Industrial Event-Camera (DEveCam)

Irregularly occurring errors in recurring, often highly automated, processes can really be annoying. It is quite hard to reproduce these errors, so that bug fixing becomes a tedious task. It is only detectable that "something is not working any more", but the reason for this deficiency is often not known. Asking people who actually witnessed the outage event is typically not very auspicious as those simply will not be able to detect the root cause for the failure. In this case, the responsible developers might desire a simple replay video of the failure event.

Basically, DEveCam (Developer-Event-Camera) is specifically designed for the purpose of identifying the root cause for such irregularly occurring errors in automated processes. DEveCam continuously records video material until an error is detected signalized via a button press. Then, the most recent video which contains the error is uploaded to a cloud storage and accessible via a browser at any time and place. By that, there is no necessity for developers to be in the proximity of their machine. Instead, a remote access is provided, wherefore developers can simultaneously supervise several automated processes or, respectively, machines at arbitrary places.

Each event video is automatically uploaded without any further required manual copying. Thus, there is no need for an initialization, e. g. via USB or Ethernet, by hand.

Actuality, the true strength of DEveCam is that it is entirely configurable and operable remotely via the cloud. Accordingly, once DEveCam is powered, it is accessible via any browser. Thereby, the cloud interface allows among other

• to change any relevant system and video parameter,
• to enter different modes,
• to view and download any event videos and
• to check the current status.

Since Wifi connection cannot be taken for granted, DEveCam has access to the mobile network (LTE) as well. Hence, in case of lacking Wifi, the cellular network can be used for uploading event videos and reporting the current status. In the unrealistic scenario that both, Wifi and cellular, are not available, the event video is not lost, but stored on an internal hard drive. While the videos can simply be copied by connecting the hard drive to any computer, they can also be  retrieved via the cloud interface once the internet is available again.

Due to this remote operability, DEveCam can simply be shipped via cargo, locally set up by any person and provide crucial information for the developers at the office. Of course, the cloud interface can be configured such, that it informs the developer via mail if a video has been uploaded.

Due to its modular architecture, DEveCam does not rely on a specific camera. In fact, any USB webcam can be used determining the video quality bounds. Additionally, the most important video parameters (resolution, frame rate, duration of event videos, etc.) can be changed at any time via the cloud interface

Basically, two configuration modes can be entered. While both cyclically update short videos until the mode is left, the principal use case is different. The basic configuration mode allows to change all system and video parameters for each video. Thus, it is predestined to determine the optimal video settings for a specific environment. In contrast, the configuration mode for camera positioning continuously relies on the last settings and is primarily tailored to identify the optimal camera position.
Lastly, there is a configuration mode to clean the internal hard drive.
In accordance to the design architecture, each mode can be entered, controlled and left remotely.

Besides regular updates to the cloud, the status of DEveCam is visualized with LEDs to nearby persons. These indicate whether the camera is powered on, a recording is ongoing, or if an update is in process.
Similarly, DEveCam cannot only be controlled remotely, but with button presses as well. Thereby, several configurations are conceivable depending on the envisaged application. Software-wise, DEveCam supports a button to initiate an update of an event, to reboot the camera or to pause the recording.

System and video parameters can be changed and adapted at any time via the cloud interface. DEveCam will recognize that the settings has been changed and consequently initiate an update process. Once the update process is finished, DEveCam will report the currently set parameters to the cloud interface and continue recording or, respectively, monitoring.

DEveCam reports its current status regularly to the cloud, so that remote developers are able to recognize whether the camera is still working. So, it can be easily detected if for example the power supply is interrupted.

Designated for the application in harsh industrial environments, DEveCam has been designed in a simple plug-and-play manner. Thus, it will immediately start recording once it is powered. If the power supply is interrupted or DEveCam shut down due to a different reason, simply reconnecting to the mains is sufficient to restart the camera.

If an event is detected, the most recent video of the set duration is stored on the hard drive and uploaded to the cloud. Thereby, each video is saved with a distinct date and time stamp which are additionally inherently embedded into every video. The cloud interface allows to vary the parameters for latter (font size, font colour, position, etc.).
Videos are encoded according to the mp4 format (MJPG), wherefore they are typically small in size. So, uploading event videos, particularly if a cellular connection is used, does not cause significant costs.

Currently, a 3D-printed housing is used for DEveCam. However, flexible adaptations to the design depending on the specific application environment are possible at any time.

DEveCam is not limited to a specific cloud provider, but can be basically operated with a plurality of providers.

DEveCam is the ideal solution for developers and engineers of highly automated processes. Tedious errors can be detected without the necessity of an obsessive observation which due to the masses of video is often not promising. Being fully operable via the cloud interface, DEveCam empowers a whole new set of debugging, development and maintenance options. Finally, its simple architecture allows an immediate operation without any familiarization.