Revitalizing the whole town with AI foot traffic measurement

Installation permits were easy to obtain, which helped us deploy quickly

— Masahiko Yamada, Director for Digital Promotion, Takayama City —

Industry

Local governments

Products

IoT Router (Outdoor)

Application

AI foot traffic measurement for “tourism-based community development”

Challenges

• Obtaining installation permits was difficult outdoors, especially on riverbanks.
• Laying LAN cables takes time for permits and construction work.

Results

• A compact device that can be strapped to a pole makes installation permits easier to obtain.
• The device is wireless, so the installation equipment is compact and simple.
• Peace of mind with a dedicated outdoor device that is designed for direct sunlight and cold climates.

Overview: Revitalizing the whole town by analyzing tourist movements with an AI face recognition system

Takayama City in northern Gifu Prefecture is well known as a tourist city. It is a gateway to tourist destinations such as the Hida Mountains and Shirakawa-go, and its city center has traditional streetscapes dating back to the Edo period. Many tourists visit from within Japan and abroad.

Takayama City is now using cameras and AI to measure foot traffic, in order to verify and improve the effects of its tourism measures. The city is focusing on how to get tourists to move around and visit various places, and so revitalize the whole town. The Old Town is one of the most famous sights, but the city wants to attract more tourists to its other attractive sights and shopping streets as well, bringing activity to the whole town.

To do this, it is important to know how many people visit each place, the busy times and seasons, and even demographic information such as gender and age group. Only by collecting this information can the city examine whether its measures are attracting people and which measures would be effective for further improvement.

Foot traffic was originally measured once a year at 5 locations on shopping streets, with people counting passersby visually. However, the data covered only 2 days a year and a limited time from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (excluding one hour at midday), which was not enough for comparison and analysis. The city therefore decided to also use cameras and AI to measure foot traffic. So far, it has installed cameras for foot traffic measurement and demographic analysis at 5 locations in the city, and AI determines the traffic volume and the attributes of people.

The role of amnimo products: Sending camera video and analysis data for outdoor foot traffic measurement

Measuring foot traffic on a new bridge

The amnimo IoT router was installed at the Hida-Takayama Miyagawa Morning Market, an outdoor market. The morning market sells vegetables, fruit, pickles, souvenirs, and more in the morning, and it is one of Takayama City’s tourist attractions.

Takayama City’s challenge is to promote initiatives from the perspective of “tourism-based community development,” such as improving convenience and ease of moving around to make walking around town more enjoyable, and extending the time visitors stay.

The city wants to “attract” people from the Old Town (south of National Route 158 in the figure below), which many tourists visit, to the surrounding areas such as the morning market and shopping streets (north of National Route 158 in the figure below), get them to “stay,” and then “guide” them to the shopping streets and other surrounding areas. For this purpose, the city opened Gyojinhashi Bridge in 2020 and the Hida Takayama Nigiwai Koryukan Daimasa community center in 2022. At the same time, it decided to install foot traffic cameras to verify the effects.

The role of the IoT Router (Outdoor): PoE power, data transmission, and reliable outdoor operation

The foot traffic measurement uses FieldAnalyst, a person image analysis system from NEC Solution Innovators, Ltd. AI analyzes video data to obtain information such as people entering and leaving (people counting), times, and each person’s gender and age. In this case, the AI software runs on an IP camera. amnimo’s IoT router supplies PoE power to the IP camera and sends the video data and AI processing results over a mobile network. The customer can view the data on a PC or other device.

Another important role of amnimo’s IoT router is reliable outdoor operation. The site exceeds 35°C and gets direct sunlight in midsummer, while in winter it is a cold area where temperatures drop below -10°C. A key point was that the product runs reliably outdoors, with a wide operating temperature range and protection against momentary power interruptions and lightning.

Note: The amnimo product has three main roles: supplying PoE power to the camera, sending video data and processing results wirelessly, and running reliably outdoors.

Results: Quick deployment with simpler permits and installation

1. Wireless, so installation is easy

At first, the city considered laying a LAN cable from a nearby city-owned community center to supply PoE power to the camera. However, it found that laying a LAN cable across the river required applying to the prefecture for a river area occupancy permit. The application requires obtaining a property registry certificate and preparing construction and design drawings, and getting the permit can take 1 to 2 months. Because the city needed to start measuring quickly, NEC Solution Innovators, Ltd. introduced amnimo’s IoT Router (Outdoor), which can send camera video data over a mobile network. With this product, no LAN cabling work was needed, which saved not only the installation work but also the effort of applying for and obtaining permits. The city was rushing to install it before the summer holidays, to compare before and after the summer travel season, and is very satisfied that it could deploy quickly.

2. Compact, so installation permits are easy to obtain

The amnimo product has a compact design, so the city could install it without worrying about space. One of the hardest parts of deploying a system for a local government is installing it in a way that respects the townscape and explaining the purpose of the project to local stakeholders. Installation work is sometimes left to contractors, but amnimo’s IoT router is compact enough to be strapped to a city-owned streetlight, and city staff could install it themselves. This kept the preparation and installation time to a minimum.

3. An all-in-one device for outdoor use

“What makes it very attractive is that the IoT router and a camera are all you need,” says Mr. Yoshida of NEC Solution Innovators, Ltd., who was involved in introducing the amnimo product. “A conventional camera system needs a camera, a PC, a PoE switch, and an internet router, and installing them outdoors also requires a dedicated outdoor box. Here, all of this comes in one dedicated outdoor device, with protection against direct sunlight, momentary power interruptions, and lightning. We find it very convenient.”

Outlook: How to turn data into specific measures

Looking ahead, the city wants to analyze and use the collected data, such as increases and decreases in foot traffic and demographics, turn it into specific measures, and focus on effective community development.

For example, talking with people on the shopping streets revealed a request for “foot traffic forecasts two weeks ahead.” If they know in advance that foot traffic is likely to be heavy on the weekend two weeks later, they can schedule staff shifts appropriately and adjust purchasing. Foot traffic forecasts are useful not only for residents but also for tourists. The city hopes tourists will avoid crowded times, visit more sights more efficiently, and as a result help revitalize the whole town.

Near the cameras installed this time, a certain number of people turn back at the bridge without crossing it. To give people a reason to cross, the city opened the new Hida Takayama Nigiwai Koryukan Daimasa on the other side of the bridge. Live performances and other events are held there, and in some cases people on the other side of the bridge noticed that “something fun is going on,” and foot traffic actually increased.

By firmly running this cycle of data-driven measures and verification of their effects, the city aims to revitalize the whole town.

Takayama City: “Revitalizing the whole town with AI foot traffic measurement”