Dashboard for monitoring the 1.5m social distance rule

Together with the local council of Nijmegen and the national police, pedestrian behaviour expert Dorine Duives will develop an analysis module to monitor crowding in risk areas in the town and to determine to what extent the 1.5m social distancing rule are adhered to. She is also going to quantify the effectiveness of the measures put in place to limit COVID-19 transmission by integrating a new sensor type in the Crowd Monitoring Dashboard of TU Delft. The HeatTrack project is funded by the ‘Practical Science’ scheme, which is part of the ZonMW COVID-19 programme.

HeatTrack is building on an existing monitoring system that is already operational in Nijmegen. That system, originally meant to monitor big events, such as the town’s annual four day walking event Vierdaagse, will now be enhanced  to monitor pedestrian spaces and evaluate measures to contain Covid-19 transmission.

The dashboard will be fitted with new analysis modules and software to gain an insight into crowd density and interaction between pedestrians. It will also store the real time data for allow for the evaluation of the measures and policy development pertaining COVID-19. The dashboard will be up and running in September.

 About ZonMW
HeatTrack is funded by the Practical Science scheme which forms part of the COVID-19 programme ZonMW. Care organisations, companies, schools, local authorities and public transport are being faced with the practical implications of COVID-19 and the measures taken to prevent its spread. By combining both scientific and practical knowledge solutions may be offered which can help answer practical questions and relieve problems. 

Further information
Read more about Dorine Duives’ pedestrian traffic research in Stories of Science.