AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ - User manual

AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ is an application that uses data from Axis radars to direct one or more PTZ cameras towards moving objects. You can install the PTZ cameras close to the radar, or distribute them throughout the site you’re monitoring. The radar measures the absolute distance and speed of moving objects, and the application calculates the best pan, tilt, and zoom settings for the PTZ cameras based on their location and current view.

The tracker groups together multiple objects to fit within the camera’s view, and its default behavior is to follow these priorities:

1. It tracks the same object.

2. It minimizes camera movement.

3. It tracks each object with at least one PTZ camera, if available. If not, it tracks the closest object.

• For a list of supported PTZ cameras, see axis.com/products/axis-radar-autotracking-for-ptz#compatible-products

• The application is suitable for outdoor sites with a limited amount of activity, or indoor sites with ceiling heights of 7 m (23 ft) or more. Crowded sites, like train stations, are not recommended.

• You need to place the PTZ camera within the radar’s detection range. For more information about detection range, see the user manual for your radar on help.axis.com.

• The application is not designed to run at the same time as the built-in autotracking service in Axis radars. If you switch from one service to the other, reset the radar to factory default settings.

• The radar can miss some objects that are visible to the camera, for example if they are outside the radar’s detection range.

• The radar can change the classification of a physical object during its path through the scene. Depending on your configuration, this could cause a changed tracking behavior.

• High latency can affect the tracking performance. To minimize latency, run the application on a computer that is connected to the same network as your radar and PTZ camera.

• An operator can always take control of the PTZ camera and override AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ. For more information, see Override tracking.

• If you change any settings in the radar, restart the service.

• The application might disable Proportional speed in the PTZ camera. This setting is not restored when you remove the camera from the application.

• Download or create a reference map, such as an aerial photo of the area you are going to monitor.

• • Include the installation points of the PTZ camera and the radar.

  • Include two calibrations points. Use landmarks, or place objects or paint markings that are visible on the map.

• Note the location where the radars and PTZ cameras are installed.

• Measure the mounting height of the PTZ cameras and radars relative to the area of interest.

• Go to the radar’s web interface and calibrate a reference map. For more information, see the radar’s user manual available at help.axis.com.

1. Download the application from axis.com/products/axis-radar-autotracking-for-ptz.

2. Double-click on the downloaded file and follow the instructions in the setup assistant.

As soon as the installation is done, the application starts running in the background.

In the application, you organize radars and PTZ cameras in groups. A group consists of one radar and one or more PTZ cameras that are controlled with motion data from the radar.

1. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Select Create group and type a name for the group.

3. Select Add security radar and enter the radar’s IP address.

   To connect via HTTPS, select Options and select HTTPS.

4. If you haven’t configured the radar, click Status: Not configured and follow the instructions in the application.

5. Select Add camera and enter the PTZ camera’s IP address.

   To connect via HTTPS, select Options and select HTTPS.

6. To configure the PTZ camera, click Status: Not configured and follow the instructions in the application. For more information, see Calibrate the PTZ camera.

To pair one PTZ camera with multiple radars, create one group for each radar, and add the same PTZ camera to each of the groups.

1. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Select Create group and type a name for the group.

3. Select Add security radar and enter the radar’s IP address.

   To connect via HTTPS, select Options and select HTTPS.

4. If you haven’t configured the radar, click Status: Not configured and follow the instructions in the application.

5. Select Add camera and enter the PTZ camera’s IP address.

   To connect via HTTPS, select Options and select HTTPS.

6. To configure the PTZ camera, click Status: Not configured and follow the instructions in the application. For more information, see Calibrate the PTZ camera.

7. Note

   We recommend that you turn off tracking for the PTZ camera until you have paired it with all intended radars. Right-click on the PTZ camera and click Turn off. If you pair the camera with more than two radars, turn off the PTZ tracking for each group.

8. Create a new group for each radar, and add the same camera to each group.

When you add a PTZ camera in the application, you have to calibrate it. To make the calibration easier, there are a few things to consider:

• The calibration is based on three positions: the location of the PTZ camera and two calibration points. These three positions create a plane.

• The calibration points are used for calibrating the camera view to the background image. This means that you can select calibration points outside the radar’s detection zone.

• Select the first calibration point in the same direction as the most distant point of the detection zone. Preferably, select a calibration point that is further away. If the calibration point is close to the radar, a small angular error will result in large deviations at more distant object locations. The detected object might fall outside of the camera view.

• Select a second calibration point at, or beyond, the perimeter of the area of interest. The performance of the camera tracking works best inside the triangle made up of the PTZ camera position and the two calibration points.

• Consider the elevation in the scene when you select the calibration points. If the three positions are set on different height levels, the application assumes that the whole detection zone is a tilted plane. The radar has no information about height. If an object is detected on another level than the area set out from the calibration points, the PTZ camera might be tracking below the object of interest.

1. Go to the radar’s web interface and set up a schedule that defines the hours you want the tracker to work. You can also use the default schedule After hours.

2. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

3. Right-click the group and select Group settings.

4. Turn on Tracking schedule.

5. Select the schedule you created in the radar.

   If you can’t find the schedule in the list, click to refresh the list.

You can select if you want the tracker to only track vehicles, humans, or unknown objects.

1. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Expand the group that the camera belongs to.

3. Right-click the PTZ camera and select Camera settings.

4. Under Track on, select which object type you want to track.

You can set up the tracker to only track objects during radar alarms. Radar alarms are based on scenarios, which are a combination of triggering conditions and detections settings that you configure in the radar’s web interface.

Before you start:

• Create a scenario in the radar where you define the object type to trigger on, and if the radar should trigger on objects moving in a defined area, or objects crossing two virtual lines.

• For detailed instructions, see the radar’s user manual at help.axis.com.

1. Only track during radar alarms:

2. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

3. Right-click the group of your choice and select Group settings.

4. Turn on Only track during radar alarm.

1. Only track objects from a radar scenario:
2. This limits the PTZ camera to only track objects from the scenario you have set up in the radar, instead of tracking all objects during a radar alarm.

3. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

4. Right-click on a PTZ camera in the group and go to Camera settings.

5. Turn on Only track events from this scenario.

1. Prioritize a specific scenario in the radar:
2. Follow these steps if you have set up more than one scenario in the radar and want the tracker to prioritize one over the others.

3. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

4. Right-click on a PTZ camera in the group and go to Camera settings.

5. Turn on Prioritize scenario and select a scenario from the drop-down menu.

1. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Click .

3. Go to Global settings > Return to home delay and set the time of inactivity before the PTZ camera returns to its home position.

You can pause AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ in several ways.

1. Pause all tracking (option 1):

2. Go to Windows® task bar and right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

3. Select Stop service.

1. Pause all tracking (option 2):

2. In the radar’s web interface, go to Radar > Settings > General.

3. Turn off Radar transmission.

1. Pause tracking for a specific detection area:

2. In the radar’s web interface, go to System > Events.

3. Click + Add a rule.

4. Type a name for the rule.

5. In the list of conditions, under Radar motion, select the scenario the rule should apply to.

6. In the list of actions, select Radar detection.

7. Select Detection off as state.

1. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Expand the group that the camera belongs to.

3. Right-click the PTZ camera and select Turn off.

The application handles basic settings needed for tracking. To configure the radar or PTZ camera, go to the web interface of each device.

1. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Expand the group that the device belongs to.

3. Right-click the device and select Copy device address.

4. Start a web browser.

5. Paste the device address in the browser’s address field.

The user manuals for Axis radars and Axis PTZ cameras are available at help.axis.com.

You can export your settings for backup or migration to another system, and import them to restore your configuration or use when migrating from another system.

1. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Click .

3. Go to Backup & migration.

4. Click Export or Import and follow the instructions in the application.

An operator can always take control of the PTZ camera and override AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

When you add a PTZ camera to AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ, the application creates a new user in the camera with viewer privileges. The viewer has lower priority than an operator's or an administrator's privileges.

You can adjust the default priorities in the PTZ camera's control queue settings.

If the camera isn't tracking objects correctly after calibration, it’s likely due to one of the following causes:

• The scale is not set correctly during map calibration.

• Selected points on the map don't match the calibration points.

Try the following:

• Make sure to use as much as possible of the radar stream. Position the radar so its field of detection covers as much of the stream as possible.

• Make sure that the scale of the map is correct.

• To adjust the position of the radar and the scale of the map, go to Radar > Map calibration in the radar’s web interface. For detailed instructions, see the user manual for your radar on help.axis.com.

To validate the calibration:

1. In the radar’s web interface, go to Radar > Settings > Object visualization and set Trail lifetime to 1 minute.

2. On the site you’re monitoring, ask someone to walk from the radar to the first calibration point and stop there.

3. In the radar’s web interface, check that the trail on the map corresponds with reality. If the trail on the map deviates, redo the map calibration.

4. When you’re happy with the map calibration, re-calibrate the PTZ camera.

If you need to contact support, it can be helpful to record the behavior of the tracker.

1. In the Windows task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Select a group.

3. Click on the reference map.

4. Click and select Show extended information.

5. Make a screen recording with a suitable application.

1. To limit the network load during setup, you can lower the video quality used by the tracker’s user interface. This does not affect the quality of the recordings.

2. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

3. Click .

4. Go to Video quality and select a lower option.

5. Click Close and restart service.

If you need to contact support it can be helpful to provide debug information. The debug log is saved in the diagnostics report.

1. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Click .

3. Under Troubleshooting, turn on debug logging.

1. The diagnostic report contains system settings, calibration reports (including images from the radars and PTZ cameras), and debug logs.

2. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

3. Click .

4. Under Troubleshooting, click Save diagnostics report.

A calibration report contains calibration information and images from the radar or PTZ camera of your choice.

1. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Expand the group that the device belongs to.

3. Right-click the device and select Save calibration report.

1. In the Windows® task bar, right-click AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ and select Open AXIS Radar Autotracking for PTZ.

2. Select a group.

3. In the overview map, click and select Show extended information.