Crowd Scan
CrowdScan is a Belgian spin-off of Imec and the University of Antwerp that provides privacy-friendly crowd density measurement and prediction using patented wireless sensor technology, serving events, smart cities, airports, and public transport operators across Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersAntwerpen, Belgium
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Crowd Scan does
CrowdScan is a Belgian privacy-by-design crowd analytics company founded in June 2020 as a spin-off of Imec and the University of Antwerp. It has developed a patented wireless sensor network that measures crowd density and movement using low-energy radio waves at 868 MHz, detecting signal attenuation caused by human presence rather than relying on cameras, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or mobile device data. The system delivers measurements every 50 milliseconds with approximately 95% accuracy once trained and a roughly 5% margin of error, aggregating data into real-time dashboards refreshed every 10 seconds, with optional SMS/email alerting when capacity thresholds are exceeded.
The product stack is organized in four progressive service levels: Crowd Density Counting (basic measurement), Crowd Density Analytics (movement and flow analysis), Crowd Density Prediction (neural-network-based forecasting), and Integrated Management (co-created solutions for complex environments). Hardware consists of battery-powered sensors (minimum 3-year lifespan, installed every 15-20 meters at 1.2-1.5 meters height) and a central gateway with 4G/LTE backhaul, supplemented by a portable Flightcase kit for temporary event deployments. Revenue is generated through hardware sales or leases, subscription-based data consumption pricing scaled to monitored area size and granularity, bundled support services, and project-based engagements, with a standardized transactable offer now available on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
CrowdScan serves events and festivals, smart cities and municipalities, airports and public transport operators, and smart buildings across Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Saudi Arabia, and Curaçao. Named customers include TRAM Barcelona, Antwerp International Airport, the Cities of Bruges and Ghent, the Meir Shopping Street in Antwerp, Tomorrowland, King's Day Emmen, Tilburg Kermis, Tumba Festival, and the Municipality of Aalter. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales, an active partner and reseller channel (xyzt.ai, Argaleo, Urban Sense, KPN, SafeEvents, BaladBeast, T Experience BV), the Azure Marketplace listing, and event-driven field presence. The company has raised approximately EUR 1.8 million in cumulative funding (EUR 800K seed in October 2021 and roughly EUR 1M in July 2024) and operates with a 1-10 person team out of The Beacon innovation hub in Antwerp.
Crowd Scan firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Crowd Scan
- Legal name
- CrowdScan
- Website
- https://crowdscan.be
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- CrowdScan is a Belgian spin-off of Imec and the University of Antwerp that provides privacy-friendly crowd density measurement and prediction using patented wireless sensor technology, serving events, smart cities, airports, and public transport operators across Europe, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Crowd Scan industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Crowd Monitoring Systems
- akta.pro primary industry
- VIP, Backstage & Crowd Management Services (BPAKACAH)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Event Security & Crowd Management (IMAIAEAD), Event Security, Safety & Crowd Management (MPAGAAAI)
Keywords
Where Crowd Scan is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Antwerpen
- HQ country
- Belgium
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Crowd Scan business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales/Lease: Customers can purchase or lease sensors and gateways. Hardware is optional as customers can choose to only lease. Sensors are battery-powered with 3-year lifespan.
- Data Consumption/Pubscription: Pricing based on data consumption related to usage of services. Amount depends on size of monitored area and level of detail required. Flat fees offered for larger projects with multiple sensor networks. Year-long crowd monitoring service available via Azure Marketplace.
- Support Services: Pricing includes dedicated support services. Support is bundled with hardware and data consumption packages.
- Project-Based Services: Integrated management solutions developed in co-creation with customers for specific needs, including installation, training, and periodic evaluation.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | Multi-year contract | Custom project-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels8 records
Crowd Scan product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Crowd Scan provides a privacy-first crowd density analytics platform built on a patented wireless sensor network that uses low-energy 868 MHz radio waves to measure how many people are present, how they move, and how density will evolve, without cameras, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or mobile device data. The offering combines battery-powered hardware sensors and central gateways with a cloud dashboard and four service levels (counting, analytics, prediction, and integrated management), and is sold to smart cities, airports, public transport operators, event organizers, and smart building operators on a hardware-plus-subscription basis, also available via the Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
Product overview
CrowdScan offers a privacy-friendly crowd analytics platform built on patented wireless sensor network technology. The core offering consists of hardware (battery-powered sensors operating at 868 MHz and central gateways) combined with a cloud-based analytics platform. The service operates across four progressive levels: Crowd Density Counting (basic measurement), Crowd Density Analytics (movement analysis), Crowd Density Prediction (forecasting), and Integrated Management (custom co-creation solutions). The company provides both permanent installations for smart cities, airports, and public transport, as well as temporary deployments via the Flightcase portable solution. All offerings are 100% privacy-friendly, using signal attenuation rather than cameras, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or mobile devices. The system achieves 95% accuracy with measurements every 50ms and 10-second data updates.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Wireless Sensor Network (Sensors and Gateway) Battery-powered radio sensors that emit low-energy 868 MHz electromagnetic signals and a central gateway that configures the network and transmits data to the cloud. Sensors install every 15-20 meters at 1.2-1.5m height without cabling, deliver a minimum 3-year battery life, and enable camera-free, GDPR-compliant crowd density measurement for permanent sites such as smart cities, airports, and public transport hubs.
- Flightcase Portable Deployment Kit
Quantifiable outcome
- 95% accuracy in predicting crowds compared to other measuring techniques
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use Crowd Scan
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Crowd Scan technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
AI capability4 records
Feature8 records
Crowd Scan partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- SafeEventsminorCrowd safety company partnered with CrowdScan for event projects in Curaçao (Tumba Festival) and Saudi Arabia.
- T Experience BVminorCrowd management company in Curaçao led by Thakaidzwa Doran. Exploring partnership for Curaçao events and South American market expansion.
- BaladBeastminorPartner for first CrowdScan project in Saudi Arabia in 2024.
- ImeccoreResearch institute and co-founder of CrowdScan spin-off. Six years of joint research at University of Antwerp led to technology development.
- University of Antwerp (UAntwerp)coreAcademic partner and co-founder of spin-off. Research foundation including PhD thesis by Ben Bellekens and Stijn Denis.
- Microsoft AzurecoreStrategic partnership enabling CrowdScan availability on Microsoft Azure Marketplace with transactable offers for global customers.
- University of Antwerp - IDLabcoreAcademic research group where CrowdScan technology was invented. Robin Janssens joined from IDLab for PhD research.
- Thomas More HogeschoolminorCollaboration on digital info kiosks project for Antwerp Meir shopping street with support from Flemish (VLAIO) and European government (ERDF).
- Professor Keith StillcoreGlobal expert on crowd management serving as independent board member. Jury member for PhD thesis that led to CrowdScan. Special advisor to Hajj projects in Saudi Arabia.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Crowd Scan competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Xovis: Swiss provider of 3D sensor-based people counting and crowd analytics for airports, retail, and transit. Most directly comparable peer: sells hardware sensors plus analytics software to the same airport and public-transport customers CrowdScan targets.
- Density: US-based people and space counting company using proprietary sensors (and acquired by Axis Communications). Direct peer in sensor-based, privacy-friendly occupancy counting for offices, retail, and venues.
- Irisys: UK-based thermal and IR sensor people-counting vendor serving retail, transit, and public venues. Comparable in deploying dedicated hardware sensors to deliver real-time, anonymous crowd/occupancy data without cameras.
- CrowdVision: Computer vision-based crowd analytics platform focused on airports, transit hubs, and large venues. Direct competitor in crowd flow, density, and queue measurement, with a different (camera-based) technology approach.
- Vivacity Labs: UK AI-camera company providing traffic, cycling, and pedestrian analytics for smart cities and transport. Competes for the same smart-city and transport-occupancy budgets with a vision-based rather than sensor-based approach.
Broad incumbents
- Axis Communications: Swedish network video and analytics incumbent that acquired Density. Offers broader surveillance and people-counting solutions; competes with CrowdScan in airports and smart cities via camera-based analytics at scale.
- Cisco: Global IoT, networking, and smart-building incumbent (Cisco DNA Spaces, Meraki). Provides bundled occupancy and location analytics to enterprises and venues as part of broader infrastructure stacks.
- Siemens Smart Infrastructure: Large industrial and smart-infrastructure vendor with building, airport, and transit solutions including occupancy and flow analytics. Competes indirectly as a bundled alternative in airport and smart-city RFPs.
Emerging players
- BriefCam: Video analytics vendor (now under Milestone/Hanwha) applying AI to surveillance footage for people counting, crowd density, and behavior. Overlaps in crowd analytics use cases with a camera-based stack.
Regional players
- Traffiquest: Dutch traffic and crowd data analytics provider; comparable in offering data-driven crowd/flow insights for Dutch municipalities, a geography where CrowdScan also competes via its partner Argaleo.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Crowd Scan social profiles
Digital presenceCrowd Scan compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
Crowd Scan financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Crowd Scan leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Crowd Scan funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Crowd Scan M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Crowd Scan
What does Crowd Scan do?
Crowd Scan provides a privacy-first crowd density analytics platform built on a patented wireless sensor network that uses low-energy 868 MHz radio waves to measure how many people are present, how they move, and how density will evolve, without cameras, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or mobile device data. The offering combines battery-powered hardware sensors and central gateways with a cloud dashboard and four service levels (counting, analytics, prediction, and integrated management), and is sold to smart cities, airports, public transport operators, event organizers, and smart building operators on a hardware-plus-subscription basis, also available via the Microsoft Azure Marketplace.
Is Crowd Scan a public or private company?
Crowd Scan is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Crowd Scan founded?
Crowd Scan was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Crowd Scan based?
Crowd Scan is headquartered in Antwerpen, Belgium, in the Europe region.
How does Crowd Scan make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales/Lease is the primary driver. The others are data Consumption/Pubscription, support Services and project-Based Services.
Who are Crowd Scan's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Xovis, Density, Irisys, CrowdVision and Vivacity Labs. Broad incumbents are Axis Communications, Cisco and Siemens Smart Infrastructure. BriefCam is listed as an emerging player. Traffiquest is listed as a regional player.
Does Crowd Scan have an API?
Yes. CrowdScan's software solution can be integrated with other systems through an API. Data can also be inserted into available and existing systems via CSV files. The company mentions API integration capabilities but detailed API documentation is not publicly accessible on the website.
What industry is Crowd Scan in?
Crowd Scan's product category is Crowd Monitoring Systems. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAKACAH, VIP, Backstage & Crowd Management Services, with a secondary code of IMAIAEAD, Event Security & Crowd Management.