How about the ability to exclude an area from detection with a box?
I have a flat screen tv that constantly triggers "people" in the room. I don't want to move the camera, because the TV is one of the items I'm trying to protect.
Exclude area from detection
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5 posts
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Semper Vaporo - Posts: 331
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:51 am
Re: Exclude area from detection
You can select to exclude an area from the whole image (the opposite of selecting an area within the whole image to detect motion)...
Also... You can add additional points to the area boundry, so you can make something other than a 4 sided area... I have not tried this, but maybe you could add an additional 6 points and to define a "C" shape where the open ends of the "C" are very close together (or touching!).
HA! I just tried it and it WORKS!
In the image below, I kept the outer borders of the region pulled in slightly from the edges of the scene just so you can see the border and it is not obscured against the edges. I had to make the left side have a bump in it to exclude the TV reflection in the two glass domes. I also noted that extreme brightness changes on the TV were sometimes detected when reflected in the ribbon in the dolls hair on the lower right. I guess I could either expand the area around the TV or make another "bump" in a side to exclude the ribbon.
The TV still causes all kinds of "Temporary" videos to be listed as "Not saved by a rule", but only things in the region around the TV are saved by rule and trigger an audio alert (or I suppose, do the other actions by the rule).
I doubt if it would be a good idea to make a much more complicated area definition as it could confuse VDV (I know it would "ME"!) but this one does work!
Also... You can add additional points to the area boundry, so you can make something other than a 4 sided area... I have not tried this, but maybe you could add an additional 6 points and to define a "C" shape where the open ends of the "C" are very close together (or touching!).
HA! I just tried it and it WORKS!
In the image below, I kept the outer borders of the region pulled in slightly from the edges of the scene just so you can see the border and it is not obscured against the edges. I had to make the left side have a bump in it to exclude the TV reflection in the two glass domes. I also noted that extreme brightness changes on the TV were sometimes detected when reflected in the ribbon in the dolls hair on the lower right. I guess I could either expand the area around the TV or make another "bump" in a side to exclude the ribbon.
The TV still causes all kinds of "Temporary" videos to be listed as "Not saved by a rule", but only things in the region around the TV are saved by rule and trigger an audio alert (or I suppose, do the other actions by the rule).
I doubt if it would be a good idea to make a much more complicated area definition as it could confuse VDV (I know it would "ME"!) but this one does work!
Semper Vaporo,
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mikaselm - Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Jun 07, 2012 6:17 pm
Re: Exclude area from detection
Please forgive a total noob here, but how does one get to this option, can't seem to find a menu for it. Thank you!!
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Semper Vaporo - Posts: 331
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:51 am
Re: Exclude area from detection
This is a part of the Rule definition.
One way to get to a rule is to click small downward pointing arrow to the right of the default rule that appears under the main video view ("Monitor View"). Then either select "Edit Rule" or "New Rule" (from the resulting drop down menu) to get to the rule setup dialog.
There are 4 boxes in a flowchart type display on the left of the dialog. Click each one in sequence to set the parameters for each.
The 1st box, "Video Source" is where you can pick which camera the rule is to be applied to.
The 2nd box, "Look for:" lets you define whether the rule finds "any object", "People" (only), or "Unknown Objects" (non-people, only). You can also limit how big (in pixels in the image) the object must be before it is considered a valid object.
The 3rd box, "That are:" is where you can define an area that an object is either "IN" or "ON", and to define that area's size and shape. You can drag the corners of the inital box that shows in the display on the right to alter the location and shape. You can click in the middle of an edge of the box to add a new corner and drag it where you want. You can right-click on a corner and select "Delete" to remove it.
There are several configurations that the program can be applied to an object within the defined area. The difference between "In an area" and "On an area" is whether the middle of the object is within the define area or if the bottom of the object is within the defined area. Note also, the "Entering scene", "Exiting scene" (and the combination of the two) has to do with an object that appears or dissappears while in the middle of the scene/area and not having come into or leave the scene from/to an edge; such as through a doorway. But note that a glass door in a wall of mostly windows can confuse the program if the object can be seen through that glass. You and I may be able to decide that someone used a door, but the computer has no understanding of the transparency of glass and just may see the object as continuing across the scene since it does not actually suddenly "appear"/"disappear".
It sometimes takes some mental gymnastics to decide which way a rule should be applied. Remember that the scene is not a 3 dimentional scene to the computer, no matter what "our" understanding of perspective is. Try each rule method for a while until you get a good feeling for what they do and which would work best in your situations.
The 4th box, "If seen:" is where you define what the computer should do if an object triggers the rule to execute; such as make a sound or send an e-mail, etc.
Be sure to save the rule by clicking "OK" when you are done.
You can create additional rules with different criteria and/or use the same criteria and then assign different times of day for each to be active. Do that by left clicking the blue text to the right of the rule name where you clicked it to edit the rule (the default text reads, "Everyday - 24 hours". The setup dialog box is pretty self-explanitory. I find that I need two different rules for different times of day because of changes in lighting. I also have to alter the defined area a couple of times per year because of changes in the sun's position relative to my neighbor's trees (windy days can create all kinds of phantom objects in the moving shadows of the trees)... then there is the new ferral cat in the neighborhood that comes by twice a day to chase ground squirrels!
If you have other questions, feel free to ask... I try to be thorough in my answers, but often fear I have bored people with too much info, but also wonder what I may have left out that leaves the "total noob" really confused! I never know how much experience people have with Winders or if we have similar vocabularies. VDV is not hard to setup, but it can be confusing until you get the hang of it.
Communication only occurs if the listener/reader has understood what the speaker/writer "meant", not what they actualy said/wrote.
One way to get to a rule is to click small downward pointing arrow to the right of the default rule that appears under the main video view ("Monitor View"). Then either select "Edit Rule" or "New Rule" (from the resulting drop down menu) to get to the rule setup dialog.
There are 4 boxes in a flowchart type display on the left of the dialog. Click each one in sequence to set the parameters for each.
The 1st box, "Video Source" is where you can pick which camera the rule is to be applied to.
The 2nd box, "Look for:" lets you define whether the rule finds "any object", "People" (only), or "Unknown Objects" (non-people, only). You can also limit how big (in pixels in the image) the object must be before it is considered a valid object.
The 3rd box, "That are:" is where you can define an area that an object is either "IN" or "ON", and to define that area's size and shape. You can drag the corners of the inital box that shows in the display on the right to alter the location and shape. You can click in the middle of an edge of the box to add a new corner and drag it where you want. You can right-click on a corner and select "Delete" to remove it.
There are several configurations that the program can be applied to an object within the defined area. The difference between "In an area" and "On an area" is whether the middle of the object is within the define area or if the bottom of the object is within the defined area. Note also, the "Entering scene", "Exiting scene" (and the combination of the two) has to do with an object that appears or dissappears while in the middle of the scene/area and not having come into or leave the scene from/to an edge; such as through a doorway. But note that a glass door in a wall of mostly windows can confuse the program if the object can be seen through that glass. You and I may be able to decide that someone used a door, but the computer has no understanding of the transparency of glass and just may see the object as continuing across the scene since it does not actually suddenly "appear"/"disappear".
It sometimes takes some mental gymnastics to decide which way a rule should be applied. Remember that the scene is not a 3 dimentional scene to the computer, no matter what "our" understanding of perspective is. Try each rule method for a while until you get a good feeling for what they do and which would work best in your situations.
The 4th box, "If seen:" is where you define what the computer should do if an object triggers the rule to execute; such as make a sound or send an e-mail, etc.
Be sure to save the rule by clicking "OK" when you are done.
You can create additional rules with different criteria and/or use the same criteria and then assign different times of day for each to be active. Do that by left clicking the blue text to the right of the rule name where you clicked it to edit the rule (the default text reads, "Everyday - 24 hours". The setup dialog box is pretty self-explanitory. I find that I need two different rules for different times of day because of changes in lighting. I also have to alter the defined area a couple of times per year because of changes in the sun's position relative to my neighbor's trees (windy days can create all kinds of phantom objects in the moving shadows of the trees)... then there is the new ferral cat in the neighborhood that comes by twice a day to chase ground squirrels!
If you have other questions, feel free to ask... I try to be thorough in my answers, but often fear I have bored people with too much info, but also wonder what I may have left out that leaves the "total noob" really confused! I never know how much experience people have with Winders or if we have similar vocabularies. VDV is not hard to setup, but it can be confusing until you get the hang of it.
Communication only occurs if the listener/reader has understood what the speaker/writer "meant", not what they actualy said/wrote.
Semper Vaporo,
-
habari - Posts: 18
- Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 5:40 pm
Re: Exclude area from detection
I'm familiar with setting regions and rules to keep only objects within that defined area. However, occasionally I have a tree or something on the edge of the field that I can't get to trim immediately and causes a tremendous number of clips not saved by a rule but occupy a huge amount of disk space. That kicks out days of prior recordings that are sitting on my local HD. Would it be possible to add a rule option so that one can have areas specifically defined as "exclude" that are NOT recorded as a clip at all, not even a temporary clip?