Facial recognition software
SceneTap is an Austin-based startup that was originally started in Chicago, Illinois, and their service is centered on facial detection software. The SceneTap website and app can tell you how many people are at your favorite bar, a conference venue, a restaurant or any other highly trafficked venue. Not only can the app tell users the volume of people at a venue, it can tell the female-to-male ratio at each location and even a rough average of attendees’ ages. This data is all real-time, so you can be sure that you have up-to-the-minute stats on which venues are the most popular on any given night of the week.
How SceneTap works is simple. A camera is installed facing the front entrance of the venue. When someone enters, the camera analyzes his or her face—including general facial structure, eyes, and the nose—to determine the age and the gender of that person. And from there, the gender ratio is created. While the use of this technology may give you pause, it’s important to realize the difference between facial recognition and facial detection. SceneTap is not recording or trying to match a face with an identity.
SceneTap is using a database of gender features to compare the photos, and SceneTap asserts that the cameras and gathered info aren’t monitored by people and, other than the stats, that data is not stored. Also, only SceneTap has direct access to the photos, they are only accessed if there is needed maintenance, and the data is encrypted on the backend.
While the benefits are obvious for the consumer, what about the owners of the venues? SceneTap shares the stats with them, too. However, the data the bar owners receive is a little more detailed than what can be found through SceneTaps’s app or website. Through SceneTap, bar owners can discover the gender and age of those who most frequent the bar, how long they stay, and even which drinks are purchased. Over time, this data can be analyzed to determine exact demographics that can be targeted to increase business and profit.
As SceneTap continues to grow, they will be expanding which cities their services are available. As of now, you can view stats on venues in both Chicago, Illinois and Austin, Texas. SceneTap is looking to eventually expand to the following cities: Miami, New York, Las Vegas, San Diego, Phoenix, and Boston. If you currently live in Chicago or Austin, you can request a venue you frequent to the list or even the venue you own. Finding the right scene has never been easier, and neither has understanding your business’s demographics.
