*Video Miner

Technical Article | TA-20201002-TP-35

VDG Sense | Tutorials |

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Feature summary

The Video Miner is a collective name for two additional features in ObjectR Advanced in VDG Sense. The two additional features are:

Ability to create and save multiple “Rulesets”

In the ObjectR Advanced configuration, users now have the ability now have the ability create and save additional rulesets in their configuration. These rulesets can be used to experiment with different shape settings, or save different rules for different situations.

2. Search recorded data with different rulesets

The created rulesets can also be used in a new VCA tab in the Sense Search fixed layout. In this new tab, the operator can select a camera (must have VCA enabled) and select one of the created ruleset to get events in the given time-range. This allows operators to search for events that are not covered by the current active ruleset.

If the user has administration rights, he also has the ability to make adjustments to the configured rulesets directly from the Sense Search layout by clicking on the “Edit Ruleset” button. This can be used to make slight adjustments to existing rules to finetune shape settings and eliminate false-positives. The VCA tab also features an additional results column called “Alarm Size”, which displays the size of the object that triggered an alarm (in pixels). This information can be used to adjust the minimum or maximum object size settings.

The administrator can also this edit feature to create “temporary” rulesets to search for anything specific in the recorded footage.

Note: Results can only be shown if VCA has been enabled on the device in the selected time range.

Tutorial – Rulesets

The video miner is a tool for ObjectR Advanced that can be used to can be used in different methods:

Configuration: Create and save multiple rulesets for different situations
Live Search: Use the created rulesets to search through recorded ObjectR meta-data
Live Configuration (Administrator only) Create or edit rulesets in Live mode too:
- Create a temporary search query
- Fine tune created rules

In this tutorial, we will cover each method with a use-case example

Creating Rulesets

When configuring ObjectR Advanced, the user now has the ability to create multiple rulesets. This makes it possible to switch between rules for different situations or scenarios. An operator can use these rulesets in the Sense Search layout to search for various scenarios.

To create a new ruleset, click the ‘+’-button in the “Ruleset” section
To remove a ruleset, select it with the combobox, and then click the ‘-‘-button
To copy a ruleset, select it with the combobox, and click the ‘copy’-button
To edit a ruleset name, select the ‘edit’-button

One ruleset is always defined as the “active” ruleset. The active ruleset is used in Live to trigger macros or show events in the Live panel. Always keep in mind which ruleset is active, and which ruleset is used in editing. The live preview image in the center of the screen will always show alarms of the active ruleset if the option “Show alarms” is enabled.

In short, it’s wise to create one “primary ruleset” for main detection and event purposes, and create one or more “secondary ruleset(s)” for searching purposes.

Use case example

Primary Ruleset

In this example, we have a fence and a bicycle path. For our primary ruleset, we mainly want to see if a person crosses the fence. Therefore, we create a line rule over the fence with a clockwise direction, meaning we should only receive events if an object crosses the line from the bicycle path towards the parkinglot.

We set this ruleset as our “Active Ruleset” in the VCA Settings section. We can now create macros that correspond with the created rule, receive the events in the event panel, or anything else that the situation requires.

Secondary Ruleset

We can now create various rulesets as secondary rulesets. These rulesets are not used for macro triggers or live events, and mainly used for searching purposes. For example:

Objects on bicycle path moving south to north

Objects loitering near the fence

Tutorial – Search & Video miner

The created rulesets can be used by operators in the Sense Search fixed layout to search. Simply open the Sense Search fixed layout and select the “VCA” subtab. Select a device and one of the preconfigured rulesets and select a start & end timerange. Click on search to retrieve the results from the created ruleset.

The search results will also include a “Alarm Size” value, which can be used by administrators to fine-tune the created rulesets. Double click on the event video panel to open the moment of the event in a fullscreen timeline layout.

Advanced uses by Administrator users

Users with administrator rights have the ability to create and edit rulesets directly from the Sense Search layout. This allows them to either create temporary rulesets to search for specific events that are not covered by any of the preconfigured rulesets. But also the ability to finetune the created rulesets to eliminate false-positives. We’ll cover both methods with the following examples

Temporary ruleset search

Because administrators have the ability to add, edit and delete rulesets, they can create temporary rulesets. In the Sense Search layout, click the “Edit Ruleset” to open the VCA configuration window. Here, create a new ruleset. Configure the ruleset as needed and click save. Back in the Sense Search layout, the administrator can use the temporary ruleset to search on the previously recorded footage.

Fine-tuning VCA rules

Administrators can also use the Sense Search VCA tab to fine-tune their configured rules, making use of previously recorded footage. This way, the administrator does not have to wait or recreate new events every time a modification has been done to the VCA rules. Simply copy a ruleset, make the necessary adjustments, and search using both the original ruleset and the adjusted ruleset. Check in the results table which rulesets creates more expected results.