The Camera & Video Analytics system provides comprehensive video surveillance, intelligent search capabilities, and automated license plate recognition for your access control operations. Powered by Eagle Eye Networks' industry-leading technology, this integrated solution enhances security, streamlines gate operations, and provides valuable insights into community activity.
This system consists of four primary components:
Additionally, the Active Presence Monitor tracks vehicles currently on your premises, providing real-time visibility into who has entered but not yet exited your community.
The camera system is accessed through the Cameras section of your application. This section contains three tabs:
Camera configuration settings are managed separately through the administrative Camera Settings page, accessible from your profile settings menu.
Gate Attendants:
Administrators:
The Live tab provides real-time streaming video from all cameras integrated with your Eagle Eye Networks account. This centralized monitoring interface allows you to observe multiple camera feeds simultaneously, making it easier to maintain situational awareness across your entire property.
The Live interface consists of:
Each camera in the list displays its current operational status:
Grid Layouts:
The system supports multiple viewing configurations to accommodate different monitoring needs:
To change the layout, click the corresponding button in the top control bar. The system remembers your preferred layout for future sessions.
Full Screen Mode:
For maximum visibility during critical monitoring situations, use the Full Screen button in the top-right corner. This expands the camera feeds to fill your entire display, hiding browser navigation and maximizing viewing area.
To exit full screen mode:
When monitoring multiple properties or large installations with many cameras, use the search bar at the top of the camera list to quickly locate specific feeds:
Click any camera name in the left panel to display its feed in the main viewing area. When using multi-camera grid layouts, the system automatically arranges feeds in the available spaces. Click additional cameras to fill remaining grid positions.
Each camera feed tile includes:
Occasionally, network conditions or camera restarts may interrupt live streams. Use the refresh button (circular arrow icon) in the top control bar to reconnect all active feeds simultaneously.
Video Analytics Search is an advanced AI-powered feature that allows you to search through recorded camera footage using natural language queries. Instead of scrubbing through hours of video manually, you can ask the system to find specific objects, people, vehicles, or activities—and it returns relevant video frames instantly.
This technology is powered by Eagle Eye Networks' Visual Search Platform (VSP), which uses computer vision and machine learning to analyze every frame of recorded video and identify objects, colors, and patterns.
The analytics system recognizes a wide variety of objects and attributes:
Vehicles:
People:
Objects:
Example Queries:
The system is designed to understand natural language, so you don't need to use special syntax or formatting—just describe what you're looking for as you would in conversation.
1. Access the Analytics Tab
From the Cameras page, click the ANALYTICS tab in the top navigation. You'll see the Video Analytics Search interface with a blank search results area.
2. Enter Your Search Query (Optional)
In the "Search Query" field, type what you're looking for using natural language. This field is optional—you can also search without a query to review all activity during a specific time period.
Examples:
3. Select Time Range
Use the "Time Range" dropdown to specify when you want to search:
Time ranges are relative to the current moment. Searching longer time periods may take more time to process but provides more comprehensive results.
4. Choose Camera(s)
Select which cameras to search from the "Camera" dropdown:
5. Execute the Search
Click the blue SEARCH button to begin the analysis. The system will:
Processing time varies based on:
Typical searches complete within 5-30 seconds.
Search results appear as a grid of thumbnail images in the main results area. Each thumbnail represents a moment in time when the system detected an object matching your query.
Result Information:
Each thumbnail includes:
Viewing Full Video:
Click any thumbnail to open the full video clip from that moment. The system will load the recording from the Eagle Eye cloud storage, allowing you to:
Combining Attributes:
You can search for multiple attributes to narrow results:
Color Specificity:
The system recognizes common colors accurately:
Excluding Results:
If you receive too many irrelevant results, try:
No Results:
If your search returns no results:
Incident Investigation: After a reported incident, search for vehicles or people during the relevant time window to identify participants or witnesses.
Visitor Verification: When a resident reports an unexpected visitor, search for "person" during the timeframe to review who approached their property.
Vehicle Tracking: Locate a specific vehicle that entered without proper authorization by searching for its color and type.
Delivery Confirmation: Verify package deliveries by searching for "delivery van" or "person" during expected delivery windows.
Pattern Analysis: Identify recurring suspicious activity by searching the same query across multiple days and comparing results.
The Video Analytics Search is powered by Eagle Eye Networks' Visual Search Platform (VSP), which provides:
Object Detection: Advanced neural networks trained on millions of images to accurately identify objects in various lighting conditions, angles, and environmental contexts.
Color Recognition: Sophisticated color analysis that accounts for lighting variations, shadows, and camera quality differences.
Continuous Learning: The AI models are regularly updated by Eagle Eye Networks to improve accuracy and add new object recognition capabilities.
Privacy Considerations: The system analyzes visual data but does not perform facial recognition or store personally identifiable information beyond what is visible in the recorded footage.
Camera Quality Dependency: Search accuracy depends on camera resolution, lighting conditions, and positioning. Low-quality footage or poor lighting may reduce detection accuracy.
Processing Requirements: Searching long time ranges across many cameras requires significant computational resources. Be patient with longer searches and consider breaking them into smaller time segments.
Storage Requirements: Video analytics requires Eagle Eye cloud storage. Your storage plan determines how far back you can search.
Network Bandwidth: Viewing full video clips from search results requires streaming from the cloud. Ensure adequate internet bandwidth for smooth playback.
License Plate Recognition (LPR) is an automated vehicle identification system that captures, reads, and logs vehicle license plates as they pass by designated cameras. When properly configured, LPR provides seamless vehicle tracking, automatically enriches entry logs with vehicle data, and creates a searchable database of all vehicles entering and exiting your community.
The LPR system runs continuously in the background, processing video feeds from LPR-enabled cameras and extracting license plate information in real-time using Eagle Eye Networks' advanced optical character recognition (OCR) technology.
1. Detection Phase:
When a vehicle enters the camera's field of view, the system's AI detects the presence of a license plate within the video frame.
2. Capture Phase:
The system captures a high-resolution image of the license plate at the optimal moment—typically when the plate is most clearly visible and perpendicular to the camera.
3. Recognition Phase:
Eagle Eye's OCR engine analyzes the captured image and converts the visual characters into text data, extracting:
4. Analysis Phase:
The system determines additional vehicle attributes:
5. Logging Phase:
The complete LPR event is recorded with a timestamp and stored in the system. If the vehicle is passing through a configured access point, the license plate data is automatically added to the corresponding entry log record.
From the Cameras page, click the LPR tab to view the License Plate Recognition interface. This tab is only visible when at least one camera has LPR capabilities enabled.
The LPR Events page displays a searchable, filterable list of all captured license plate events.
Search Filters:
License Plate Search: Enter a full or partial plate number to find specific vehicles. The search is case-insensitive and supports partial matches:
Time Range: Select from predefined time ranges:
Camera Selection: Filter events by specific LPR camera or view all cameras simultaneously. This is useful when you know which entrance/exit a vehicle used.
Search Execution: Click the blue SEARCH button to retrieve events matching your criteria. Results appear in the main events area, sorted by most recent first.
Each LPR event displayed includes comprehensive information:
Timestamp: The exact date and time the vehicle was detected, displayed in your local timezone.
License Plate Number: The recognized plate number in clear, readable text. This is the primary identifier for each event.
Vehicle Color: The system's best determination of the vehicle's primary color (e.g., "White", "Black", "Silver", "Blue"). This is useful for quick visual identification when multiple vehicles share similar plates.
Direction: Indicates whether the vehicle was:
Direction is determined by the camera's configured orientation and motion analysis.
Confidence Score: A percentage representing how confident the AI is in the accuracy of the plate reading. Higher confidence scores indicate clearer captures and more reliable data.
Confidence Interpretation:
Camera Name: Identifies which LPR camera captured the event, helping you understand the vehicle's location and entry/exit point.
Associated Entry: If the LPR event corresponds to a gate entry, a link or reference to the entry log record appears, allowing you to view complete visitor information and access details.
Click any LPR event to view the captured images. Each event typically includes:
Full Scene Image: A wide view showing the entire vehicle in context, useful for identifying vehicle type, damage, distinctive features, or occupants (when visible).
License Plate Close-Up: A cropped, enhanced image focusing specifically on the license plate. This close-up is optimized for readability and manual verification if needed.
Multiple Captures: Some events include multiple images captured at slightly different moments to ensure at least one clear shot was obtained.
One of LPR's most powerful features is automatic integration with your access control entry logs.
Automatic Matching:
When a vehicle triggers an LPR camera near an access point simultaneously with an entry event (badge scan, QR code, manual entry), the system automatically:
This creates a complete audit trail showing not only who entered, but also what vehicle they were driving.
Benefits:
LPR data feeds directly into the Active Presence Monitor, which tracks vehicles currently on your premises. When combined with entry/exit detection:
This provides facility managers and security personnel with instant awareness of who is currently on the property.
Periodically review LPR confidence scores to assess system performance:
High Confidence (90%+): Indicates optimal camera positioning, lighting, and environmental conditions. No action needed.
Moderate Confidence (70-89%): System is functional but could be improved. Consider:
Low Confidence (<70%): Significant accuracy issues. Investigate:
Misread Characters:
Certain characters are visually similar and occasionally confused:
When confidence is below 85%, manually verify the plate reading against the captured image.
Partial Plates:
Obstructions (bike racks, trailers, dirt) may prevent reading the complete plate. The system captures what is visible and flags low confidence.
Foreign Plates:
Plates from different states/provinces or countries may have unfamiliar formats. The system attempts to read these but may have lower confidence scores.
Specialty Plates:
Vanity plates, government plates, or plates with unusual fonts/designs may be more challenging for the OCR engine to interpret accurately.
Night Captures:
Reflective license plates can create glare in low-light conditions. IR illumination or additional lighting at camera locations improves night capture quality.
Fast-Moving Vehicles:
Vehicles traveling at high speed may appear motion-blurred. Ensure adequate shutter speed settings on LPR cameras to freeze motion.
Data Storage:
LPR events are stored according to your system's configured retention policy. Typical retention periods range from 30 days to 1 year, depending on your subscription plan and local regulations.
Privacy Compliance:
LPR systems must comply with applicable privacy laws. Administrators should:
Access Controls:
LPR data access is role-based:
Camera Configuration allows administrators to create relationships between cameras and access points, ensuring that the right cameras are triggered to capture images when entries and exits occur. This many-to-many relationship model provides flexibility in designing your security coverage strategy.
Access: Camera Settings are available only to administrators through the settings menu under CAMERA SETTINGS.
Many-to-Many Architecture:
The system supports complex camera configurations where:
Example Scenarios:
Main Gate with Multiple Angles:
Shared Camera Coverage:
The interface displays access points as expandable cards, each showing:
Access Point Name: The name of the gate, door, or entry point (e.g., "Gate Reader", "Demo Door 1")
Property/Location: The community or facility where the access point is located (e.g., "Sunset Pines Test")
Camera Count Badge: A blue badge showing how many cameras are currently assigned to this access point (e.g., "2 Cameras", "0 Cameras")
Settings Icon: Click the gear icon on the right side to configure camera assignments for that access point
1. Open Access Point Configuration
Click the settings icon (gear) for the access point you want to configure. An expanded panel appears showing available configuration options.
2. View Current Assignments
The configuration panel displays:
3. Add Cameras
To assign a camera to the access point:
4. Remove Cameras
To unassign a camera:
5. Configure Trigger Settings
For each assigned camera, configure when it should capture:
On Entry: Check this option to capture images when someone enters through this access point (typically enabled for entrance cameras)
On Exit: Check this option to capture images when someone exits through this access point (typically enabled for exit cameras and LPR monitoring)
Both: Some cameras monitor bi-directional access points and should capture on both entry and exit
6. Save Configuration
After making changes:
When Does Capture Occur?
Image capture is triggered at the moment an entry or exit is recorded in the system:
Multiple Camera Captures:
When multiple cameras are assigned to an access point:
Image Storage:
Captured images are:
Strategic Coverage:
Balance Coverage and Storage:
Regular Testing:
Seasonal Adjustments:
Images Not Capturing:
If images aren't captured when entries occur:
Wrong Images Captured:
If irrelevant images appear in entry logs:
Delayed Captures:
If there's a lag between entry and image capture:
The Active Presence Monitor is an invaluable real-time tracking feature that shows exactly which vehicles are currently on your premises. By combining LPR entry detection with exit detection, the system maintains an accurate, up-to-date list of vehicles that have entered but not yet left your community.
This feature provides facility managers, security personnel, and emergency responders with instant visibility into who is on-site at any given moment.
Entry Detection:
When a vehicle enters through an LPR-equipped access point:
Exit Detection:
When the same vehicle exits through an LPR-equipped access point:
Real-Time Accuracy:
The Active Presence Monitor updates instantly as LPR events occur, providing accurate real-time data on premise occupancy.
The Active Presence Monitor is typically accessible through:
Location varies by user interface configuration. Contact your administrator if you cannot locate this feature.
Vehicle Information Displayed:
For each vehicle currently on premises, you can see:
License Plate Number: Primary identifier for the vehicle
Entry Time: When the vehicle entered the property (timestamp)
Duration: How long the vehicle has been on premises (calculated in real-time)
Entry Access Point: Which gate/entrance the vehicle used to enter
Associated Visitor: If the entry was linked to a specific visitor record, that person's name and details appear
Vehicle Description: Color and type captured during LPR detection
Entry Image: Captured LPR image showing the vehicle at entry
Emergency Evacuation:
During emergencies, instantly identify:
Security Incidents:
When investigating security concerns:
Capacity Management:
For communities with occupancy limits:
Resident Assistance:
When residents need to locate visitors:
Service Provider Tracking:
Monitor contractor and vendor presence:
Vehicles That Didn't Exit Properly:
Sometimes the Active Presence Monitor shows vehicles that have actually left due to:
Exit Through Non-LPR Gates: If a vehicle exits through a gate without LPR, the system cannot detect the exit.
Solution: Administrators can manually mark vehicles as exited or implement LPR at all exits.
LPR Missed Exit Capture: Occasionally, exit captures fail due to camera positioning, obstruction, or vehicle speed.
Solution: Review LPR camera angles and adjust if necessary. Periodically clean the presence list of vehicles with unrealistic durations.
Overnight Stays: Legitimate overnight guests will remain on the list until they depart the next day.
Solution: This is normal behavior. The system accurately reflects that these vehicles are still on premises.
Manual Presence Adjustments:
Administrators can:
Presence History:
Historical presence data provides valuable insights:
Alerts and Notifications:
Configure automatic alerts for:
| Feature | Gate Attendants | Administrators |
|---|---|---|
| Live Camera Feeds | View only | View + configure |
| Video Analytics Search | No access | Full access + usage reports |
| LPR Event Viewing | No access | View + export + configure |
| Camera Configuration | No access | Full configuration access |
| Active Presence Monitor | View current presence | View + manual adjustments + history |
| Camera Settings | No access | Manage camera assignments |
| Data Export | No access | Full historical exports |
Gate attendants have operational access focused on daily gate duties:
Can Do:
Cannot Do:
Administrators have full system access including configuration and management:
Exclusive Abilities:
Q: Do I need special cameras to use these features?
A: You need IP cameras that are compatible with Eagle Eye Networks. Eagle Eye supports thousands of camera models. Additionally, LPR functionality requires specific camera models or configurations. Contact your administrator or Eagle Eye for camera compatibility.
Q: Can I access cameras from mobile devices?
A: You can access the Watchtower app directly for mobile camera viewing.
Q: Why are some cameras showing "Offline"?
A: Cameras show offline when:
Contact your IT department or camera installer to troubleshoot offline cameras.
Q: How often do live feeds refresh?
A: Live feeds typically refresh every 1-2 seconds, depending on network conditions and camera settings. You're viewing near-real-time footage with minimal delay.
Q: Can I control PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras?
A: PTZ control availability depends on your camera models and integration configuration. Contact your administrator if you need PTZ control functionality.
Q: Why is my video feed laggy or stuttering?
A: Streaming lag is usually caused by:
Try viewing fewer cameras at once or reducing view quality.
Q: How far back can I search with Video Analytics?
A: Search range depends on your Eagle Eye cloud storage retention policy. Typical retention ranges from 30 days to 1 year. Contact your administrator for your specific retention period.
Q: Why aren't my searches finding anything?
A: Common reasons include:
Q: Can Video Analytics identify specific people?
A: No. The system does not perform facial recognition. It can detect that a person is present and identify clothing colors, but it cannot identify who the person is.
Q: What's a good confidence score?
A: Confidence score interpretation:
For critical searches, prioritize results above 80%.
Q: Can I search for multiple things at once?
A: Yes, you can combine attributes (e.g., "red car", "person wearing blue"). However, searching for completely different objects simultaneously (e.g., "car OR person") is not currently supported—run separate searches instead.
Q: What license plate formats does LPR support?
A: LPR supports standard North American license plate formats from all U.S. states and Canadian provinces. Some specialty plates (vanity, government, military) may have lower confidence scores.
Q: Why did LPR fail to read a license plate?
A: Common LPR failures:
Q: Does LPR work at night?
A: Yes, if cameras have proper IR illumination or external lighting. Reflective license plates work well with IR, but glare can occur. Test night captures to ensure quality.
Q: What happens to LPR data after retention period expires?
A: LPR events are automatically deleted according to your retention policy. The linked entry log record remains, but the LPR details and images are removed.
Q: Who can change camera settings?
A: Only administrators have access to camera configuration. Gate attendants can view cameras but cannot modify settings.
Q: Can one camera be used for multiple access points?
A: Yes. The many-to-many relationship model allows cameras to be assigned to multiple access points, and vice versa.
Q: What happens if I remove a camera assignment?
A: Removing a camera assignment means that camera will no longer capture images when entries/exits occur at that access point. Existing historical images are not affected.
Q: How many cameras can I assign to one access point?
A: There's no hard limit, but practical considerations suggest 2-5 cameras per access point. More cameras = more storage consumption and more images to review.
Q: Why does the system show vehicles that have already left?
A: The most common reason is that vehicles exited through a gate without LPR. If exit isn't detected, the system assumes the vehicle is still present. Administrators can manually mark these vehicles as exited.
Q: Can Active Presence Monitor track people, not just vehicles?
A: Currently, Active Presence Monitor is designed specifically for vehicles using LPR. People tracking would require different technology (such as badge scan tracking).
Q: How long does a vehicle stay on the presence list?
A: Indefinitely, until an exit is detected or an administrator manually marks the vehicle as exited. Legitimate overnight guests will remain on the list until they depart.
Q: Images aren't attaching to my entry logs. Why?
A: Check:
Contact your administrator to review configuration.
Q: Video analytics search is taking forever. Is something wrong?
A: Long search times are normal for:
Try narrowing the time range or selecting specific cameras.
Q: Live feeds work but LPR doesn't. What's wrong?
A: LPR requires specific camera capabilities and configuration in Eagle Eye. Not all cameras support LPR. Verify that: