Detection Zones¶

Configure detection zones to focus AI analysis on specific areas within each camera view.

What You're Looking At¶

Detection zones let you define specific regions within a camera's field of view for focused monitoring. Instead of analyzing the entire frame equally, the AI pays special attention to activity in designated zones like entry points, driveways, or restricted areas.

Zones are configured through the Zone Editor, accessible from the Settings > Cameras tab by clicking the map pin icon on any camera card.

Why Use Zones?¶

Zones help you:

• Reduce false positives - Ignore motion from roads, sidewalks, or trees
• Prioritize areas - Get higher-priority alerts for entry points
• Organize detections - See which zone triggered each detection
• Customize sensitivity - Different zones can have different importance levels

Without Zones vs. With Zones¶

Zone Types¶

Each zone has a type that helps the AI understand its purpose:

Choosing the Right Zone Type¶

What is the primary activity expected in this area?

Entry/Exit activity  -->  entry_point
Vehicle movement     -->  driveway
Foot traffic         -->  sidewalk
Private property     -->  yard
None of the above    -->  other

Key Components¶

Zone Editor¶

The Zone Editor modal has two main sections:

Zone List¶

The right panel shows all zones for the current camera:

Drawing Zones¶

Rectangle Zones (Recommended)¶

Best for most use cases - doorways, driveways, rectangular areas.

How to draw:

1. Click the Rectangle button in the toolbar
2. The cursor changes to a crosshair
3. Click and hold at one corner of your desired area
4. Drag to the opposite corner
5. Release to complete the rectangle
6. The zone form opens automatically

Polygon Zones (Advanced)¶

For irregular areas - curved driveways, property boundaries, areas avoiding obstacles.

How to draw:

1. Click the Polygon button in the toolbar
2. The cursor changes to a crosshair
3. Click to place each vertex point
4. Continue clicking to add more points
5. Double-click to close the shape
6. The zone form opens automatically

Drawing Tips¶

Configuring Zone Settings¶

After drawing, the Zone Form appears with these settings:

Zone Name¶

Good names: "Front Door Entry", "Garage Driveway", "Backyard Fence Line"

Bad names: "Zone 1", "z", "asdfgh"

Zone Type¶

Select from the dropdown:

Zone Color¶

Choose from 8 predefined colors:

Priority¶

A slider from 0 to 100:

When zones overlap: Detections are attributed to the highest-priority zone.

Enabled Toggle¶

Use disable (not delete) when you want to:

• Test if the zone is causing too many alerts
• Temporarily pause monitoring
• Compare detection accuracy with/without the zone

Managing Existing Zones¶

Selecting Zones¶

Click a zone in the list or on the canvas to select it:

• Selected zones show a green border and glow
• Zone details appear in the panel
• Use arrow keys to navigate between zones

Editing Zones¶

1. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) on any zone
2. The Zone Form opens with current settings
3. Modify any field
4. Click Update Zone to save

Note: You cannot change the zone shape after creation. Delete and recreate if you need a different shape.

Disabling Zones¶

1. Click the Eye icon to toggle enabled/disabled
2. Disabled zones:
3. Appear at 50% opacity in the list
4. Show dashed outline on the canvas
5. Display a "Disabled" badge

Deleting Zones¶

1. Click the Trash icon on the zone
2. A confirmation bar appears at the bottom
3. Click Delete to confirm or Cancel to keep the zone

Warning: Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

Visual Examples¶

Example 1: Front Door Camera¶

Camera View: Front porch with door, walkway, and part of street

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark'}}%%
flowchart TB
    subgraph CameraView["Front Door Camera View"]
        Street["STREET (skip)<br/>Not monitored"]
        Walkway["WALKWAY (sidewalk)<br/>Priority 50, Blue"]
        Porch["PORCH (entry_point)<br/>Priority 80, Red"]
        Door["DOOR (entry_point)<br/>Priority 95, Red"]

        Street --- Walkway
        Walkway --- Porch
        Porch --- Door
    end

Example 2: Driveway Camera¶

Camera View: Driveway, garage door, and side of house

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark'}}%%
flowchart TB
    subgraph CameraView["Driveway Camera View"]
        Garage["GARAGE DOOR (entry_point)<br/>Priority 90, Red"]
        Driveway["DRIVEWAY (driveway)<br/>Priority 60, Amber"]
        Street["STREET (skip)<br/>Not monitored"]

        Garage --- Driveway
        Driveway --- Street
    end

Example 3: Backyard Camera¶

Camera View: Backyard with patio, fence, and pool

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark'}}%%
flowchart TB
    subgraph CameraView["Backyard Camera View"]
        Fence["FENCE LINE (yard)<br/>Priority 75, Green<br/>Perimeter watch"]
        Pool["POOL AREA (other)<br/>Priority 90, Red<br/>Safety critical"]
        Patio["PATIO (sidewalk)<br/>Priority 40, Blue<br/>Casual use"]
        BackDoor["BACK DOOR (entry_point)<br/>Priority 95, Red<br/>Critical"]

        Fence --- Pool
        Pool --- Patio
        Patio --- BackDoor
    end

Viewing Zone Activity¶

In the Timeline¶

Events show which zone was involved:

Front Door Camera
Zone: Front Porch (entry_point)
Risk: Medium (45)
"Person approached front door and waited"

In Event Details¶

The Event Detail Modal shows:

• Zone name and type
• Detection coordinates within the zone
• Time spent in zone (for tracked objects)

Best Practices¶

Do¶

Don't¶

Coordinate System¶

Zones use normalized coordinates (0.0 to 1.0):

%%{init: {'theme': 'dark'}}%%
flowchart TB
    subgraph Frame["Camera Frame - Normalized Coordinates"]
        TL["(0.0, 0.0)<br/>Top-Left"]
        TR["(1.0, 0.0)<br/>Top-Right"]
        C["(0.5, 0.5)<br/>Center"]
        BL["(0.0, 1.0)<br/>Bottom-Left"]
        BR["(1.0, 1.0)<br/>Bottom-Right"]

        TL ---|top edge| TR
        BL ---|bottom edge| BR
        TL ---|left edge| BL
        TR ---|right edge| BR
    end

Why normalized? Zones work regardless of camera resolution. A zone at (0.2, 0.3) to (0.8, 0.7) covers the same relative area on any camera.

Keyboard Shortcuts¶

Troubleshooting¶

Zone Not Triggering¶

Check:

• Is the zone enabled? (eye icon is open)
• Is the zone large enough to cover the area?
• Is the object actually within zone boundaries?
• Is the camera online and processing?

Fix: Edit the zone to expand boundaries or verify enabled state.

Too Many Alerts from Zone¶

Try:

• Shrink the zone to focus on the most critical area
• Lower the zone priority
• Check for overlapping zones
• Consider if this zone type should generate fewer alerts

Zone Appears in Wrong Position¶

Causes:

• Camera angle changed after zone creation
• Different resolution between preview and live feed

Fix: Delete and re-draw the zone using the current camera feed.

Detections Not Attributed to Zones¶

Check:

• Zone is enabled
• Zone covers the detection location
• Detection confidence meets threshold
• No higher-priority overlapping zone

Canvas Shows "Failed to load camera snapshot"¶

Check:

• Camera is online
• Network connection is working
• Backend services are running

Fix: Close and reopen the Zone Editor, or check camera settings.

Technical Deep Dive¶

For developers wanting to understand the underlying systems.

Related Code¶

API Endpoints¶

Zone Data Model¶

Zones are stored with the following fields: