APC Device Management Platforms

15/06/2025

Blog, Transportation

3 min

Automatic Passenger Counting (APC) technology has matured into a cornerstone of modern transit operations, helping agencies optimize routes, validate service equity, and justify funding. But behind the scenes, the ability of these systems to deliver real value depends on far more than just installing sensors onboard vehicles and forgetting about them.

The real success of an APC solution hinges on more than just counting accuracy—it depends on seamless hardware integration, reliable data access, strong cybersecurity, and robust support tools that ensure the system is resilient, adaptable, and scalable across diverse transit environment

More Than Sensors

High-quality APC sensors can last decades in the field, but the continued value of these devices is directly linked to the continued availability and support of the systems, which depends on a hardware partners’ tools to support them throughout their lifecycle. Device platforms—hardware and software environments that host and manage sensors—play an integral role in this and must be modular, standards-based, and cloud-capable to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.

Public Transport Operators (PTOs) and the integrators that help them with APC solutions know that highly accurate, privacy-compliant sensors are a must to solve day-to-day challenges. They also need a stable, flexible software platform that helps with managing rollouts, configuration, fleet management, data transmission, remote updates, and diagnostics—all while meeting growing cybersecurity expectations.

How a sensor platform supports integration, fleet-wide deployment, and system longevity are critical factors for PTOs selecting an APC vendor.

Platform Essentials

For PTOs and integrators implementing APC systems at scale, a few platform capabilities are critical. They include:

Built-In Cybersecurity: With transit data increasingly connected to the cloud—and often tied to passenger movement—platforms must offer secure communication, encrypted storage, access controls, and compliance with regulations like GDPR and NIST standards.
Remote Management & Diagnostics: Field service is costly. Platforms that enable remote firmware updates, health monitoring, and fleet diagnostics dramatically reduce maintenance overhead and support better SLAs for transit agencies.
Developer-Friendly Tooling: Fast deployment relies on clear documentation, SDKs, test environments, and sample integrations. Without these, integrators are left reverse-engineering features or waiting on vendor support, slowing timelines and damaging trust.

APS Now Arriving on HUB

Xovis has earned a strong reputation in the market thanks to 3D stereovision sensors known for counting accuracy—reliably achieving accuracy up to 99%.

Accuracy, hardware longevity, privacy-compliance, interoperability, object detection, and AI-powered people attributes are just a few of the reasons why PTOs and PTAs seek out solutions built on Xovis’ sensors. But it’s the company’s HUB platform, already a mainstay for Xovis’ retail partners, that will supercharge the company’s role in delivering APC hardware globally.

HUB already counts 1,500 users managing close to 75,000 sensors! The reason is simple: HUB includes incredibly powerful tools and valuable resources.

A major update to HUB Device Control facilitating the arrival of APS-B and APS-R sensors—our sensors designed specifically for public transportation vehicles—on the platform is a significant step forward in unifying Xovis’ diverse sensor ecosystem. This update marks a key milestone in integrating Xovis and People Sensing, which was acquired from HELLA Aglaia in mid-2024.

For partners using APS, access to HUB means:

Faster, more efficient rollouts of large-scale projects
Improved ability to deliver top-tier customer support
Streamlined management of the full Xovis product range
Enhanced security with features like Single Sign-On (SSO), Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), audit logs, and secure remote access

Destination HUB

In the world of APC, robust, high-quality sensors are a must, but to ensure long-term success PTOs and integrators need the strength of sophisticated device management platform. With HUB, Xovis is delivering more than accurate passenger counts—it’s enabling transit agencies to scale smarter, operate securely, and innovate faster.

Public Transportation Use Cases Arriva Case Study

Fritz Lembke

Fritz Lembke, a Managing Director of Xovis Germany, has more than 13 years of experience working in the people counting business—eight of those as head of sales. Fritz is passionate about connecting public transportation operators and agencies with the automatic people counting technology and solutions they need to optimize planning and operations.