Troubleshooting Commissioning

How XY Sense Area Sensors Work

Our sensors use advanced computer vision and AI to process data at the edge - on the sensor - to send anonymous sighting information to our cloud Insights platform. This does mean that the sensors

• Need line of sight to the areas requiring coverage
• Installation height known
• Orientation known
• A correct scale for the floor plan is required

Our installation partners are trained in configuring our sensors. However sometimes there can be issues.

Below are some issues seen during install and/or configuration.

Some spaces are not covered by installed sensor

 

This can happen when

• Installers have to make changes from the original plan because of ceiling obstructions (hanging lights etc) not noted on the floor plan
• Floor plan differs from original plans when proposed layout was done. Common with new fit outs
• Furniture can be hard to infer from floor plans and sometimes furniture which may look like it has coverage doesn’t because it has high partitions or walls/screens that block line of sight

Resolution

1. Confirm that we have the latest floor plan
2. Confirm the scale is correct for the floor plan
3. Build installation plan to extend cover of missed spaces
   1. This may involve moving existing sensor and adding new ones
   2. It may also require an additional Hub
4. Install and configure sensors

Space has coverage but sightings are rarely seen (or not seen at all)

There are 2 common causes for this.

1. The sensor needs line of sight to the areas of coverage which may be impacted by
   • Hanging obstructions (e.g. lights) on the ceiling not reflected in floor plans
   • Extreme glare from windows
   • High desk partitions, walls, shelves, monitors, etc. blocking line of sight
2. Incorrect sensor configuration
   1. Lens cap has not been removed from the sensor
   2. Floor plan scale is incorrect and sightings appear in the wrong position or are being removed
   3. Floor plan layout is incorrect and causes confusion
   4. Installation height is incorrect
   5. Sensor is not installed flat
   6. Sensor orientation is incorrect

Debugging and Resolution

1. Confirm lens cap is taken off the sensor
2. Confirm the correct floor plan is in the application
3. Confirm the correct scale of the floor plan is set
   1. Measure 2 physical walls (in real life, on site). One that is vertical and one that is horizontal in relation to the floor plan
   2. Check those measurements against the application by measuring the same walls in the application using the measure tool
   3. They should be within centimeters of each other
4. Measure the height from the floor to the ceiling (with a laser measurer) where sensor is installed and configure sensor height
   1. Or floor to sensor if sensor is on a threaded rod or dropped lower than the ceiling
5. Confirm sensor is level - typically this means flat to the ceiling if the ceiling is flat otherwise sensors needs to be mounted differently (i.e. on a threaded rod)
6. Confirm orientation of the sensor
   1. Walk to a location covered by the sensor (a desk, corner of room etc)
   2. Rotate the sensor in the app until your dot is in the correct position in the app
   3. Walk to 3 other points - like 4 corners of a square - and make any small adjustments if required

Still Having Sighting Issues

If the sensor still isn’t reporting sightings at all or very minimally but others on the floor are, we can

• Move a “working” sensor from its location to the troubled sensor’s location
• Configure that sensor
• Test sightings - walk around, sit at locations

If sightings improve to the acceptable level this confirms the previous sensor is faulty and needs to be replaced and returned to XY Sense for debugging.

“Working” Sensor Doesn’t Resolve The Issue

We are always working on improving the algorithms on our sensors - these come as free upgrades over time. However there are rare occasions when our algorithms do not perform well in a particular environment.

In these situations we have a few steps to try and maximise how well a sensor works in the environment. It typically involves having more sensors in that area

1. Move sensors closer to windows, so that it is “looking inwards” away from glare. This may require a few additional sensors
2. Move sensors so the coverage area is not directly underneath the sensor. For example instead of directly over a bay of desks, have the bay of desks fall in one of the edges of the sensor’s coverage