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Connecting sensors to Vemcount — HTTP, LoRaWAN, MQTT & FTP protocols

How to connect any sensor to Vemcount — HTTP push, LoRaWAN, MQTT, and FTP protocols. Protocol identification guide, setup steps, and links to sensor-specific guides. Works regardless of sensor brand or purchase source.

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Written by Vemco Group

Vemcount accepts data from sensors using four protocols. If your sensor supports any of these, it can be connected — regardless of brand or purchase source. Find your sensor's output protocol below and follow the relevant guide.

How to identify which protocol your sensor uses

HTTP / HTTPS push

Sensor connects to your network via Ethernet or WiFi and pushes JSON/XML data to a URL endpoint. Most PoE people counters and video-based sensors use this.

LoRaWAN

Sensor communicates wirelessly over long range to a LoRaWAN gateway, which forwards data to Vemcount. Battery-powered IoT sensors almost always use this.

MQTT

Sensor publishes messages to an MQTT broker; Vemcount subscribes to receive them. Used by some smart building platforms and IoT integrations.

FTP / CSV push

Sensor or a local software client uploads data files to an FTP endpoint on a schedule. Legacy people counters and some ERP integrations use this.

Protocol 1 — HTTP / HTTPS push

Compatible sensors: Xovis PC2/PC3/PF, Milesight VS125, VS133-P, VS126, TDI TD2000, Brickstream, and most other PoE people counters.

General setup steps

  1. Find your sensor's IP address (check your router's DHCP table, or use the manufacturer's discovery tool)

  2. Log in to the sensor's web interface

  3. Navigate to the Data Push / HTTP Push / Integration settings section

  4. Set the push destination to Vemcount's endpoint — contact support@vemcogroup.com for your account-specific push URL

  5. Set push protocol to HTTPS and interval to 1 minute (recommended)

  6. Register the sensor's MAC address in Vemcount: Settings → Devices → + Add device

  7. Verify: walk past the sensor and check the device status turns green within 2 minutes

Sensor-specific guides

Firewall requirements for HTTP push sensors

The sensor must have outbound internet access to reach Vemcount's servers. No inbound firewall ports need to be opened — the sensor pushes out, Vemcount doesn't pull in.

  • Xovis sensors also need outbound access to Xovis cloud (see Xovis network requirements →)

  • TDI sensors need outbound access to rcs-uk.tdintelligence.com for remote management

Protocol 2 — LoRaWAN

Compatible sensors: All Milesight LoRaWAN sensors (VS133, VS350, AM series, VS330, WS201, CT10x, GS301, EM300-DI, WS303, WS101, WT series, and all others).

How LoRaWAN works with Vemcount

LoRaWAN sensors communicate wirelessly to a gateway. The gateway acts as a bridge — it forwards all sensor data to Vemcount's LoRaWAN network server over the internet. You need one gateway per floor or coverage area (one gateway typically covers 200m radius indoors).

Required gateway models

  • Milesight UG65 — standard indoor gateway (recommended)

  • Milesight UG67 — IP67 outdoor gateway

  • Milesight SG50 — carrier-grade high-capacity gateway

Setup sequence

  1. First: set up the gateway → Milesight gateway setup guide →. Point it at ttn.vemcount.app UDP port 1700.

  2. Then: register each sensor in Vemcount via Settings → Devices → + Add LoRaWAN device. You'll need the sensor's DevEUI (printed on the label or QR code), AppEUI, and AppKey from the sensor's NFC configuration.

  3. Configure the sensor via NFC using the Milesight ToolBox app on a smartphone. Set the LoRaWAN credentials to match what you registered in Vemcount.

  4. Wait for the sensor to join — should take under 2 minutes. Status turns green in Settings → Devices.

Sensor-specific LoRaWAN guides

No gateway yet? You need a LoRaWAN gateway before any LoRaWAN sensor will work. Start with the gateway setup guide even if you already have the sensors. The gateway is not a licence — it's infrastructure and is not billed.

Protocol 3 — MQTT

Compatible with: Building management systems (BMS), smart building platforms, and any sensor or controller that supports MQTT publish/subscribe.

Vemcount can subscribe to an MQTT broker and ingest sensor data published on configurable topics. Setup requires:

  1. The broker address and port (e.g. mqtt://your-broker:1883)

  2. Authentication credentials (username/password or certificate)

  3. Topic structure — Vemcount maps topic paths to sensor zones

  4. Payload format — Vemcount supports JSON payloads with configurable field mapping

MQTT integration setup is configured by the Vemco technical team. Contact support@vemcogroup.com with your broker details and we'll configure the integration. You can also use MQTT for outbound alerts from Vemcount — see Widget alerts & IoT automation →

Protocol 4 — FTP / CSV file push

Compatible with: Legacy people counters, ERP systems, and third-party software that exports counting data as CSV files on a schedule.

Vemcount provides an FTP endpoint that accepts CSV files in a defined format. Files are processed automatically when received.

FTP integration requires:

  1. Your FTP client (sensor or software) configured to push files to the Vemcount FTP server on your defined schedule

  2. File naming and column format as specified in the Data export & FTP integration guide →

  3. Sensor registration in Vemcount to map file data to the correct location and zone

Connecting a sensor not listed here

If your sensor uses one of the four protocols above but isn't in our documentation, it can still be connected. The process is:

  1. Check the sensor's documentation for its data output format (JSON, XML, CSV) and protocol

  2. Email support@vemcogroup.com with: sensor model, manufacturer, data output format (attach a sample payload if possible)

  3. We'll confirm compatibility and provide the endpoint configuration

Vemcount has connected sensors from 30+ manufacturers. If the sensor produces digital counting data, there's a very high chance it can be integrated.

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