LoRaWAN-enabled People Counter
This is a small device based on Murata’s CMWX1ZZABZ-078 that uses two IR sensors to detect passage of people across a threshold, like a doorway. The device is capable of detecting the direction of threshold crossing, so keeps track of ingress and egress events seperately. Applications include monitoring human traffic, keeping track of room occupancy, intrusion detection, etc.
The device runs on a 950 mAH coin cell battery or two AAA batteries and lasts up to three years of continuous usage at 10 minute LoRaWAN reporting interval. Typical continuous power usage at this reporting rate is 35 uA.
Edit: In the latest design the IR sensors run at a continuous 50 Hz and draw ~5 uA each. They are set to interrupt the MCU upon threshold crossing, so the system stays in its low power state until interrupted by the sensors. Right now the LoRaWAN Tx is set on a fixed timing interval, but one could switch this to a combination low frequency update, like once per hour or day and a Tx-on-detect kind of scheme for applications where few transits are expected. Lots of possibilities, but the current draw is dominated by the LoRaWAN Tx.
The device is housed in a 2.5 x 2.5 x 1 inch Bud Industries container and is simply mounted via VHB foam tape.
In our initial testing the device has achieved > 95% accuracy.
The device began as a Hackaday.io project and we are now commercializing the technology for sale. We have redesigned the prototypes for efficient manufacture and to minimize build costs and have started production and beta testing for prospective customers. Pricing will be set after all production costs are determined but we expect the initial price of each device will be around $60; less at higher volumes.
Please contact me at tleracorp@gmail.com for more information.