Whether emergency shutdown or processing error—if a fault occurs during operation, the root cause must be identified as quickly as possible. The VOC industrial event camera helps with troubleshooting. In this blog article, we explain how the event camera works and which model is suitable for which example application.

What Is an Industrial Event Camera?

The functions of an industrial event camera go beyond those of a classic camera for continuous monitoring. Processes can be continuously monitored, even in hard-to-access areas. However, recordings are only stored permanently when a defined event occurs. This event-based approach reduces the data volume to only the relevant recordings. In addition to optimizing storage resources, it also minimizes the effort required to analyze image or video data. Some event cameras also offer live streaming of the application.

What Are the Advantages of the VOC Industrial Event Camera?

The VOC industrial event camera records the last 900 seconds of continuous video recording in a ring buffer. If a predefined trigger event occurs, the event camera saves up to 900 seconds before and after the event to its integrated memory. This means that a total of up to 1,800 seconds of relevant image or video material is available to analyze the situation. This allows rapid troubleshooting as well as automatic process documentation. The situation can also be continuously monitored remotely via a 24/7 live view.

Three versions of the VOC industrial event camera are available for different requirements: the standard, advanced, and performance versions.

The Standard Event Camera: Monitoring Storage and Retrieval Machines

Some areas in high-bay warehouses are difficult to access or cannot be seen. Processes in these areas can be reliably monitored with the standard event camera. For example, the storage and retrieval processes can be recorded and documented.

To trigger the image or video recordings, the standard version of the VOC event camera offers four trigger options: digital input, UDP, web interface, or REST API.  The recordings can be displayed as live streams via WebRTC and RTSP. They can be automatically annotated with a timestamp or custom text and saved to the 8 GB of internal storage. This makes the images or videos available for error analysis and enables the event-based optimization of material flows and warehouse processes.

The Advanced Event Camera: Monitoring Production Processes

In every production process, for example in battery module assembly, there are sub-processes crucial to product quality. The advanced version of the VOC event camera is especially suitable for keeping an eye on these critical sub-processes.

In addition to the trigger options of the standard version, the advanced version offers further capabilities. The motion trigger can be used to monitor whether a movement is taking place in a defined area. This helps determine whether the battery cells are correctly inserted into the module. An acceleration trigger identifies when the machine surpasses set acceleration limits. The events of another advanced camera can also be used as trigger signals: For example, if a critical movement becomes visible in the first camera’s image, a second camera can be triggered to record the situation from another angle. Up to six streams from linked cameras can be displayed simultaneously in a browser window. This gives users an even more detailed overview for simple remote diagnostics.

In addition, the zoom function of the advanced version allows the image area to be focused precisely on the relevant area. With 24 GB of internal storage, the camera also offers plenty of space for storing event-driven recordings.

The Performance Event Camera: Monitoring Palletizing Processes

In logistics, the loading and unloading of pallets is a central process step. With the VOC industrial event camera, transfers, movement, and gripping processes can be seamlessly monitored and documented. The data enables the early detection of deviations in the material flow, for example due to incorrect stack formation. The documentation can also be used to verify that the palletizing process was performed correctly if issues arise in the subsequent process.

In this application, the performance version of the industrial event camera offers decisive advantages, as it guarantees the highest level of data protection: with face blurring, no images of people need to be stored. The area blurring function also allows sensitive image areas to be masked. Like with the other camera variants, automatic recording can be deactivated in the event of service calls. Data transmission is encrypted using the HTTPS protocol.

If palletizing takes place in a secured area, the performance version of the VOC can also be used for access control. With an AI-supported algorithm for detecting human presence, access to restricted areas is automatically identified and documented.

Differences Between the VOC Event Cameras at a Glance

More Information

• Event Cameras
• VOC Industrial Event Camera: Maximum Insight via Event-Based Recordings