In one embodiment, a device identifies, from image data captured by one or more cameras of a physical location, a focal point of interest and people located within the physical location. The device forms a set of nodes whereby a given node represents one or more of the identified people located within the physical location. The device represents a person queue as an ordered list of nodes from the set of nodes and adds a particular one of the set of nodes to the list based on the particular node being within a predefined distance to the focal point of interest. The device adds one or more nodes to the list based on the added node being within an angle and distance range trailing a forward direction associated with at least one node in the list. The device provides an indication of the person queue to an interface.