March 54 thousand

The computer program recorded the exact number of opposition participants on June 12

The computer program recorded the exact number of opposition participants on June 12

Yesterday, as always after any large street political action, its participants, observers in uniform, supporters and opponents categorically dispersed in assessments of the number of people who came out against the authorities against the authorities.

Fortunately, preferential calculations by eye, even using geodetic algorithms, gradually comes to an end. Back in February, a computer system was tested on Yakimanka, excluding a subjective human factor from this process.

This morning, the program, developed by a computer vision specialist Anatoly Katsa, completed the processing of 1800 photos taken from the same point at the intersection of Petrovsky and Christmas Boulevards. The shooting lasted more than two hours: from the appearance of the first participants in the march to the moment when the columns of the protesters were replaced by a column of auto -zaks.

Based on the formula according to which the passenger flow is an integral in time from a speed multiplied by density, the system in a semi -automatic mode has recorded the number of people in the frame every 30 seconds. The point chosen for shooting allowed to see everyone at the same time: those who walked in the left and right columns along the roadway, and those who followed the boulevard.

After processing all the information, it turned out that it was wrong as the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, which at different times evaluating the number of march participants from 15 to 22 thousand people, and those who called the figure of 100 and even 200 thousand people.

An impartial machine came to the conclusion that 54 thousand people participated in the procession. The author of the methodology clarifies that the maximum error can be +/- 10% due to the fact that the columns often stopped, and the density of the passenger flow changed from time to time.

Anatoly Katz received a master's degree in the specialty "Computer Vision" at the University of Toronto 6 years ago. Lives and works in Moscow. Until December 4, he had nothing to do with politics. Now he wants to use his specialty for politically and socially significant projects. On February 4, the system developed by him recorded the presence of 137 thousand people on Yakimanke and Bolotnaya Square.