Glossary A–ZLetter A
Audience detection (camera)
Audience detection refers to systems that use a camera at the screen and analysis software to record how many people stand in front of the display, how long they look and which group they probably belong to.
Age range or gender, for instance, are estimated. Some systems then select matching content.
In advertising networks, such systems are meant to show how many people actually saw a piece of content and to count impressions more precisely. In retail they are used to tailor content to the people in front of the screen. Many providers stress that images are only analysed on the device and not stored. The results are estimates with errors, not certainty.
Operators should clarify the legal side before use: a camera in a publicly accessible place touches data protection law, generally requires notice signs and often an impact assessment. Depending on its function, the EU AI Act can also impose obligations. If the camera captures employees, the works council’s co-determination rights must be considered. A camera that stores nothing is not automatically unproblematic.