Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

How A.I. Helped Improve Crowd Counting in Hong Kong Protests

How A.I. Helped Improve Crowd Counting in Hong Kong Protests

Crowd estimates for Hong Kong’s large pro-democracy protests have been a point of contention for years. The organizers and the police often release vastly divergent estimates. This year’s annual pro-democracy protest on Monday, July 1, was no different. Organizers announced 550,000 people attended; the police said 190,000 people were there at the peak.

But for the first time in the march’s history, a group of researchers combined artificial intelligence and manual counting techniques to estimate the size of the crowd, concluding that 265,000 people marched.

The high density of the crowd and the moving nature of these protests make estimating the turnout very challenging. For more than a decade, groups have stationed teams along the route and manually counted the rate of people passing through to derive the total number of participants. Though the use of A.I. does not make the calculation definitive, the technology helps produce a more precise estimate because it uses computers to try to count every person.

Since 2003, Paul Yip, a social sciences professor at Hong Kong University, has been producing a count of the size of protests held annually on July 1, the anniversary of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover from Britain to China. With the hopes of creating a more robust estimate this year, Mr. Yip teamed up with Edwin Chow from Texas State University and Raymond Wong from C&R Wise AI, a local technology company, to use artificial intelligence to count the crowd at the march.


How A.I. Can Be Used to Count Crowds


Using open source software, The New York Times developed a computer model to illustrate how artificial intelligence could be used to recognize people and objects moving within a video.

Analyzing a short video clip recorded on Monday, The Times’s model tried to detect people based on color and shape, and then tracked the figures as they moved across the screen. This method helps avoid double counting because the crowd generally flowed in one direction.

Accurately detecting and tracking a moving object in such a high-density condition is very difficult. Overlapping of people in the crowd and obstructions like umbrellas, protest signs and large backpacks can often confuse the A.I. system.

On the day of the protest, Mr. Yip and the A.I. team used technology that is much more advanced. They spent weeks training their program to improve its accuracy in analyzing crowd imagery.

How A.I. Was Used to Count the July 1 Protest

On Monday, the A.I. team attached seven iPads to two major footbridges along the march route. Volunteers doing manual counts were also stationed next to the cameras, to help verify the computer count.

The team’s software ran multiple models with different parameters to track people in the crowd. People could be counted when they crossed a so-called counting line within the frame of the video. Throughout the day, the team monitored the results and adapted to changing variables like the density of people, the speed of flow and different lighting conditions.

“It’s all based on visual cues, such as the brightness value, color, shape, geometry of the pixels, all tied together,” said Mr. Wong, explaining how their system distinguished human figures from objects like umbrellas.

The team began exploring the possibility of doing a count with artificial intelligence in June, when protests in Hong Kong were gaining momentum. The newspaper Ming Pao and Cable News, both based in Hong Kong, provided additional support to the team.

“What we deserve is a more accurate, more precise, and more verifiable number,” said Mr. Yip.

Ahead of the demonstration on July 1, Mr. Yip and the A.I. team tested their software at other marches and crowded places to train and fine-tune the A.I. model developed by Mr. Wong, and to test out the best angles to shoot from. They did a trial run on June 16, another day of big protest in Hong Kong, when hundreds of thousands of people marched along the same route from Victoria Park to the government headquarters.

These trials helped them prepare for issues like obstruction and overlapping bodies in the crowd and gave them ideas on how to do a comprehensive count on July 1. For example, the team decided to train their system to detect umbrellas because they are common in Hong Kong protests.

Mr. Wong also rewrote the program to run on iPads rather than industrial computers, in order to scale up the operation. The team was then able to set up the devices at more locations. They also had several spares ready to be used in case there were significant numbers of people spilling over onto nearby streets, as happened on June 16.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Man Convicted of Fraud After Booking Over 120 Free Flights Posing as Flight Attendant
Iran Launches Extensive Missile Attack on Israel Following Israeli Strikes on Nuclear Sites
Beata Thunberg Rebrands as Beata Ernman Amidst Sister's Activism Controversy
Hungarian Parliament Approves Citizenship Suspension Law
Prime Minister Orbán Criticizes EU's Ukraine Accession Plans
Hungarian Delicacies Introduced to Japanese Market
Hungary's Industrial Output Rises Amid Battery Sector Slump
President Sulyok Celebrates 15 Years of Hungarian Unity Efforts
Hungary's Szeleczki Shines at World Judo Championships
Visegrád Construction Trends Diverge as Hungary Lags
Hungary Hosts National Quantum Technology Workshop
Hungarian Animation Featured at Annecy Festival
Israel Issues Ultimatum to Iran Over Potential Retaliation and Nuclear Facilities
UK and EU Reach New Economic Agreement
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
Trump to Iran: Make a Deal — Sign or Die
Operation "Like a Lion": Israel Strikes Iran in Unprecedented Offensive
Israel Launches 'Operation Rising Lion' Targeting Iranian Nuclear and Military Sites
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Austrian School Shooting Leaves Nine Dead in Graz
Bezos's Lavish Venice Wedding Sparks Local Protests
Europe Prepares for Historic Lunar Rover Landing
Italian Parents Seek Therapy Amid Lengthy School Holidays
British Fishing Vessel Seized by France Fined €30,000
Dutch Government Collapses Amid Migration Policy Dispute
UK Commits to 3.5% GDP Defence Spending Under NATO Pressure
Germany Moves to Expedite Migrant Deportations
US Urges UK to Raise Defence Spending to 5% of GDP
Israeli Forces Intercept Gaza-Bound Aid Vessel Carrying Greta Thunberg
IMF Warns of Severe Global Trade War Impacts on Emerging Markets
Low Turnout Jeopardizes Italy's Citizenship Reform Referendum
Transatlantic Interest Rate Divergence Widens as Trump Pressures Powell
EU Lawmaker Calls for Broader Exemptions in Supply Chain Legislation
France's Defense Spending Plans Threatened by High National Debt
European Small-Cap Stocks Outperform U.S. Rivals Amid Growth Revival
Switzerland Proposes $26 Billion Capital Increase for UBS
×