Tracking - is it camera based, BI based or both?

[Looking Out]

Can motorized zoom cameras as well as PTZ cameras utilize this feature? Can BI zoom a motorized zoom camera to try get better captures of desired items such as people, cars, etc?

Does the camera in question have to have AI capabilities? Does AI at the camera level help this function?

 

[sebastiantombs]

Tracking is camera based, BI does not do tracking. BI can use a "spotter camera to trigger a PTZ to move to a preset and then track, but it's not AI at all. It's just a triggered event, then the camera AI takes over for the tracking.

Zooming a varifocal camera is not a good idea. Varifocals are designed to be set and left at the required zoom needed for the particular use case. The mechanism is not built for constant use, only very occasional use. BI has no way to zoom automagiclly anyway, so it's kind of a moot point.

 

[wittaj]

NOPE - a PTZ is just that, a camera intended to be used to pan, tilt, zoom frequently. Some come with autotracking. Some do not.

A varifocal camera with a motorized lens is intended to be a set it to the field of view you want and forget it. You should not, nor will the software, zoom in and out based on an object.

This is the best PTZ for autotracking under $400. But you have to purchase this one from @EMPIRETECANDY as they other ones do not have autotrack.

https://www.amazon.com/Loryta-SD49225XA-HNR-Starlight-Network-Tracking/dp/B081RJJQT4/ref=sr_1_13?imprToken=eNnu.Pmf5hsW5hcTVECAQg&linkCode=w61&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&marketplaceID=ATVPDKIKX0DER&qid=1646677685&redirect=true&s=merchant-items&slotNum=0&sr=1-13

 

[Looking Out]

Tracking is camera based, BI does not do tracking. BI can use a "spotter camera to trigger a PTZ to move to a preset and then track, but it's not AI at all. It's just a triggered event, then the camera AI takes over for the tracking.

Zooming a varifocal camera is not a good idea. Varifocals are designed to be set and left at the required zoom needed for the particular use case. The mechanism is not built for constant use, only very occasional use. BI has no way to zoom automagiclly anyway, so it's kind of a moot point.

Thank you for the details and help. Is there the potential for multiple spotting cams? For example and I have a PTZ on the corner of a house and a spotting cam on two sides of the house? If so can one spotter have priority such as one that overlooks a driveway vs a backyard?

 

[wittaj]

You can spot as many as you want. I set up 7 clones to spotter cam my PTZ.

But the more you do, the more potential you have for overlap and conflict. For example, you cannot do one on priority. Which ever spotter cam triggers, that is the one that fires, so you need to try to eliminate as many conflicts as possible.

So in your example, I would have the PTZ overlooking the driveway and it is only called to the backyard if the spotter cam calls it. Then you need to decide in the event of a dual incident, which takes priority - do you want to set a front spotter to bring the PTZ to the driveway if it is already tracking in the backyard as an example or just let it stay on the backyard. But you cannot do a if/then. You have to decide do you want it to spin back to the driveway or stay on the backyard.

 

[Looking Out]

@wittaj Yes, that would be a possible scenario.

 

[Looking Out]

This has been very helpful.

Does BI have the capability to use multiple triggers from one camera to direct a PTZ or does each trigger have to be from a different camera?

 

[wittaj]

This has been very helpful.

Does BI have the capability to use multiple triggers from one camera to direct a PTZ or does each trigger have to be from a different camera?

yes, you can clone the same camera multiple times to create multiple different triggers to direct the PTZ.

 

[The Automation Guy]

You can spot as many as you want. I set up 7 clones to spotter cam my PTZ.

But the more you do, the more potential you have for overlap and conflict. For example, you cannot do one on priority. Which ever spotter cam triggers, that is the one that fires, so you need to try to eliminate as many conflicts as possible.

So in your example, I would have the PTZ overlooking the driveway and it is only called to the backyard if the spotter cam calls it. Then you need to decide in the event of a dual incident, which takes priority - do you want to set a front spotter to bring the PTZ to the driveway if it is already tracking in the backyard as an example or just let it stay on the backyard. But you cannot do a if/then. You have to decide do you want it to spin back to the driveway or stay on the backyard.

Wittaj - is this still correct with the lastest verisons of BI? (I know it was correct when you posted it).

I know there have been some changes with how spotter camera's work now and I thought that you could actually create some priorities now. I haven't tried it myself however, so I might be misunderstanding the new features.

 

[wittaj]

Yes, a recent update since that post now allows you to set priority spotter cams.

Previously, say you had 3 spotter cams. Cam1 triggers PTZ and while the PTZ is tracking, cam2 triggers the PTZ and it then goes to cam2 spotter location.

Now you can set a priority, so you can say if Cam1 triggers the PTZ, it will track for that duration regardless if other spotter cams trigger.

I documented the change in this thread:

Using Spotter Cameras to direct a PTZ where to look in an NVR or Blue Iris and setting a spotter cam as a priority in Blue Iris

We get this question from time to time, so I thought with the recent addition to BI, it made sense to have a thread we can point to. Previously in BI, if you had more than one spotter cam, you could not make one a priority, so if spotter cam #1 triggered the PTZ and it starts tracking and...

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