Technology developed in Yorkshire helps keep shoppers safe
Software created by Leeds-based developer Panintelligence has been selected to be used as part of a trial aimed at keeping shoppers safe at more than 1,700 supermarkets and food stores across the country.
The collaboration between Irish computer vision applications developer EVERYANGLE, San Francisco smart camera provider Cisco Meraki, and Panintelligence has taken shape during lockdown to resolve the challenges facing retailers.
The trial will see Panintelligence’s Pi dashboard become an integral part of a in-store system designed for a major food retailer to ensure store occupancy remains at safe levels.
Piloted in a selection of shops nationwide, with plans to roll out across the store network, the system can also incorporate a digital signage screen that uses the Pi dashboard to display the current number of people in the store and whether it is safe to enter, using data from smart cameras.
EVERYANGLE has developed the app that processes the visual and audio data provided by the in-store cameras.
David Owens, chief executive at EVERYANGLE, said: “The whole world has changed within a matter of months and the issue of how to ensure people are safe while they are buying their groceries has suddenly become an overriding priority for food retailers.
“Our algorithms can transform in-store smart cameras into powerful ‘internet of things’ devices that recognise the world they are sensing and, in this case, enable customers to shop in safety without the need for a member of staff to monitor the number of people in store.
“The Panintelligence Pi dashboard is integral to the technology: we needed a BI tool that we could white label, that was flexible and easy to use as well as being competitively priced, and Panintelligence was a real showstopper in all those regards.”
Ken Miller, CTO at Panintelligence, said: “As a developer we have considerable experience in the retail sector.
“It’s tremendously positive that as a result of this new partnership with EVERYANGLE our Pi dashboard will be helping to halt the spread of the coronavirus and to keep customers safe and reassured in supermarkets up and down the country.
“Technology has enormous potential to be a force for good and never more so than in the current global health crisis.”
Panintelligence was co-founded by CEO Zandra Moore and Ken Miller in 2014.
The firm announced expansion to the US in summer 2019 and secured Series A fundraising in November 2019.
The company’s Pi software currently has over 200,000 users worldwide across industry sectors ranging from retail and education to local government and healthcare.
