Visit Licensing
for more information on different license types.With Aimetis' video analytics it is possible to detect specific events and activities automatically from your cameras without human intervention. Video analytics makes it possible to filter video and only notify you when user defined events have been detected, such as vehicles stopping in an alarm zone, or a person passing through a digital fence. Today's robust video analytics produce far fewer false alarms than the previous motion detection methods employed in earlier DVRs or cameras. Aimetis offers video analytics add-ons on a per camera basis in the form of Video Engines (VE).
|
Engine |
License Required |
Description |
|
Standard |
Simple video motion detection which can be used indoor/outdoor but does not classify objects and does not provide good object segmentation capability (which is required for object counting) | |
|
Standard |
Detects if video signal is the same colour, which could indicate video signal loss. | |
|
Standard |
Detects if camera's field of view is compromised (such as spray painting the lens). | |
|
Enterprise |
Recommended motion tracking analytics for indoor and outdoor environments. Different modes of operation (outdoor tracking, indoor people counting) are available depending on the environment and application. | |
|
Enterprise |
Plug and play motion tracking video engine. | |
|
Enterprise |
Indoor / outdoor object removal/left. | |
|
Enterprise |
Auto PTZ tracking. |
Visit Licensing
for more information on different license types.
In order to receive an alarm in Symphony, three things must be configured:
Some Video Engines (VE) can be run concurrently per camera with others (such as VE150 Motion Tracking and VE350 Left Item Detection) but others cannot be run concurrently (such as VE160 People Counting with VE150 Motion Tracking). If the desired video engine is not selectable, de-select the current engine in order to select any other.
By default, the VE250 is applied to a new camera added to Symphony (assuming an Enterprise license is available). To run other video engines, perform the following steps:
From Symphony Client, click Server > Configuration to load the Configuration dialog. This will allow you to configure devices for the currently selected server (see the section Using Symphony > Main Console > Server List Panel).
Select Devices from the left pane.
Select the camera you wish to configure for use with video analytics and click Edit.
Click the Analytics Engines tab. Un-check whatever is currently checked (default is VE250) and select the desired video analytic to run on the current camera.
Finally, click OK to save settings and continue (to configure the chosen analytics), or click OK to close dialog (and use the default settings for the chosen analytics).
After cameras have been added and analytics have been enabled for cameras, the analytics themselves need to be configured. The Analytics Configuration dialog allows users to configure the analytics.
From Symphony Client, click Server > Configuration to load the Configuration dialog, and then select Devices from the left pane.
Select the camera you wish to configure for use with video analytics and click Edit.
Next, click the Analytics Configuration tab to configure the analytics.
Each video analytic may have slightly different configuration options, however there are many commonalities. Typically Mask, Analysis FPS / Analysis Resolution, Perspective and Analytics Schedule must be set at a minimum.
Masks defines where Symphony can track objects. Anytime an object is tracked through the scene, Symphony will colour that portion of the Timeline yellow. By default, the entire scene is covered in the yellow mask, meaning everything in the field of view of the camera will be analyzed. Symphony has been designed to work well in dynamic outdoor environments. Rain or snow would not normally result in Symphony falsely tracking objects. However, in some cases, you may wish to remove certain portions of the screen from analysis (such as a neighbour's property, or a swaying tree which is causing false alarms). The Motion Mask dialog allows you to modify where tracking should and should not occur.
Note: The Motion Mask is different from the
Alarm Mask, defined in the Rule
section. The Alarm Mask defines the area in the video where alarms will
occur, the Motion Mask defines the area of the image where activity is
detected. The Alarm Mask cannot be greater than the Motion Mask. The Alarm
Mask is bounded by the Motion Mask.
Additional features of the analytic can also be configured. The Analysis FPS field allows you to modify the frames per second (FPS) that the analytic should analyze. Normally this field should be left at the default value. It is possible to record at a higher frame rate than what is analyzed by the analytic engine, to reduce CPU utilization (it is unnecessary to analyze 25 frames per second, for example). The Capture Resolution text box displays the original video size, while the Analysis Resolution combo box allows you to specify the image size to be analyzed. To reduce CPU utilization it is common to record at higher frame rates and resolutions than what the video engine is receiving for analysis.
For certain video analytics, Perspective information must be entered for proper functionality. In order for object classification to work properly, for example, Perspective information must be defined. Typically you are required to draw a line representing approximately 5 meters in the top half of the image, and in the bottom half of the image. These settings need to be as accurate as possible for accurate object classification. For more information on setting Perspective information, visit the individual video analytic pages.
By default, when a video engine (such as VE150) is enabled for a particular camera, it will analyze video for the camera in real-time for all 24 hours in a day. However it may be desirable to schedule when video analytics is active and inactive in order to conserve CPU. This feature is called Post Processing, since we may not analyze video at the time it was recorded. In order to define which hours of the day will be analyzed, click on the Analytics Schedule tab and modify the schedule accordingly. By configuring the system to not analyze video when it is unnecessary, it allows the CPU to be used for other purposes.
Note: When video analytics is not active, no analytics meta-data is generated during this time frame. As a result, no reports or alarms would be available during times when video analytics is disabled.
For more information on this functionality,
consult the Technical Article: Post Processing in Aimetis Symphony v6.5.
In order to receive real-time alarms for specific events, Rules must be configured. In the Rule section, the alarming capability of the analytic is configured. For more information on Rules visit the Rules section. For specific alarming capabilities of the analytic, visit the desired analytic section below.
See Also