This TrafficCamera smart video analytics starter kit is a special opportunity to get started with smart video analytics and get familiar with FLOW - the ultimate multipurpose video analysis tool running on the camera. FLOW is a powerful trajectory-based AI traffic analysis framework able to detect, classify and track objects across the scene allowing it to be used for many applications. This article will provide you with a summary of the starter kit contents, a list of applications, reasons why FLOW is a valuable video-analytics tool, and a quick 10-minute guide for setting up the camera so you can start experimenting and gathering data. You can watch a live demonstration of the starter kit below.

This is a limited quantity offer. Get yours TrafficCamera kit for 690,- EUR now! Download the Datasheet here.

The plug-and-play TrafficCamera is an all-in-one solution with state-of-the-art edge AI for various real-time monitoring and control tasks. Explore the most compact form of the universal traffic intelligence from video and join the FLOW community with the TrafficCamera starter kit. With it, you can easily create and deploy an end-to-end edge video analytic solution for traffic monitoring & control, smart parking, retail, or security. Once you learn how to use FLOW with the help of the starter kit, you will be able to put this knowledge to use not only on the TrafficCamera but also many other devices from the FLOW family, giving you options to select the right tool for the task at hand. You can watch the overview of the TrafficCamera product in the video below.

One of the devices that run FLOW is our own TrafficEmbedded Edge processing unit that powers up to 4 IP cameras and another is the TrafficEnteprise server-based solution that can analyze traffic from camera networks covering the whole city. Both of these solutions can be easily integrated with other systems such as smart city platforms or XProtect VMS by Milestone Systems thanks to open API, Webhooks, I/O interfaces, and other tools. Not only that but FLOW is also very easy to work with thanks to its intuitive visual programming. For most use-cases, you can set up your analytics in less than 3 minutes. With the drag, drop, connect modular design and a large number of modules to tailor the analysis to your needs you can create analytics for many use-cases and design them exactly the way you need. To learn more about the camera and FLOW specifications download the Datasheet here. Now that you understand the power of FLOW, let's go over a quick setup of the camera to get you started.

To start off we plug in the POE injector into a power socket. The TrafficCamera either uses POE or needs a 12V DC or 24V AC power source. In this case, we have provided you with a POE cable and a POE injector. To power the camera we need to connect the TrafficCamera with an Ethernet Cable to the POE injector output. To get an internet connection to the TrafficCamera we connect it to your laptop or PC via Ethernet cable. Your PC needs to be connected to the internet in order for this to work.

Now that everything is connected we need to get the IP address of the camera and make it accessible. The Camera uses DHCP IP address configuration by default and it will be assigned with a dynamic IP address automatically if there is a DHCP server in the network you connect it to. Most routers should have a DHCP server built-in. In case no IP address is assigned you can get in touch with us at support@datafromsky.com and we will assist you. Once your camera communicates with the DHCP server for the first time, it will receive an IP address.

Next to learn the IP address that the camera was assigned, use an IP scanning utility such as the Advanced IP scanner (download here) and scan for the camera within the network you have connected it to. Look for “camera” in the dropdown menu in the IP scanner to help you identify the correct device. Alternatively, you can use the ONVIF device manager tool which is specifically designed for scanning for ONVIF devices so it is easier to identify the TrafficCamera if your network has many connected devices. (download here)

The camera supports RTSP streaming and you can use it if the camera stream is running, simply type the following RTSP URL in a media player: rtsp://:8554. For example, you will enter rtsp://192.168.0.10:8554/fhd in the VLC media player. If you have configured RTSP authentication in the web interface, please enter the RTSP URL in the following format: rtsp://username:password@:8554/

The camera has an Azena web interface where you can manage a variety of camera parameters and settings such as zoom, static IP address, exposure focus, etc... You can read more about it in the Web Interface section of the TrafficCamera manual.

After you have configured the camera based on your needs, you can connect to the camera analytics. To configure various traffic tasks on the camera you need the FLOW Insights application which can be downloaded here: https://datafromsky.com/flow-versions/. (installation guide can be found here ) You need to choose the correct version of FLOW Insights to match the version of the FLOW application running on the camera. You can check the version of the application running on the camera in the Azena web interface.

1. Run FLOW Insights and press the start FLOW button.

2. On the first page enter the camera's IP address with the port number 8088 at the end (xx.xx.xx.xx:8088).

3. On the second page, log in with the username "admin" and password "admin" which are set as default.

4. Design any sensor you need!

You are now communicating with the camera and you can start configuring it.

Congratulations – you have successfully connected your very first TrafficCamera. You can now enjoy the power of acclaimed DataFromSky video analytics. Before configuring the analytics we will quickly talk about the camera positioning and installation.

The guide so far considered the first setup and testing of the camera in indoor conditions where you can for example point it out of the window to monitor traffic but the TrafficCamera is prepared for permanent outdoor installation thanks to its rugged enclosure with the IP67 rating and the IK10 standard. It can be installed, for example on walls or light poles.

For testing purposes, you can place the camera indoors on a window parapet and monitor the street next to you. If you go to the Azena OS web interface under the video settings section you can find the rotation settings. There if you select 180° rotation you will get normal image output from the camera even when you placed the other way around.

It is also important to keep in mind that the better the video input, the better the results! To learn about framing, angles, camera height, and other advice on ideal camera setup please refer to the Framing section of the TrafficCamera manual. (please note that this is a manual for a slightly different camera model and there might mi slight differences)

We have an extensive help section with many articles and videos to help you understand how FLOW Insights works. You can use the search bar on the top right of the help section to find what you are looking for. Below you can see a list of the most important guides to help you get started with FLOW.

Basic FLOW principles

Spatial filters

Visualization – widgets and dashboards

Full list of use case How-to Guides

The best way to learn FLOW is by applying it to a specific use case making it easily understandable. Choose a specific use-case guide that you like and follow along.

Use-case guides:

• Highway traffic monitoring

• Parking - Reserved spot

• People counter - Jaywalking

• Traffic jam detection - Level of service monitoring

• Traffic violation - wrong-way driving

In case you have not found what you have been looking for please get in touch with us using the live chat or send us an email to support@datafromsky.com.

Links

• Do you have any questions? Contact us!

• Follow us on Linkedin.

• Learn more about FLOW.

• Download the demo version of FLOW.

• Visit our homepage to view products and news.

Thank you for your interest! Have a great day!

Let the traffic flow - with FLOW!

Please send us an email with a request to info@datafromsky.com if you would like to purchase additional components such as a pole mounting kit or a right-angle bracket wall mount as well.