Introduction
FLOW Universe is a platform for managing, monitoring, and visualizing data from distributed FLOW deployments. It is best fit for larger installations that include different devices, sites, and analytical data.
FLOW devices, including TrafficCamera, TrafficXroads, TrafficEnterprise and TrafficDrone, can be registered to connect to a configured Universe server and synchronize analytical data, status information, and device health metrics.
Through Universe Portal, the platform enables creation of custom global dashboards that combine data from multiple devices and analytical sources into a single view.
Architecture Overview
A typical Universe deployment consists of the following components:
FLOW Devices – devices running traffic analytics and generating analytical data.
Universe Server – a central service responsible for receiving, storing, and managing synchronized data from connected devices. May be deployed either as a cloud-based service or on-premise within the customer's infrastructure.
Universe Database – persistent storage used for synchronized analytical and operational data.
Universe Portal – the user interface used to access devices, dashboards, maps, analytics, and administrative functions.
FLOW devices communicate with the Universe Server using a secure WebSocket-based protocol for continuous data synchronization and status reporting. When network configuration permits, the same connection also enables secure remote access to the device directly from the Universe Portal.
Available since FLOW 2.3, Universe is automatically enabled on all FLOW devices and provides the following sections:
Universe Account – configuration of the connection between a FLOW device and the Universe platform, including device registration and image forwarding settings.
Data Synchronization – monitoring and management of data synchronization between a FLOW device and Universe.
Figure: FLOW Universe section.
Universe Account
The Account section contains configuration and status information related to the connection between a FLOW device and the Universe platform.
Connection
The Connection section controls communication and data synchronization between the FLOW device and the Universe server and displays the configured Universe server address, communication port, and SSL settings used for secure communication.
The following actions are available:
Enable Connection – enables communication with the Universe server and starts synchronizing pending data. The device enters the Enabled state and transitions to Live once the connection has been established.
Disable Connection – disables communication with the Universe server and stops all synchronization activities. The device enters the Disabled state.
Pause Synchronization – temporarily suspends data synchronization while keeping the connection active. The device enters the Paused state and new data continues to accumulate locally.
Resume Synchronization – resumes data synchronization and transfers any pending data accumulated locally. The device returns to the Live state.
Figure: Universe account connection status.
License info
The License info section displays registration-related information, including Hardware ID, License ID (license type), License Status, License Type (unused), unique Licensor ID (generated by the Universe server after the connection has been established) and the server address and port.
Figure: Universe account license information.
Device Registration
Available actions allow the device to be registered, deregistered, or permanently removed from the configured Universe environment.
Register device – registers device under the Universe account. Any FLOW device, including one previously deregistered from a different Universe account.
Deregister device – removes device from the Universe account and receives blank license. Any records in the Pending or In Progress state are not synchronized but remain available.
Delete permanently – Deregisters the device and discards any records in the Pending or In Progress state.
Figure: Universe account device registration.
Image Forwarding
The Image Forwarding section controls how image snapshots from the camera, being part of the transferrable data, are synchronized from the FLOW device to the Universe platform.
Available modes:
Off – no snapshots are transferred (recommended for connections using FUP or lower speed)
On Request (Pull) – saves data, snapshots are retrieved by the Universe server when requested.
Periodic (Push) – continuous data flow, snapshots are periodically uploaded from the device to Universe (recommended for continuous data flow.
Depending on the mode selected, the following parameters can be configured: Push interval [s] or Minimum pull interval [ms], Maximum resolution (up to Full HD), JPEG quality [%].
Figure: Universe account Image forwarding options.
Data Synch
The Data Synch section provides visibility into synchronization activity between the FLOW device and the Universe platform. It contains bandwidth statistics, synchronization queue information, operational metrics, and detailed records of individual synchronization messages.
Two views are available:
Stats – high-level synchronization overview and queue statistics.
Table – detailed view of individual synchronization records.
Bandwidth statistics display transmitted and received data volumes for different time periods. Only data since the device Block start/restart are considered.
Figure: Universe Data synchronization section.
Connection
The current synchronization state and communication settings are displayed together with the configured server address, communication port, and SSL settings.
Figure: Universe connection status information.
Overview
Synchronization records overview with a breakdown into the following states:
Pending (synchronization not started)
In Progress
Sent (24h)
Failed
Dead-letter (records that repeatedly failed synchronization and cannot be transferred)
Breakdown by message type
Synchronization records grouped by message type to provide visibility into queue composition. Typical categories include block_statistics, event, filter_output, image_evidence, and other synchronization message types depending on the deployed functionality and software version.
Figure: Universe data records breakdown overview.
Actions
The synchronization queue can be managed using the following actions:
Clear Sync Outbox – permanently removes all pending, failed, and dead-letter records from the synchronization queue.
Retry Failed / Dead-letter – retries synchronization of failed records.
Figure: Universe data records options to clear the outbox or retry sending.
Table View
Switching to the The Table view provides detailed visibility into individual synchronization records, including record identifiers, message types, processing status, retry attempts, timestamps, and synchronization errors.
Figure: Universe data synchronization records list view.
Universe Portal
FLOW Universe Portal is the user interface of the Universe platform. It provides centralized access to registered FLOW devices and their analytics, allows monitoring device health and availability, access synchronized dashboards, and offers space for custom global dashboards that combine data from different locations and deployments. The web and desktop versions are available.
The Portal web interface is available at: <UNIVERSE_DOMAIN>.datafromsky.com
Figure: FLOW Universe Portal login screen.
After logging in, the following sections are available:
Side Menu with Overview, Locations and Devices sections
List view/Map view toggle
Devices, cameras, and dashboards selector
Sorting and filtering options
Interactive map
List of items
Figure: FLOW Universe Portal main screen.
Overview
The Overview section is a default view to quickly filter and locate devices, analytics and dashboards, and switch between list and map views to further work with them.
Map View
The Map view provides geographical visualization of available items which have stored GPS coordinates. It allows quick identification of a selected asset on the map and verification of its availability during the last 24 hours through a graphical availability indicator. Item details can also be displayed directly from the map.
Figure: FLOW Universe map view with devices and Dashboards and their thumbnails.
Displayed information depends on the item type:
Device – device preview, availability details, operating information, and additional device statistics.
Analytic – availability information, camera preview, coordinates, and analytic-specific details.
Dashboard – dashboard availability status. A dashboard is considered online when all contained widgets are online.
List view
Figure: FLOW Universe list view with options to Setup, Deregister devices and other.
Dashboards
The Dashboards section allows creating customized global dashboards, combining widgets and data from multiple devices, locations, and analytics into a single view. Unlike mirrored dashboards, global dashboards are managed directly within Universe and are accessible only from there.
Figure: FLOW Universe Dashboard.
Devices
Users can review the device list and information, monitor operational status, verify connectivity, and access synchronized device details.
Devices may be deregistered in a similar way as from FLOW Insights.
Figure: FLOW Universe Devices.
Figure: Device details.