Face mask detecting CCTV Cameras coming to a shop near you
Shops across the UK are using technology to help staff tackle awkward customers who will not wear face masks in their stores.
The camera system works out if an approaching customer is wearing a mask or not, displays a message on a screen to allow or deny access. Customers who are not wearing a mask are refused entry automatically.
“The technology is just fantastic; the CCTV system automatically allows or denies access to the shop and means staff don’t have to be put at risk from difficult customers complaining, or potentially worse”, explains James Ritchey from CCTV.co.uk
How the Face Mask detecting CCTV works:
- A customer walks towards the shop entrance
- The CCTV system works out using “Artificial Intelligence” if the person is wearing a mask or not
- A green or red message is displayed on a screen
- If the customer is wearing a mask, access is allowed
- If not, entry could be refused
One garden centre in Yorkshire got the system up and running last week. Whiteley’s Garden Centre in Mirfield is using a Videcon system to control customers behaviour at the main entrance to the store. They welcome 450 visitors a day, and staffing the door was a full-time job. They have seen a 50% decrease in customer non-compliance.
A spokesperson for Whiteley's Garden Centre said: "Customers who are not wearing a mask will see a message appear on a screen as a prompt to put one on if they are able to (and not exempt), however anyone can enter the store regardless of wearing a mask or not. We would like to assure our customers that at no point is entry to the garden centre blocked if someone is not wearing a mask."
The solution has been developed because it is now the shops responsibility to protect both their own staff and the health of their customers.
“Retailers are working so hard to stay open during these most difficult times, and this system means staff aren’t in the firing line from customers unhappy about current restrictions. The other side of using an automated system is it gives customers worried about the virus confidence as they enter a tightly controlled secure Covid-19 store”, concludes James Ritchey from CCTV.co.uk
