Aurora

The Aurora is RetailNext’s ceiling-mounted retail analytics sensor. It uses onboard processing and stereo imaging to track customer movement and behaviour across the floor below, giving retailers the data they need to make decisions about layout, staffing, and merchandising.

RetailNext came to PDE needing an industrial design and mechanical design partner to take their sensor technology and turn it into a product that could be commercialized. PDE delivered the industrial and mechanical design for the Aurora.

The Aurora’s enclosure uses a die-cast aluminum base that is narrower than the main plastic body above it. The narrower base gives the device a visually floating appearance from below, which keeps it from reading as a heavy ceiling fixture, while the rigid aluminum structure does the mechanical work of mounting the camera modules precisely on machined bosses.

The vent openings at each end of the base allow airflow without visible grilles on the main face of the device. An internal fan and custom heatsink manage the heat from the onboard CPU load quietly and reliably behind the scenes.

Cable management was another constraint in a compact form factor. Swing-out ethernet ports let two cables connect within a very tight space, which keeps the installation tidy and reduces the visible hardware on the ceiling.