Storefront analytics on the edge
Built for the ten feet in front of a store:
the TARS video analysis engine
TARS Edge is the analysis engine that runs on a small chip inside the camera. It finds people in each frame, estimates their distance, classifies passing, pausing and entering — then keeps the numbers and throws the frame away.
Video frames sent off the device, by design
0frames
A design rule, not a track record: video is processed on the device and discarded.
A chip in the camera counts people on the spot and discards each frame immediately. Only hourly numbers ever leave.
In plain termsLike a clerk who never remembers anyone's face and only writes down how many people came in today.
From a single camera, TARS estimates how far away each person is (monocular depth estimation) and counts only people within ten feet of your door. Because it measures distance itself, installers skip most of the tape-measure work.
In plain termsClose one eye and you can still tell a near cup from a far one. We judge distance the same way — from a person's size and where their feet land.
Not just "420 an hour," but "90% interval 380–465," so you know how sure we are. When we say 90%, we tune the ranges so the real value lands inside nine times out of ten (calibration).
In plain termsLike a forecast that says "70% chance of rain" instead of just "rain."
For site surveys, we combine a 1–2 week sample with public population data, weather, weekdays and holidays to estimate a full year of foot traffic. The further from the measured weeks, the wider the range.
In plain termsLike estimating a year of household spending from two weeks of receipts. Times that run differently, like holidays and vacation season, are worked out separately using the calendar and the weather.
Technology
makes the sidewalk
measurable.
Feature
Detection & Tracking
Finds people in each frame and follows them briefly within the view. It never checks whether someone has been there before.
Monocular Depth
Measures distance to each person with a single camera.
Funnel Events
Classifies passing, pausing and entering.
Differences
A door counter only counts people who walk through the door, so it can't tell you why others don't.
TARS counts who passes, who pauses and who walks in — so you can see exactly where you lose customers.
Typical door counter
[Entries only]
No idea who walked by or paused
TARS Edge
[Passed · paused · walked in]
Shows where you lose people, within ten feet of the door
Process
We fit a pass line, a pause zone and an entry line to each storefront. Thanks to depth estimation, there is almost no floor marking or tape measuring.
We'll publish accuracy figures once they are measured in pilot stores.
Ranges tighten as the measurement period grows. Until they're narrow enough, we don't rush to conclusions.
Estimated passersby per hour, by measurement period
Sample dataDot: estimate · Line: 90% interval
News
We'll share experiment notes from our pilot stores here.
Contact