Fine-Tuning Your Fermax System's Person Detection
Fermax video intercom and camera systems with person detection are designed to provide you with relevant security alerts, notifying you when someone is at your property. However, receiving alerts for pets, passing cars, or even moving shadows can be frustrating and may cause you to ignore important notifications.
This guide will help you understand why these false alerts happen and how you can adjust your Fermax system's settings to significantly improve its detection accuracy.
Common Causes of Incorrect Alerts
AI-powered person detection is a complex technology that analyses changes in pixels to identify human shapes. Several factors can lead to inaccurate results:
- High Sensitivity Settings: The system is calibrated to be overly cautious, flagging any significant movement.
- Poor Camera Placement: The camera's angle or field of view includes areas with constant, irrelevant motion (e.g., a busy road).
- Environmental Triggers: Moving trees, shadows, reflections, and even heavy rain can be misinterpreted as motion.
- Lighting Conditions: Sudden changes in light, such as car headlights at night or clouds moving on a sunny day, can trigger an alert.
- Outdated Firmware: Your device may be running on older detection algorithms that have since been improved.
Step-by-Step Guide to Improve Accuracy
Follow these steps within your Fermax mobile app or system settings to reduce unwanted notifications.
1. Adjust Motion Sensitivity
This is your most powerful tool. The sensitivity level determines how much movement is required to trigger a recording and a potential alert.
- Navigate to your device settings in the Fermax app.
- Find the "Motion Detection" or "Detection Settings" menu.
- If the sensitivity is set to high, try lowering it by one level.
- Test the new setting for a day to see if it has reduced false alerts without missing actual events. You may need to adjust this a few times to find the perfect balance.
2. Define Precise Activity Zones
Activity zones tell your camera to ignore motion everywhere outside of a specific area you define. This is incredibly effective for eliminating predictable false alarms.
- In the detection settings, look for an option called "Activity Zones" or "Motion Zones".
- Draw a zone that covers only the areas you care about, such as your doorway, garden path, or driveway.
- Exclude areas with known triggers, like rustling bushes, public footpaths, or the road.
3. Optimise Camera Placement and Angle
The physical position of your camera plays a huge role in its accuracy.
- Height: Mount the camera between 2 and 3 metres from the ground.
- Angle: Angle it downwards to focus on the desired area and minimise the amount of sky or distant background in the frame.
- Avoid Obstructions: Ensure there are no nearby objects, like flags or hanging plants, that could move in the wind and trigger alerts.
4. Improve Lighting Conditions
Consistent lighting helps the camera's detection algorithm perform better.
- Ensure the area is well-lit at night. A motion-activated porch light can work in tandem with your camera.
- Try to avoid pointing the camera directly at the sun or other bright light sources, as this can create glare and silhouettes that are difficult to analyse.
5. Check for Firmware Updates
Fermax periodically releases firmware updates that can include enhancements to person detection logic.
- Check the settings or maintenance section of your app or web interface for any available firmware updates for your specific device.
- Keeping your system up-to-date ensures you have the latest performance improvements.
By carefully adjusting these settings, you can train your Fermax system to be a more accurate and reliable security tool, ensuring the alerts you receive are the ones that truly matter.