How To setup people counting
- Hendrik van der Tuin
With version 4.2 of TDM it is possible to add camera’s which support people counting, currently TDM supports Axis and HikVision cameras. To be able to use this functionality it is required to setup an external datasource within the Designer, once this has been configured people counting can be setup within your template design.
This manual explains how the datasource can be created and how this can be implemented within your template design. The people counter element has three different options which can be used, these options are: numeric counter, traffic light and a gauge. In this manual we will use the gauge as an example.
Please note that the people counting element is only supported for Android devices and the PC player, the people counting element cannot be used when using an URL Launcher or browser.
Requirements
If you want to use people counting you need to meet the following requirements:
Have an Axis or HikVision camera available within your company network.
Have administrator access to the Axis or HikVision camera.
Have administrator access to the designer of TDM.
Have an TDM Android player or TDM PC player available within the same network as the camera.
Setting up the external datasource
Before people counting can be implemented within your template design an external datasource needs to be created, this datasource will pull information from the camera which can be used within your template design.
1) Login to the designer with an administrator account: https://designer.tdmsignage.com/
2) Open the “Config panel”, this can be selected in the menu on the left side of the designer.
3) Open the tab called “External Data” to open the overview of your datasources.
4) Select the “+” button on the right side to create a new datasource.
5) In the pop-up which will open you will see all the datasources which can be configured in TDM. To setup people counting we need to select Axis or HikVision, the choice depends on the brand of camera you have.
6) In the next window we need to fill in some information regarding the camera:
IP Address or hostname: In this field you need to enter the IP Address or the hostname of the camera in case any hostname is setup for the camera. Please do not add HTTP or HTTPS in front of your IP address/hostname, TDM will automatically change from HTTP to HTTPS in case any HTTPS connection is available.
Username: Please fill in the username which can be used to retrieve the information from the camera.
Password: Please fill in the password of the username.
Serial Number (Axis only): In case you want to add an Axis camera we also need to enter the serial number, this is used to verify the connection from the player to the camera and is used as an extra security level.
Internal device? This option should be ticked at all times, this as the Axis and HikVision camera are available within the local network. If the option is unticked the players will try to reach the camera from the TDM servers.
Please select “Save” once all fields have been filled in.
You now have successfully configured the datasource, now we can continue and use the datasource within our template design.
Using the datasource within your template design
7) Open “Content Creation” from the menu on the left side and select “Templates”.
8) Create or edit a template, this will bring you into the template editor.
9) Select the “People Counter” element, this is the element with the following icon:
10) Once the element is selected you can create a frame within your template design by clicking and holding the left mouse click, now you can draw a frame within the template which will be used for the people counter element.
11) Once you release your left mouse click a pop-up will be opened, this is the place where we can configure the people counter. In this example we will use the “Gauge”. You can easily change the counter type from the drop-down.
Please fill in the following fields:
Name: Please fill in the name of the element, for example “Gauge - People Counter”
Max: This is the maximum amount of people how may enter.
Low threshold: Please fill in the low threshold.
High threshold: Please fill in the high threshold.
Empty to low color: Please specify the color you want to use, for this example this color will be used when there are 0 to 5 people counted.
Low to high color: Please specify the color you want to use, for this example this color will be used when there are 6 to 15 people counted.
High to full color: Please specify the color you want to use, for this example this color will be used when there are 16 to 20 people counted.
Good to know: The text color in the tab “Layout” is used for the meter itself, if you change the font color the meter of the gauge will use this color.
Good to know: You can change the size of the element if you press “Show positions”, here you can adjust the size in pixels. For example, if you use Full HD and want to have the counter full screen fill in the following positions:
12) Once you have finished configuring all the fields please press “Save”, the pop-up will now close and the element will become visible in the template editor.
Once you reach this step you have successfully setup the people counter, now you can add additional elements if needed. Once you have finished your template you can create a page based on the template and add this to your playlist.
You can use the following link to download this manual as a PDF-file.
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