Video scene invariant crowd density estimation using geographic information systems

Crowd density is an important factor of crowd stability. Previous crowd density estimation methods are highly dependent on the specific video scene. This paper presented a video scene invariant crowd density estimation method using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to monitor crowd size for large areas. The proposed method mapped crowd images to GIS. Then we can estimate crowd density for each camera in GIS using an estimation model obtained by one camera. Test results show that one model obtained by one camera in GIS can be adaptively applied to other cameras in outdoor video scenes. A real-time monitoring system for crowd size in large areas based on scene invariant model has been successfully used in ‘Jiangsu Qinhuai Lantern Festival, 2012’. It can provide early warning information and scientific basis for safety and security decision making.