How to Fine-Tune Hik-Connect Person Detection and Reduce False Alarms
One of the most powerful features in modern Hikvision systems is person detection, often marketed under technologies like AcuSense. This AI-driven feature is designed to differentiate between humans and other moving objects, promising an end to the constant false alarms that plague standard motion detection systems. However, when it's not configured correctly, you can still be inundated with irrelevant alerts or, even worse, miss important events.
This guide will help you understand how to properly calibrate your Hikvision system's person detection via Hik-Connect to dramatically improve its accuracy.
Why is Your Person Detection Wrong? Common Causes
If you're getting alerts for things that aren't people, or no alerts for things that are, the cause is usually one of the following:
- Environmental Factors: Rapidly changing shadows, heavy rain, falling leaves, or even insects crawling across the camera lens can sometimes fool the algorithm.
- Improper Camera Angle: The camera's view is critical. A camera that is mounted too high, too low, or at a sharp angle may struggle to correctly identify the human form.
- Incorrect Intrusion Zone: The defined area for detection might include a busy road, a neighbour's property, or a swaying tree branch.
- Sensitivity Set Too High: The sensitivity level might be so high that the system is overly cautious, flagging any complex movement as a potential person.
- Outdated Firmware: Hikvision constantly improves its detection algorithms. Running on old firmware can mean you're using a less accurate version.
The Solution: A Step-by-Step Calibration Guide
To fix these issues, you need to dive into your system's settings. While some basic options are in the Hik-Connect app, the most detailed controls are often found by accessing your NVR or camera's web interface on a computer.
1. Access the Web Interface
First, find your NVR/DVR or camera's local IP address. You can usually find this using the SADP tool from Hikvision. Type this IP address into a web browser (like Chrome or Firefox) on a computer connected to the same network. Log in with your admin credentials.
2. Optimise the Camera's View
Before touching any software settings, ensure the physical placement is optimal.
- Clear Line of Sight: The camera should have an unobstructed view of the area you want to monitor.
- Optimal Height and Angle: For best results, cameras should typically be mounted around 3-4 metres high, angled slightly downwards. Avoid top-down "bird's-eye" views, as these make it hard for the AI to recognise a human shape.
3. Configure Your VCA Event (Intrusion Detection)
The core of the system is the VCA (Video Content Analysis) event. We will use "Intrusion Detection" as the primary example.
- Navigate to Settings: Go to
Configuration > Event > Smart Event. - Select Your Camera: Choose the camera you want to configure.
- Draw Your Detection Area: Select "Intrusion Detection." Click "Draw Area" and create a precise box around the specific area you want to protect.
- Be specific: Do not draw a box over the entire scene. If you only want to know when someone is on your porch, draw the box tightly around the porch steps and floor. Avoid including public pavements, roads, or swaying trees.
- Set the Target: Crucially, you will see a "Target Detection" or similar setting. Make sure "Human" is checked and "Vehicle" is unchecked (unless you also want vehicle alerts). This tells the system to only analyse for human shapes within the box you drew.
4. Fine-Tune Sensitivity and Object Size
This is where you can filter out a lot of false positives.
- Sensitivity: This setting determines how much an object needs to resemble a human before it triggers an alert. The default is often around 60-80. If you are getting false alarms from shadows or animals, try lowering the sensitivity in small increments (e.g., down to 50).
- Minimum/Maximum Size: This is a very powerful tool. It allows you to tell the system to ignore objects that are too small (like a cat) or too large (like a car casting a shadow). You can often draw boxes on the screen to define the smallest and largest size a "person" should be. Set the minimum size to be slightly smaller than a person standing far away in your scene, and the maximum size to be slightly larger than a person standing close to the camera.
5. Update Your Firmware
Regularly check the Hikvision portal for the latest firmware for your specific NVR and camera models. Firmware updates often contain significant improvements to the AI detection algorithms.
6. Link to Hik-Connect
Finally, in the Configuration > Network > Advanced Settings > Platform Access (or similar) section, ensure the device is linked to your Hik-Connect account and that the "Event" linkage is enabled for the app. This ensures your finely-tuned alerts are pushed to your phone.
By moving beyond the basic app settings and calibrating your system through its web interface, you can transform your person detection from a source of annoying false alarms into a highly accurate and reliable security tool.