Camera-based system ensures accurate passenger counts on ferries

The IDS AI-driven camera solution meets international ferry regulations while streamlining boarding and improving transport data accuracy.

The precise recording of passenger numbers is vital for transport companies – it helps to optimise timetables, make better use of capacities and organise local public transport more efficiently. A modern solution for this is camera-based passenger counting. Intelligent image processing systems automatically and precisely record how many people board and alight – without any manual counting. With Adigo nPax, the Norwegian company Adigo Mechatronics has developed such a system specifically for ferries.

International shipping regulations need ferry operators to know the exact number of passengers on board – a task that has conventionally been handled in conjunction with the ticketing process. However, in the course of automation, ferry boarding has increasingly shifted to free-flow models. Vehicles and passengers can drive or walk directly onto the ferry without traditional ticket controls or barriers. Automated systems, such as cameras, sensors, or digital toll technologies, record the vehicle's licence plate number or the number of passengers in real time. The aim is to achieve a fast and smooth boarding process, eliminating long waiting times and manual checks.

However, counting passengers in moving vehicles remains a challenge that often requires staff, especially when dealing with large numbers of passengers or when small children are seated in vehicles with tinted windows.

This is where the Adigo nPax system comes in: Employing a combination of a camera and AI-supported algorithms, it automatically records the number of passengers and transmits it directly to the ship's logging system. The data is documented centrally and made available for authorities or internal processes. If required, the crew can check the count manually using a mobile device. Every correction helps to improve the system continuously.

With the system, counting accuracy and operational efficiency can be greatly increased. Specially selected industrial cameras with customised lighting solutions reliably capture clear images, even at high vehicle speeds. The data is analysed directly on site with state-of-the-art AI models processing the images in real-time and immediately provide exact passenger numbers for every vehicle that passes through the system. In the interests of data security, all image data is used exclusively locally on board. No external storage or transmission takes place, which is a prerequisite and a decisive contribution to safeguarding the privacy of passengers.

The system has been in use on the Arsvågen-Mortavika route for over a year. "Control tests with hundreds of vehicles have shown a counting accuracy of over 98%. Despite challenges such as tinted windows, child seat covers and the changeable weather conditions that are typical of the Norwegian coast, Adigo nPax reliably delivers precise results," says André Ødegårdstuen, product developer at Adigo Mechatronics.

The camera used was the IDS GigE uEye CP. Its compact magnesium housing (29mm x 29mm x 29mm) is light and robust at around 50g and emphasises the camera's suitability for industrial use. It is excellent for tasks in various fields, including automation, medical technology and life sciences, agriculture, logistics, traffic, and transport.