Introduction
This section provides various recommendations on how a device should be installed/configured for the most accurate counting.
Installation
An accurate device starts with correct installation. No amount of settings changes will be able to correct a poorly installed device. Main rules for installation are as follows:
1. Ensure the correct number of devices are installed. If a wide doorway needs two devices but only one is installed it should be no surprise that people who enter and leave at the very edges may not be counted - or even seen in some cases. Use the installation planner website and/or the Excel spreadsheet unit calculator to be sure.
2. Always install 1m (3ft) back from the door. Whenever counting through a physical doorway, correct mounting distance relative to the door is important. Mounting 1m back ensures that any movement of the door can be ignored by correct line placement during the configuration steps, but if a device is too close to the door that might not be possible. If there is ceiling furniture in the way, position as close to 1m away as you can. The only exception to this rule is when the opening is completely clear with no physical door.
3. This may seem obvious, but the Vector needs a clear view of the area below where people walk. But, it is very easy to miss the fact that lighting, signage, sprinklers and other ceiling furniture could block the field of view. One other thing of note is that any devices mounted very close to a door will most likely have some of its field of view blocked by the wall above the door as well as the door itself when it is closed. This will minimise the amount of usable space within the field of view to position the counting lines.
4. Take note of the orientation arrow on each Vectors metal base plate and position correctly. This should point into the area of interest, i.e. into the building, into the zone, into the restroom, into the meeting room, etc. Note this does not necessarily mean, pointing at the door - regardless of the side of the door that the Vector is installed, it should point into the building/zone/area. There are a number of reasons why this is important. Firstly, it means that the IN and OUT directions will always be known and setup will be easier - especially if configuring remotely later. It also provides a standard that your installers can follow going forward to ensure that all devices are installed in a similar way. Lastly if installing to count through an external doorway, pointing the Vector into the building will prevent any very bright sunlight from affecting tracking. The only exception to the base direction rule is when you’re counting between two separate areas of interest, i.e. people leaving one zone and entering another. In these cases, the orientation of the base doesn’t matter too much, but notes must be made for use when configuring later, especially if configuring remotely and the orientation cannot be established by remote view alone.
Line Setup
The key to accurate counting is the correct line setup. The golden rules for line placement are as follows:
1. Lines should be positioned only within the active part of the field of view - remember that the video view provided is larger than the active Time of Flight field of view. If you need to position lines outside of the active field of view then that means two things - people outside of the active field of view won't be tracked/counted, and, there is effectively a 'gap' and additional units should have been specified originally - see above.
2. Lines should be positioned only across the floor of the field of view. In other words lines should be positioned only where people can physically walk. Lines positioned across furniture and other fixtures, or up the sides of walls can cause issues, for example reflected targets off shiny surfaces as people walk past them.
3. In most cases a U shape around the door is a great starting setup for count lines which can be adjusted as required.
4. Lines should be positioned away from other sources of movement. In most cases movement within the field of view will come from the door itself which may swing into the field of view, but can mean anything that could move within the field of view. The reason for this is because anything that moves could be seen as a valid target, which will be tracked, and if it's tracked across a count line, it will be counted. Therefore always position lines around the swing of a door, and away from the side of a sliding door.
5. When counting 'IN' and 'OUT' through a doorway, it is strongly recommenced that both lines are positioned in exactly the same place with the same settings, with only their direction changed. This prevents anyone dithering on or around the count lines from generating more counts on one line than the other, and is extremely important in any occupancy based projects and applications. Use the Move and Align functionality to automatically position one line in exactly the same place as another line.
6. Each count line has a 'Count Mode' associated with it. In the majority of cases, all lines should have the same Count Mode, with the default count mode being the preferred. The 'Deferred count mode with Ignore U-Turns' enabled, means that any dithering on the count lines will be ignored - only relevant count increments are given only at the point people leave the field of view. Additionally anyone walking through the field of view and past the doorway will not generate any unwanted counts even if they cross the lines. Please note, if you change the count mode, make sure you understand what effect it will have on the counting.
7. The video view is provided so that the installer can see what is going on and it should be relatively easy to spot issues when viewed in combination with the tracked targets which are overlaid on top. Remember that a persons corresponding target must cross the count line in the correct direction, so if targets only appear after the count line that won't generate a count increment and tells you that the line needs further further away from the start point lf that person who was just missed. Additionally if a door opens and a target is generated, it will follow the movement of the door, and allows you to see where the lines need to avoid. Whenever making any settings changes, observe the effect and revert back to previous settings if necessary.
8. Lastly, the path map view provides evidence of historic routes taken through the field of view. This makes it very easy to position the count lines appropriately even if no one is moving through the field of view at time of configuration. If the path map doesn’t look right, first make sure that door movement isn’t affecting it (see above), then reset the path map and allow it to build up again – this might also be required immediately after installation. Remember also that reflected targets and non-human targets will also contribute to this path map, so always use in conjunction with the video view.
Wide Tracker (Multi-Unit) Settings
When using two or more devices to monitor a wide doorway, one of the devices needs to be set as a master (default setting), and the others as Nodes. Configuring the nodes first will simplify things, as, when you get to the master configuration, you just have to add the already configured nodes to that master, and then configure all the counting functionality and data output options on the master only.
A major part of a Wide Tracker setup is the X & Y Settings of each device to reflect the real-world installation. Essentially all of the units must be ‘told’ where they are installed in relation to their neighbours. The X & Y values can be thought of as points on a graph, as if looking down on the installation from above. Conventionally, the master is left at default position (0, 0) and nodes are referenced from there. If units are in a straight line then the Y value will be the same, with only the X value stating how far apart units are. It should be stressed that the values must reflect how far apart units have physically been installed from each other. Changing those values will clearly not move devices – only physically relocating them will do that – and if the values do not reflect the real-world separation, then tracking people across device field of views will not work correctly.