Subscriber Discussion

Mounting Camera On Forklift

JH
Jerome Humery
Aug 12, 2014

Has anybody tried mounting a wireless camera on a forklift or similar equipment?

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Brian Rhodes
Aug 12, 2014
IPVMU Certified

Is the purpose of the camera a general overview of what the driver sees, or who is behind the wheel?

Does that camera need to be live-viewable from a workstation, or is offline (forensic) recording okay?

Will this need to record to a VMS?

JH
Jerome Humery
Aug 12, 2014

Sorry, I guess I should of supplied more detail:

Facing forward, general overview of what driver sees, will have to record to VMS, but not necessarily live viewable (although that would be nice).

Was wondering specifically about vibration issues and wireless issues people might of had if they had already tried this.

Thanks.

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Brian Rhodes
Aug 12, 2014
IPVMU Certified

One other question that might help: does the camera need to be water resistent/ outdoor rated? Or will the lift be used indoors?

Is the lift's travel area within existing wifi range?

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JH
Jerome Humery
Aug 12, 2014

You know, I just realized that trying to get wireless all the through this large, ondulating building might be cost prohibitive for this client.

Still interested to see if anybody has done this.....and yes on the outdoor rating.

AK
Anthony Kirk
Aug 28, 2014
IPVMU Certified

Given that a forklift is often the most dangerous item of plant in many workplaces, this whole concept is an excellent idea as a deterrent to irresponsible operation of the vehicle!

So tragic when people are permanently maimed or killed through stupid behaviour but such an asset to a party not at fault whether it be the business-owner OR driver. With the right camera/s mounted suitably and the storage device protected adequately from damage, quality time-stamped footage is automatically available for forensic analysis when a matter ends up in court.

I believe it is really not worth the hassle with wifi and live view etc as long as the data is recorded securely as the business-owner has peace of mind that there is a record of any event. The deterrent to irresponsible operation is still there when the driver knows he's under scrutiny.

Great thing to promote to government bodies and safety advisors - same as dash cams.

MI
Matt Ion
Aug 12, 2014

Wonder if this would be better suited to something like a GoPro? Nice wide view, up to 4K on some models... not VMS-capable, but easy enough for someone to pop the SD card out to download the video. Current models all have built-in WiFi, so while access throughout the building might be costly, maybe just a few hotspots near the areas they're normally parked? Impact and vibration resistant, and completely waterproof in a suitable case. I know lots of guys who have them hanging off the sides of their 4x4s going through all kinds of bush and puddles, so a forklift environment should be nothing.

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JH
Jerome Humery
Aug 12, 2014

I think the GoPro is a good alternate solution....& cheaper.

Thanks for that suggestions, hadn't thought of it.

MI
Matt Ion
Aug 13, 2014

Looking at the specs and features as well, looks like they have an app that lets you link directly to the camera from a smartphone... make it easy for a supervisor (or whoever) to walk up to any given lift at any time and check the video. Pretty slick, methinks.

(1)
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Ethan Ace
Aug 13, 2014

I do not recommend the GoPro for this. Reasons:

1. The "wifi" capabilities are not to connect it to building wireless. The wifi backpack or whatever they call it creates its own network which you use to connect to it via iPhone and Android. You can (in theory, see #2) connect to it to view live video and recordings.

2. HOWEVER, the wireless is spotty. Sometimes it just plain won't connect. Sometimes it disconnects with no explanation. Their remote control connects via this network also and came unpaired so much that I just gave up on using it.

3. The battery life isn't really great. A couple hours at best (I used to get half an hour tops out of one shooting 1080p while kayaking). So you'll need to plug it in, which means you'll need a 5V supply somewhere on the forklift, for one. Not a huge problem. But the cable is also a mini USB connector which I doubt will stay plugged in across day in/day out use.

How about something like Vidcie? They have weatherproof cases, wifi/cell capability, and a centralized means of viewing. They also integrate with Genetec, now, but not sure about other VMSes. Potentially you could grab RTSP streams, but I'm not sure if that's supported.

RA
Ross Andersen
Aug 12, 2014

If you wanted a cheaper option that is exactly the same as a GoPro without wifi and 90$

http://www.dealsmachine.com/best_183653.html?currency=CAD&gclid=CN_G5vCj678CFQMMaQodAqEAlg

Thank you china

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Ari Erenthal
Aug 13, 2014
Chesapeake & Midlantic

Get a mobile DVR, like the SerVision MVG 400, with analog cameras and a 4G modem. You can get live view (with a short but noticable lag) without having to create a wireless mesh network or worrying about WiFi or whatever.

This will be the cheapest and easiest option. The MVG 400 is ruggedized and low power, too, and will deal with the surges and spikes from vehicle power. Outputs power for the camera(s), too.

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JH
Jerome Humery
Aug 13, 2014

Wow! That thing is perfect....except for the price tag. Ouch! Unfortunately, I don't think this client has that kind of budget in mind, but you never know. I'll run the idea past him.

Thanks for that suggestion. Even if this client doesn't go for it, I'll keep this thing in the back of my head. So many possible applications.

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Ari Erenthal
Aug 14, 2014
Chesapeake & Midlantic

Well, it's a lot cheaper than creating a wireless network so comprehensive that a forklift can drive around a warehouse with a wireless camera on board an never once drop off or lose connectivity. But, yeah, they aren't exactly cheap.

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Rv
Rogier van der Heide
Aug 21, 2014

Perhaps a tad late, but I was searching for an old topic when I noticed this one.

We haven't tried any of this with IP camera's, but if you're happy with analog I'd suggest you have a look at Orlaco. Those lads make camera's for this precise purpose.

(1)
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Brian Rhodes
Aug 21, 2014
IPVMU Certified

Rogier: Thanks for the tip on Orlaco. It is funny you called them 'lads', because this is their sales team:

This might be the first time I've ever seen an all-female sales group, and given the male predominance in security professions, I admit it caught me by surprise.

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JH
Jerome Humery
Aug 21, 2014

Thanks for the heads-up on Orlaco.

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Cosimo Malesci
Aug 26, 2014

Gentlemen,

this is Cosimo from Fluidmesh. We have done two systems like this last year. They had an on board NVR on the forklift and we set up the wireless network to do both live viewing as well as recorded video offload. Providing coverage of the warehouse was actually fairly simple. We used six FM3100 MITOs with Fluidity plugins to cover all corners. I believe we had a dozen forklifts on the floor at any point in time. The customer was also using the wireless to run vehicle diagnostics and monitor battery levels. Not sure what budget you have in mind but its really not that complex.

Hope this helps!

Cosimo

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