Create rules for sensors

Last modified: Tuesday January 17, 2023.

Create a rule to alert your operators when the value or state from a sensor changes. This could be when, for example, the temperature exceeds or drops below a predefined limit, or when the state of a water detector changes when water is detected in a sump.

Prerequisites

To use Date & Time templates, configure them in Tools > Rules > Templates before creating the rule.

Task — Create the sensor rule

1. From the toolbar, open > Rules.
2. Click Add.
3. Type a name for the rule.
4. Click .
5. Set the Level of importance.
   High importance rules prioritize the alarms displayed in Video view when a rule is triggered.
6. Click Next.
7. Select the type of sensor you want to trigger an alert.
   The available options depend on the sensors you have connected to your Alta Video deployment, and could consist of any of All sensors, Disruptive Technologies, Halo, or Generic.
8. Depending on your chosen sensor types, define the parameters for each detection.
9. When you have defined your required sensor detections, click Next.
10. Select the sensors to be used in this rule.
    Use Search to help find the required cameras in the list.
    
11. Click Next.
12. Specify your required Date & Time and RULE ACTIVATION settings.
    If you have predefined them, use Templates to simplify adding the same date and time parameters to multiple rules.
13. Click Next.

14. Select automated actions taken by the system when the rule triggers:

    • Pop-up: Show a notification in Alta Video that includes a thumbnail of the rule-triggering video. If required, select Also send a push notification on the mobile app.
    • Email: Send an email message to a system user or user group. You can define an email template and include data from the trigger.
    • External link: Creates a link to the triggering recording that can be shared with non-system users or embedded in an Email or Webhook notification.
    • Webhook: Dispatch a configured webhook including trigger data as the payload.
    • PTZ Cameras: Move pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras to pre-configured positions. This option is only available if PTZ cameras are added to the deployment.
      

    Alarms are only shown to operators that have access to the cameras that trigger the rule.

To configure Advanced settings:
1. Click Advanced settings.
2. To record more video at the end of the alarm, specify the Additional recording time.
3. To merge similar alarms, specify the Merge similar alarms within time.
4. Select how the triggered rule should behave. To trigger an alarm that shows in the Alarms tool, select Security Alarm (default). To trigger as an event that shows in the Events tool, select Security Event.
5. Click Done.
15. Choose to require your operators to acknowledge the triggered rule.
16. Click Done.