How to make vehicular and pedestrian counts with a video event counter
Observing a street for a few minutes allows you to discover many things: how many cars circulate, in what direction people walk or how often they pass bicycles and delivery vehicles. However, when we need to convert those observations into figures, memory and improvised annotations are no longer enough. It takes an orderly way to record each event and review the results.
To facilitate this task, at MKTCompass we develop a Video event counter. It is a tool that allows you to play a recording and add observations by means of buttons or the numeric keys. Each button represents a customizable category and maintains its own count.
One of its most practical applications is the vehicular and pedestrian count or capacity. It can also be used to record other visible events in a recording, provided they can be clearly identified and organized into a maximum of ten categories.
In this article we explain what it is for, how to start and what should be considered to obtain more consistent counts.
What is the video event counter for?
The counter helps transform a visual observation into a numeric record. Its operation is simple: while you watch the video, you press the corresponding button every time the event you want to count occurs.
For example, you can assign one category to cars, another to motorcycles and another to pedestrians. Every time you identify one of those elements, you record an observation. The results are shown separately so you can check how much each category accumulated.
The tool has Ten customizable events, associated with the keys 1 to 9 and 0. The names appear in the buttons and in the report. This way you can adapt the same page to different projects without modifying the code.
In addition, it allows you to download a CSV file with the categories and their counts. That file can be opened in a spreadsheet to integrate results, prepare tables, or compare different observation sessions.
What is a vehicular and pedestrian count or capacity?
In practical terms, a capacity consists of counting the vehicles or the people who pass through a point during a defined period. Depending on the purpose, the registry can distinguish types of vehicles, directions of circulation, or specific movements.
A vehicle count can answer questions such as: How many cars pass in front of a location? What participation do motorcycles have? How many delivery vehicles circulate during the observed hours?
In a pedestrian count, questions can focus on how many people walk a sidewalk, cross a street, or pass in front of an access.
The counter facilitates the manual recording of these observations from video. The identification of each event is performed by the person reviewing the recording. This allows you to apply defined criteria for the project, but also makes it necessary to maintain attention and consistency during the review.
Why count from a recording?
Working with Video offers the possibility to review what happened more calmly. If several vehicles pass at the same time or a doubt about a classification arises, you can pause and return to the corresponding fragment.
You can also review the same recording in several sessions. For example, dedicate a first revision to vehicles and another to pedestrians, instead of trying to register everything simultaneously.
The recording makes it easy to check dubious observations and compare criteria among the people involved in the count. However, its usefulness depends on what the camera actually shows. If a bus hides several pedestrians or part of the street is left out of the frame, the counter cannot retrieve that information.
Therefore, before starting, it is convenient to confirm that the video allows you to observe the waypoint and distinguish the categories you need.
How to start using the tool
Enter the MktCompass video event counter and open the section 'Video and Names of the Events'. There you will find the options to select the recording and customize the categories.
You can work with a file from your computer or device, or enter a link from YouTube or Google Drive.
When you upload a local file, the tool plays it in the browser without uploading it to the Internet. The compatibility depends on the file format and codec, so it is advisable to check its playback before starting a long session.
If you use YouTube or Drive, the video needs to allow playback within another page and have the appropriate access permissions. Having a link does not guarantee, by itself, that it can be played in the integrated viewer.
Step 1. Define what you are going to tell
Before pressing the first button, write a simple definition of your goal. For example:
'Count the vehicles that cross in front of the main access, from left to right, during the fifteen minutes selected.'
That phrase delimits the object of observation, the point of reference, the meaning and the period. Without these decisions, two people could review the same video and get different results because they told different things.
It also defines what constitutes a unit. In a pedestrian count, you will usually need to register individual people, even if they walk in a group. If four people pass together, the registration should reflect four observations when that is the criterion of the study.
Also decide how you will deal with doubtful cases. A category of “others” can be useful when an item is visible, but cannot be classified with sufficient security.
Step 2. Customize the categories
The tool allows you to change the names of the ten events. For a vehicle count, a possible configuration would be:
| Key | Example category |
|---|---|
| 1 | cars |
| 2 | Motorcycles |
| 3 | Taxi |
| 4 | delivery trucks |
| 5 | buses |
| 6 | cargo trucks |
| 7 | Bicycles |
| 8 | other vehicles |
| 9 | pedestrians, sense to |
| 0 | pedestrians, direction B |
This example should be adapted to each project. If you need to distinguish vehicles by direction, you can create categories such as “Automobiles, Sense A” and “Automobiles, Sense B”.
Make sure the categories do not overlap. If you separate car taxis, establish that a taxi is registered only in its category. It is also convenient to define how you will distinguish a delivery truck from a particular truck.
Once the names are written, press 'Save Names'.
Step 3. Set a counting line
A practical way to avoid duplicates is to choose an imaginary line within the frame. It can match a pole, a mark on the pavement, or the limit of an access.
Register each vehicle or pedestrian when crossing that reference, always following the same criteria. In vehicles, for example, you can decide to count when the front part crosses the line.
For pedestrians, define what you will do if a person stops on the reference or backs off. Are you counting crosses in each direction or people who pass once? They are different goals and require different rules.
The tool records the pulsations you make; Therefore, establishing these rules before reviewing the video helps the result correspond to the question you want to answer.
Step 4. Play and record events
With the recording loaded and the names saved, the review begins. You can add observations by clicking on the buttons or using a physical keyboard with the keys 1–9 and 0.
On a mobile device you can also touch the buttons or use the field 'mobile keyboard'. Each entered digit adds an observation to the corresponding category.
For example, if key 1 represents cars and you look at three units, you must register it three times. Keeping a key pressed should not be used as a substitute for counting each step.
If you have just interacted with the YouTube or Drive player, click or tap outside of the video before continuing with the physical keyboard. Thus the focus returns to the counter page.
How to work with vertical videos
Recordings made with the phone usually have vertical orientation. To facilitate its review, the counter uses the actual dimensions of the local file and adjusts the player space.
On mobile screens, the design reduces video to make room for count controls. The configuration remains in a folding section, so you can close it during observation.
YouTube and Google Drive videos retain a 16:9 ratio horizontal viewer.
It is advisable to test the distribution before starting. In especially small screens it may be necessary to move. For long sessions or scenes with many simultaneous elements, a computer or a larger screen can make it easier to review.
An example of a pedestrian count
Suppose you want to know the passage of people in front of a possible commercial location. You can place a visible reference in the recording and create two categories: “Pedestrians to the North” and “Pedestrians to the South”.
During the selected period, you register each person when you pass through that reference. If you also need to count bicycles, you can add specific categories and define how you will treat those who walk by carrying a bicycle.
When you finish, you will have a record of the observed flow in each direction during that interval. That information can support a comparison between locations or schedules.
However, the pedestrian crossing does not automatically equate to business visits or potential buyers. Counting describes observable behavior; Interpreting your relationship with a business opportunity requires more information to be considered.
How to organize work intervals
If you are looking to compare times, divide the recording into defined blocks. For example, you can review fifteen-minute intervals and keep a separate result for each.
Write down the location, the date, the video time, the observed duration and any relevant circumstances. These data will help interpret the numbers later.
The CSV contains the categories and the accumulated counts; It does not automatically record the minute of each event or separate the results by intervals. To work by blocks, download the result at the end of each period and then reset the counters.
You can rename the files with a clear convention, such as LOCATION-A_0800-0815.csv. Before rebooting, confirm that you saved the correct file and that you know which fragment it corresponds to.
Check errors and download the report
During a session you can press a button by mistake. the option 'Undo' Reverts the last record made. If you discover the error immediately, you can undo it and register the appropriate category.
the section 'Count Report' Shows the names and results of the ten categories. Check it out at the end and check that the names describe what you actually said.
Then select 'Download CSV'. The file includes the key, the event name, and its count, and can be used in a spreadsheet.
Keep in mind that changing video does not reset the results and saving names does not delete the counts either. If you are going to start a standalone session, download the previous result first and use 'Restart'.
Recommendations for best results
A short test session can help you detect confusing categories, framing difficulties, or a too fast pace of observation. Do that test before the final count and restart the results when you are ready.
If the scene has a lot of movement, check the video in several passes with different categories. Avoid accumulating too many simultaneous decisions if that makes you lose events.
When multiple people participate, share the definitions and review an example snippet together. If you get different results, identify the cause before you distribute the job.
It also documents the limitations: rain, insufficient lighting, vehicles that block sight or incomplete fragments. A number is more useful when the context in which it was obtained is known.
Start with a specific question
The video event counter allows you to organize a task that usually starts with scattered notes: observe, classify and add. Its usefulness is in bringing together the playback of the video, the controls and the report on the same page.
You can use it for vehicular capacity, pedestrian counts, movements in accesses or other observations that can be visually distinguished. To take advantage of it, first define what you want to measure, establish clear categories and keep a record of the revised period.
Open the MktCompass video event counter, upload a recording and perform a first test. With a few minutes of preparation you can turn what you see into an organized count and ready to analyze.