Glossary | Aura Vision Knowledge Base

A–Z reference for Aura Vision terminology — every definition in the knowledge base, alphabetised.

Age band An age band is one of the seven bracketed categories Aura Vision uses to classify a visitor's estimated age — coarser than an exact age, but reliable, useful and privacy-friendly. Demographics
Anonymous estimation Anonymous estimation is the practice of classifying people into broad attribute groups — such as age band, gender or staff-versus-customer — rather than identifying individuals. AI & privacy
API The API is Aura Vision's programmatic interface for pulling analytics into your own systems, exposing both a REST API for resources and a WebSocket API for metrics. Integrations & API
APU (Analytics Processing Unit) The APU is the small on-premise edge computer that runs Aura Vision's AI inside the store, so full-resolution video never leaves the building. About the size of a paperback book, it connects to the existing camera network on one side and the store's internet on the other. Installation & cameras
Area An Area is a configurable region of the store — a polygon drawn on the camera view at setup — that becomes its own unit of measurement for entries, dwell, occupancy and queueing. Areas & dwell
Average dwell Average Dwell is the average time a single visitor spends inside an area — Total Dwell divided by the number of people who entered. It tells you how engaging an area is per visit. Areas & dwell
Average Transaction Value (ATV) Average Transaction Value (ATV) is the average revenue generated per sales transaction, calculated as total sales divided by the number of transactions over the same period. Conversion & sales
Camera A camera, in Aura Vision, is one of the existing IP / RTSP / ONVIF CCTV cameras already installed in the store and connected to the APU. Aura Vision doesn't ship cameras — it uses the views already on the network. Installation & cameras
Capture rate Capture rate is the percentage of people walking past the store who actually come in — a sample of external footfall converted into store entries. Footfall & passers-by
Computer vision Computer vision in retail is the application of AI that enables computers to interpret and analyse visual information from cameras, allowing retailers to automatically understand customer behaviour, store operations, and in-store activity without manual observation. AI & privacy
Conversion rate Conversion rate is the number of customer sales transactions divided by the number of store entries, expressed as a percentage. It tells you how many visitors became buyers. Conversion & sales
Dwell time Dwell time is the time customers spend inside an area or the wider store — the umbrella metric for measuring engagement with a space. Areas & dwell
Encryption Encryption is the protection of data in transit and at rest using industry-standard cryptographic protocols, applied to every byte of analytics that moves between the APU, the cloud and the dashboard. Security & compliance
Entry line The virtual line drawn on each entrance camera during install. When a person crosses it and stays inside the store for at least 2 seconds, an entry is counted — shorter crossings are filtered out. Footfall & passers-by
Entry rate Entry rate is the percentage of store visitors who step into a specific area — how well the area pulls customers in once they're already in the store. Areas & dwell
Face blurring Face blurring is the irreversible process of obscuring faces on the APU at the moment of capture, before any image can leave the device. AI & privacy
Footfall Footfall analytics is the practice of measuring and analysing the number of people entering a physical space — such as a retail store, shopping centre, or transport hub — to understand visitor patterns, evaluate performance, and make data-driven decisions. Footfall & passers-by
GDPR GDPR is the General Data Protection Regulation — the UK GDPR and EU GDPR frameworks that govern how organisations process personal data about individuals in the UK and EU. Security & compliance
Gender estimation Gender estimation is the anonymous classification of each visit as male or female based on body shape, gait and clothing — never facial recognition — with results reported only as aggregate counts. Demographics
Ground-truth audit A ground-truth audit is the manual verification process used to confirm Aura Vision's accuracy: a human counts people in a sample of video clips and the result is compared against the AI's count for the same period. Installation & cameras
Headcount planner The Headcount planner is a dashboard tool that allocates staffing hours across the trading day based on historical footfall, so labour is sized to actual customer demand. Headcount planner
Heatmap Retail heatmaps are visual representations of customer activity within a physical store, using colour gradients to show where people spend the most time, how they move through the space, and which areas receive the highest engagement. Heatmaps
ISO 27001 ISO 27001 is the international standard for information-security management systems (ISMS), specifying how an organisation should manage the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. Security & compliance
Occupancy Occupancy is the number of people inside an area at a given moment. It moves up when people enter, down when they leave — a live measure of how busy the area is right now. Areas & dwell
On-device processing On-device processing is the architectural principle of running all AI inference locally on the in-store APU, so that raw video never leaves the building. AI & privacy
Passer-by Using the camera view of the store entrance, we are able to capture a sample of people passing by the store. We draw a virtual line outside the entrance and... Footfall & passers-by
People counting People counting is the technology and practice of measuring the number of individuals passing through a specific point or area — typically a store entrance, corridor, or zone — using sensors, cameras, or AI-powered systems. Footfall & passers-by
Popular Path heatmap A Popular Path heatmap shows the most-walked routes through the store — where customers actually move, not just where they stop. Red traces are the busiest paths; cool traces are rarely-used routes. Heatmaps
Queue length Queue metrics are essentially occupancy metrics that capture activity within defined service areas, most commonly the till or cash desk. Areas & dwell
Retail analytics Retail analytics is the practice of collecting, measuring, and analysing data from retail operations to understand performance, customer behaviour, and market trends — enabling better decision-making across merchandising, marketing, staffing, and store design. Footfall & passers-by
Sales per visitor Sales per visitor is the average revenue generated per customer entering the store, calculated as total sales divided by customer entries. Conversion & sales
SSO (Single Sign-On) SSO (Single Sign-On) is the mechanism that lets your team sign in to the Aura Vision dashboard using your organisation's existing identity provider, rather than maintaining a separate set of credentials. Integrations & API
Staff segmentation Staff segmentation is the process of separating employees from customers in the count by training the AI to recognise a distinctive visual cue — typically a uniform, polo, apron or lanyard. Demographics
Store dwell Store Dwell time is the average time a customer spends in the store. Areas & dwell
Total dwell Total Dwell is the sum of time spent inside an area across every visitor — the area's full engagement budget for the period. Areas & dwell
Total Time heatmap A Total Time heatmap shows where customers spend time across the store. Red areas indicate the longest cumulative dwell; cool areas indicate quick passes or empty floor. Heatmaps
Transaction A transaction is the unit of sales data Aura Vision ingests — one purchase, one receipt — used as the denominator of basket metrics and the numerator of conversion rate. Conversion & sales
Units Per Transaction (UPT) Units Per Transaction (UPT) is the average number of items in each sales transaction, calculated as total units sold divided by the number of transactions. Conversion & sales