Looking to monitor foot traffic in your store or shopping mall? The Heatmap feature on Reolink NVRs makes it possible by visualizing visitor patterns clearly. This guide shows how to use the Heatmap function to gain valuable insights into activity trends and space usage.

Applies to: Reolink PR-PN8, PR-PN16.

What is Heatmap

Heatmap is a data visualization technology that intuitively displays the distribution, density, or intensity of data through color variations. It can monitor and analyze the volume of foot traffic in a specific area and present this data in a clear, visual format that is easy to understand.

The core principle behind heatmap technology is as follows: the device uses AI to detect and recognize human figures in each video frame. When a person is detected, the corresponding pixel’s thermal value increases by 1. Over the selected time period, each pixel accumulates a thermal value, and colors are assigned accordingly—ranging from cool to warm tones, typically following the order blue → green → yellow → red. Warmer colors indicate higher values, making it easy to identify high-traffic zones.

Heatmaps are commonly used in high-traffic environments such as shopping malls, supermarkets, and museums. By generating a color-coded map that reflects people’s movement or dwell time in different areas, heatmaps help identify both hot spots and low-traffic zones. This insight can support more effective product placement and inform smarter venue layout design.

Note: The Heatmap feature only takes effect on recordings made after it has been enabled. It does not apply to footage recorded before the feature was turned on.

How to Use Heatmap on Reolink NVRs

Step 1. Enable the Heatmap Feature

  1. Go to NVR Settings > Surveillance and toggle on Heatmap.

  2. Click Settings to select the cameras you want to monitor (up to 8 channels) and click Save.

    Note: For PT models or hybrid zoom dual-lens models, heatmap accuracy may be affected.NVR settingsenable heatmapheatmap save settings

Step 2. View the Heatmap in Playback

  1. Go to the Preview page, then tap Playback to enter the playback interface. Click Heatmap in the bottom-right corner.enter heatmap.jpg

  2. Select the camera you want to view, the date (Today / Week / Custom Range), and the detection type you want to analyze (Person / Vehicle / Animal).search heatmap

  3. Tap Search to view the heatmap.heatmap NVR

By using the Heatmap feature, you can better understand movement trends and optimize space usage based on real-time or historical foot traffic data.