mounted along Storgatan in Härnösand. That way people's movement along the street could be followed. During the spring of 2018, the experiment will be permanent and measurements will be made on three points in the urban environment - Östra Kanalgatan and Storgatan, northern and southern part.

- Rebuilding and start-ups are major and costly projects, and with this technology we get an evaluation tool that makes it easier for us to make the right decisions about where stores should be located, where there are meeting places and cafes and how the signage in the city center should be designed to work as best, says Henrik Skyttberg, center developer in Härnösand municipality.

Urban planning is an important issue as it affects all people moving and working in the area concerned, and City Movements has been developed within the framework of the cooperation agreement between the Mid Sweden University and the municipality of Härnösand.

- The advantage of the technology is that it is very accurate. It becomes possible to both follow people's movements and count the number of individuals. For our part, the project is an excellent example of how business and public sector can collaborate with us for public benefit, says Mattias O'Nils, Professor Mid Sweden University.

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The page was updated 2/22/2018