The Patrol Application Suite

Transcript

I N N O V A T I O The Patrol Application Suite N S Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 The Patrol Application Suite Patrol essentials page 3 The Patrol Camera captures Panorama Images which are able to be tranformed for viewing in real-time using applications from the Patrol Suite of Software There are three user applications: Camera page 4 The Camera application is used to setup a Patrol camera. It is used for live interactive control of the Patrol Camera, and can be used to initiate recording and image streaming to remote locations. Record page 14 The Record application is used to create a Patrol image archive using the Lighting and Panoramic setups created in the Camera application. Review page 15 The Review application is used to browse and playback images previously recorded in to a Patrol image archive. And an Installation application: Install page 18 The installation program (Patrol_Installer.exe) supplied for your Patrol camera installs the Patrol camera drivers and software. 2 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Patrol essentials The Patrol Camera captures Panorama Images which are able to be tranformed for viewing in real-time using applications from the Patrol Suite of Software. While the system is recording, complete Panorama Images are archived in a hierarchical filing system, which is organised to be efficiently accessed using time as the primary index. The system may be configured to meet unique operational requirements, for example, to store all recordings in a single archive, create a new archive for each new day of operation, or even to create a new archive each time a recording application is run. Graphical User Interface (GUI) Virtual Camera PTZ control The default configuration for demonstration use is to create a new archive each time a recording application is run. The recommended operational configuration is to create a new archive for each new day of operation. All Patrol applications have a consistent user interface which can be used either with pointing devices, such as a mouse, or with a touch screen. Note: In this document clicking the right button of a mouse whilst pointing at part of an image or an icon, or touching the same location on screen whilst using a touch screen is referred to as selecting. Applications which display Patrol Camera images (Camera, Review) do so by presenting one or more Virtual Cameras on the screen. A Virtual Camera behaves like a PTZ camera, and shows the transformed view of part of a Panorama Image. The GUI can present several Virtual Cameras on the screen simultaneously. For the purposes of control, at any time one Virtual Camera is designated as chosen, and its border is highlighted in blue to indicate which one it is. Selecting a place anywhere within the chosen Virtual Camera moves it to point in that direction, subject to limits which ensure the whole of Virtual Camera display is always kept within the Panorama Image. To provide additional intuitive control of Virtual Cameras, several types of geometrically transformed Panoramic Views are provided. These include a long flat 2D panorama displaying the full 360 degrees of Patrol camera view, a pair of 2D panoramas each of which display 180 degrees of view (with one looking forward, and the other backward), a 3D cylindrical panoramic image displaying the full 360 degrees of view and also a source annular Patrol Camera Panorama Image. Selecting a place anywhere within a Panoramic View moves the chosen Virtual Camera it to point in that direction. 3 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Camera Overview The Camera application is used to setup a Patrol camera. It is used for live interactive control of the Patrol Camera, and can be used to initiate recording and image streaming to remote locations. Camera Graphical User Interface The Camera Graphical User Interface (GUI) can simultaneously display on screen groups of one or more 3D Virtual Cameras and the additional views. These groups are called frames. At the top of the Camera application screen there is a row of icons, each of which is a button (see below). The first two of these provide for the selection of one of seven Virtual Pan, Tilt and Zoom (VPTZ) cameras. The first icon selects a frame containing Virtual Camera #1 showing its geometrically corrected VPTZ view of the Patrol camera panoramic output. Below there is also a long flat 2D panorama displaying the full 360 degrees of Patrol camera view. Selecting anywhere within this view will update Virtual Camera #1’s VPTZ parameters. Note: The first icon is highlighted in BLUE; this denotes that this frame has been selected. 4 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 The second icon selects a frame containing Virtual Cameras #2 to #7, each showing a separate geometrically corrected VPTZ view of the Patrol camera panoramic output. Note: The second icon is highlighted in BLUE; this denotes that this frame has been selected. Note: A part of the icon corresponding to Virtual Camera #2 is solid, denoting which Virtual Camera has been selected. In this example it is Virtual Camera #2 and its edge is highlighted in BLUE. Selecting another Virtual Camera will update the icon, highlight its edge, and set it to be the currently chosen Virtual Camera (see “Selecting a Virtual Camera” section below). The next five display frames containing different combinations of Virtual Cameras and/or the additional views described above. The third and the seventh frames contain additional camera setup panes; respectively the Camera Lighting Setup and Panoramic Setup (see the “Adjusting Patrol Camera Settings” section below). Selecting a Virtual Camera The other icons provide for zooming the chosen Virtual Camera, resetting the currently selected Virtual Camera, streaming a Virtual Camera (See the “Virtual Camera Streaming” section below), turning recording ON or OFF (See the “Recording” application documentation below), and for exiting the Camera application. Selecting within the view of a Virtual Camera will – if it is not already selected - set this as the chosen Virtual Camera; the appropriate frame icon will be updated and its view border highlighted in BLUE. Selecting within the chosen Virtual Camera view will update the chosen Virtual Camera VPTZ pan and tilt parameters, and pan and/or tilt to that selected location. Selecting either the plus or minus Zoom icons will update the chosen Virtual Camera VPTZ zoom parameter, and either zoom in or out. The Reset icon resets the chosen Virtual Camera VPTZ parameters to the default values. 5 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Selecting in any of the addition views will pan and/or tilt the chosen Virtual Camera to that that location. Adjusting Lighting Setup The third icon displays a frame containing the Lighting Setup controls. This Frame’s icon is shown on the left. This Frame is comprised of a 3D Spherical View, a 2D Panoramic View and the Lighting Setup controls. There are four Scene modes, each of which is designed to best provide for a specific set of lighting conditions. These are: 1. Sunny, 2. Sunny with Clouds, 3. Cloudy, and 4. Indoor Lighting Each of these can be configured with one of three levels of Brightness (e.g. Bright, Normal, Dark) and one of three Frame Rates (e.g. Slow, Normal, Fast). Clicking the Save button, will save the selected setup, for all four of the separate Lighting Conditions. Whichever Lighting Setup is selected and saved, this will be selected when Camera is next run. 6 Adjusting Panoramic Setup Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 The seventh icon displays a frame containing the Camera Panoramic Setup controls. This Frame’s icon is shown on the left. This Frame is comprised of an Annular Panoramic View and the Panoramic Setup controls. There are six different panoramic parameters that can be increased or decreased. These are: 1. Inner Annular Radius 2. Outer Annular Radius 3. Horizontal Camera Offset 4. Horizontal Image Offset 5. Vertical Image Offset 6. Panoramic 3D Spherical Look Up (not active at present) Select amount of increase or decrease. Save this setup. Clicking the Save button, will save a panoramic setup; this will be used as the current setup and also the setup when the Camera application is next run. This is the panoramic setup for all Patrol image archives recorded with Record application. Live Viewing This is also the panoramic setup for all Patrol image archives recorded with this setup, and displayed with the Review application. When the Camera application is run, Live Viewing is automatically ON. Note: When the Camera application is run, it will detect whether or not a Patrol camera is attached. If a camera is not detected it will require that 7 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Recording the Camera application be closed, and the camera attached before the application is run again. When successful, the Camera application will automatically start the camera. Background Basics While the Camera application is recording, complete Panorama Images are archived in a hierarchical filing system, which is organised to be efficiently accessed using time as the primary index. The system may be configured to meet operational requirements, for example, to store all recordings in a single archive, create a new archive for each new day of operation, or even to create a new archive each time a recording application is run. The default configuration for demonstration use is to create a new archive each time a recording application is run. The recommended operational configuration is to create a new archive for each new day of operation. Operation The “Record ON / OFF” button switches between recording modes. When the Camera application is run, recording is switched “OFF”. When the record icon is selected it is highlighted in RED. When recording is first switched “ON”, the Camera application will create an Observant folder in a User’s Documents folder, and then copy and store camera and application information in a “Data” folder, and log files in a “Logs” folder. The Camera application will also automatically create a new archive folder. The name of each archive folder is comprised of its creation date and time. For example, if an archive is created in the year twenty sixteen, in the sixth month, on the twenty seventh day, at one PM, twenty minutes and thirty-four seconds, then the archive name is: “20160627_132034_archive” Each archive contains an image folder and an “archive.hdl” archive initialisation file containing Patrol camera recording parameters Note: When recording, the Camera application cannot archive as many images per second as the “Record” application, as it is also managing a complex graphical user interface. 8 Streaming Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Background Basics Camera is an ONVIF compatible Video Streaming application. Explanation of ONVIF “ONVIF is an open industry forum for the development of a global standard for the interface of IP-based physical security products.” [from ONVIF website]. For more information, see: http://www.onvif.org/ At runtime the Camera creates one or more ONVIF compatible PTZ Virtual Cameras each with a separate Field of View (FoV), pan, tilt and zoom. Being ONVIF compatible allows these Virtual Cameras to be discovered as an ONVIF compatible device, one which “listens” for ONVIF PTZ commands. When an ONVIF PTZ command is received, these values are transformed into Virtual Camera pan, tilt and zoom values, and are used to update the 3D or other views that are to be streamed. Also at runtime the Camera application creates one or more instances of an application called Stream. This take images from Camera application and provides a video stream of encoded content for remote viewing. Multiple instances of the Stream application are able to run concurrently to provide several simultaneous virtual PTZ feeds. Each instance of Stream application is paired with an instance of an ONVIF compatible PTZ Virtual Camera. This allows each pair to ‘look’ and behave like a PTZ camera to a Video Management System (VMS) (see explanation below). Explanation of Video Streaming Streaming video is content sent in a compressed form over the Internet and displayed by the viewer in real time. With streaming video or streaming media, a user does not have to wait to download a file to play it. Instead, the media is sent in a continuous stream of data and is played as it arrives. A user can view and/or record streaming video in many different ways, including using a:  Video Player: This a software program that plays many different types of media. There are several, such as VLC (written by the VideoLAN project) that can play streaming video. An example of how 9 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016   to use VLC to play a stream of video from the Camera application is given at the end of this section. Network Video Recorder (NVR): This a software program that records streaming video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other mass storage device. An NVR contains no dedicated video capture hardware. Video Management System (VMS): This is software program, often integrated with hardware, that provides for multiple live and/or previously recorded streaming video to be simultaneously recorded and viewed in an efficient and user-friendly way. Only VMS provide for both remote control and remote viewing. Note: Observant Innovations have implemented ONLY those parts of the ONVIF specification required to discover, communicate with, and control a Patrol Virtual PTZ camera. Accessing ONVIF Remote Control and Streaming Note: Currently only one streaming Virtual Camera is available. At the top of the Camera application screen there is a row of icons, each of which is a button. Selecting the Stream icon will open a new frame with the Virtual Camera streaming controls and the currently streamed output (see below). At the top of this Virtual Camera streaming frame there is a row of icons, each of which is a button. 10 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Selecting the first icon (Play Stream) will turn streaming ON. When it is ON the icon colour will change to RED, and selecting it will turn streaming OFF. Selecting the second icon (Remote Control) will turn remote control ON. When it is ON the icon colour will change to RED, and selecting it will turn remote control OFF. The third and fourth icons select the format of the streamed output. This is either a 3D view or a split 2D panoramic view. The selected format will change to BLUE. On the far right there is an EXIT icon. Selecting this will close the Virtual Camera streaming frame. Note: No change can be made to the Camera application whilst the Virtual Camera streaming frame is open. Using ONVIF Remote Control and Streaming At runtime the ONVIF Remote Control and Video Streaming are turned OFF. When the Streaming icon is first selected, Video Streaming is turned ON. The Camera application will now stream the currently selected Virtual Camera. If the view of this is interactively updated by a user then new view is what is being streamed. Note: No interactive change can be made to the view of the currently selected Virtual Camera whilst the Virtual Camera streaming frame is open. When the ONVIF Remote Control is first selected, remote control is turned ON. Now what is being viewed is remotely controlled by ONVIF compatible software that can update an ONVIF PTZ device. Note: The ONVIF remote control view is NOT that of the current Virtual Camera. It is completely separate and can only be viewed in the Virtual Camera streaming frame. 11 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Streaming Layouts Two layouts are provided. Current Streaming Implementation Currently only one ONVIF remotely controled camera is provided. These are a 3D view, shown above, and a split 2D Panoramic view shown below. Further versions of the Camera application will provide several separate ONVIF remotely contoled Virtual Cameras. Please contact Observant Innoavtions to find out when software updates with exented ONVIF and streaming support might be availble. Note: The ONVIF remote control view is NOT that of the current Virtual Camera. It is completely separate and can only be viewed in the Virtual Camera streaming frame. How to use to VLC to play a stream of video from the Camera application VLC can be downloaded from http://www.videolan.org/. Playing streaming video from the Camera application on a Local Area Network (LAN) is very simple, especially using an application such as VLC. All that is required is a Network Control Protocol (typically RTSP), an Internet Protocol (IP) address (a unique string of numbers separated by full stops that identifies each computer using the IP to communicate over a network), a port number (a port is an endpoint of communication in an operating system) and a stream name. e.g. rtsp:://192.168.1.100:8554/h264Mini Where;  rtsp is the Network Control Protocol,  192.168.1.100 is the IP address,  8554 is the port number, and  h264Mini is the stream name. 12 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 On a LAN the IP address is that of the PC that the camera application is running on. Instructions on how to use VLC with the Camera application: 1. Run the Camera application 2. Select the Stream icon to open the Virtual Camera streaming control and viewing frame 3. Select the Play Stream icon 4. 5. 6. 7. Then, Run VLC From the top menu open the “Media” tab Select “Open Network Stream…” In the “Network Protocol”, “Please enter a network URL:” input text box, enter: rtsp:://[IP address]:8554/h264Mini 8. Then press “Enter” on your keyboard or select the “Play” button VLC will now play the stream of video from Camera: 13 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Record Overview The Record application is used to create a Patrol image archive using the Lighting and Panoramic setups created in the Camera application. When the Record application is run, it will detect whether or not a Patrol camera is attached. If a camera is not detected it will require that the Record application be closed, and the camera attached before the application is run again. When successful, the Record application will automatically start recording. Select the “Record” button to stop, and re-start recording. Note: When this application is recording, it will archive as many images per second as your PC permits, and possibly several more than with the Camera application, as it is NOT managing a complex graphical user interface. 14 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Review Overview Graphical User Interface The Review application is used to browse and playback images previously recorded in to a Patrol image archive. The Review application Graphical User Interface is very similar to that of the Camera application. During usage the Review application might look like this: As it is used to review a previously recorded - or currently being recorded – archive, there is no Record button. There is however the addition of a Review Timeline, with Earlier |<, and Later >| buttons at each end, and below these an Archive selection button, Date & Time selection fields, and Timeline Navigation buttons. 15 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Opening a Patrol Image Archive Using the Timeline Using Date and Time Timeline navigation buttons Playback, Pause and replay When the Review application is run it automatically will load, from the Observant folder in a User’s Documents folder, the last Patrol image archive created. The image displayed is the last image recorded in that archive, and the Review application time displayed in the Timeline, and the Date & Time fields are set to the time this image was recorded. To open a previously recorded Patrol image archive:  Select the “Archive” button. This will open a windows file browser. Navigate to the User “Documents/Observant” folder, and then  Select the archive folder to be reviewed, then  Select that archives “archive.hdl” file, and then either double click on it, or select “Open” from the windows file browser. Review’s Timeline is used to choose a moment in time in an image archive. The Timeline is divided into time-steps. Active time-steps are shaded to show that there are images in the archive which were recorded during that time period. Time-steps are black where there are no images. Selecting an active time-step within the Timeline retrieves the first image to have been recorded within that time-step. Selecting the currently selected time-step again expands it to fill the Timeline, dividing it into smaller timesteps. The smallest time-steps are milliseconds, when the whole Timeline represents one second. The largest time-steps are Years, when the whole Timeline represents a decade. The Date & Time fields below the Timeline show the moment in time that is being displayed, i.e. the moment that the displayed image was captured. The individual Year/Month/Day/Hour/Min/Second fields are also used to denote and control the size of the time-steps in the Timeline. The Date & Time field displayed in blue denotes the period represented by the Timeline. For example, select the Hour field and the Timeline will show that hour of archive divided into 60 time-steps each representing one minute; select the Day field and the Timeline will show that day of archive divided into 24 time-steps each representing one hour. Selecting the Earlier |< or Later >| buttons move the Timeline backwards and forwards in the archive to find and display the first image in the nearest previous or next period of the archive containing images. Selecting the Earliest |<< or Latest >>| buttons move the Timeline to show the earliest or latest image contained by the archive. The middle “Navigation” icon provides playback/pause. When selected playback starts at the currently selected Date and Time. 16 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Live Playback Note: In playback, selecting an earlier active time-step sets play to commence from that moment in the archive – this is a convenient method for replaying moments of interest. Selecting any of the Timeline Navigation buttons (e.g. |<, >|, or >>|) will change date and time displayed and continue playback from there. If Review is launched whilst Camera is recording an archive (see Opening a Patrol Image Archive section above) then you will see a Live View (see Live Viewing section of Camera) and also the timeline being updated as new frames are recorded and stored. If Review was launched before Camera is launched, then selecting the latest archive will also provide a Live View. Selecting the play button will put Review in to a mode where it will attempt to maintain a Live View. Note: Live View during Live Playback is slightly delayed. 17 Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 Install Overview Installation of Applications The installation program (Patrol_Installer.exe) supplied for your Patrol camera installs the Patrol camera drivers and software. To install:  Copy the Patrol_Installer.exe to your desktop,  Double click it, and  Follow the instructions. This installs the Patrol software in C:\Program Files (x86)\Observant Innovations\Patrol\ and places icons for each of these on your desktop. Installation of Camera Driver Whilst installing the applications the installer will also place a camera driver installer icon on your desktop. The Patrol Camera Driver installer icon looks like this. To install the Patrol camera driver, please follow these instructions: 1. Connect your Patrol camera to your PC, 2. Double click on the Camera Driver icon on your desktop, 3. Then, during the installation, the driver installer will present a ‘Driver Package’ GUI, showing a list of modules. Click the ‘Select ALL’ checkbox, and the ‘Install’ radio button; then press the ‘Begin’ button., and 4. After the ‘Install is Successful’ message, exit the Driver Package GUI by selecting the “Close” button. 18 Support Contact Details Patrol Camera DRAFT VERSION – 1st October 2016 The Museum Room Avington Park Winchester Hampshire SO21 1DB UK Telephone: +44 2381 680050 Email: [email protected] More information More information on the Patrol Camera, such as a data sheet and technical specifications can be found on the company website: www.observant-innovations.com 19