Improving crowd flow efficiency and queue wait times on Canada Day

To manage crowd congestion during Ottawa’s Canada Day celebrations, Canadian Heritage deployed SMATS’ portable Bluetooth/Wi-Fi sensors and iNode analytics platform. Three sensors captured foot traffic along security checkpoint queues, filtering out vehicular data and calculating live wait times. This real-time insight enabled staff to monitor flow efficiency, communicate wait times to visitors, and optimize on-site operations. The system proved effective, low-cost, and fully portable—helping deliver a smoother experience for tens of thousands of attendees while providing post-event metrics for future planning.