Google Maps Camera Calculator Released
By: John Honovich, Published on Apr 27, 2015The new IPVM Google Maps Camera Calculator empowers surveillance professionals to plan and design systems like never before.
Whatever project you are working on, enter the address and start mapping out cameras. This video overviews what the calculator does:
Add Cameras
Start by clicking on the 'add cameras' button which will drop a camera on the map, like so:
Street View Displayed
Plus, it will display the street view of that exact spot if Google has it captured, as shown below:
Auto Updating Street View
Move the cameras around and the IPVM calculator will automatically find the new related street view, like so:
Pixel Density Calculated
The IPVM calculator also automatically calculates the PPF / PPM of the camera, factoring in its current FoV, distance and camera setting, as shown in the lower right-hand corner:
Try It Now
Try the IPVM Google Maps Camera Calculator now.
Unlimited Cameras For Members
Plus, you can add an unlimited number of cameras, as an IPVM Pro Member, like so:
And these can be laid out anywhere in the world, as the example below from the IPVM calculator shows:
Pick Camera Models
PRO Members pick from more than 2500 camera models in the IPVM database, like this PTZ model below, and see the coverage options available to you, all the while automatically updating the street view and the PPF / PPM preview:
Measure Distances
Indeed, you can even use the IPVM Google Maps Camera Calculator to measure approximate distances for your sites:
Naming / Editing / Deleting
Name any camera, edit the name later and delete any camera. You simply right click the camera icon to do so. The name of the camera will be displayed whenever you hover over a camera.
This 12-second video demonstrates it:
Various Applications, e.g., Parking Lots
Lay out cameras wherever you want. For example, experiment with the right coverage for a parking lot, try narrow FoV, 180 cameras, short range, wide angle, etc:
Try It Now
Try the IPVM Google Maps Camera Calculator now.
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Comments (28)
This is amazing!!! Thank you!!!
This has the potential to be outstanding.
Couple of questions: Who "owns" the maps after they are created?
Can they be saved under a project name, and
How private are they and can they be retained, shared with an end user for editing, etc?
John,
Yes, you can save cameras as projects and take snapshots of calculations, see options below in red:
Each saved calculation is private to your own account.
You can show it to end users or show the snapshot to end users. We are considering what to add for future releases so let us know.
I do not see how to delete a camera from a multi-camera project. That would be useful.
Larry,
Right now, you can delete and edit cameras from the save dialogue. That's cumbersome of course.
Next month, we plan to add a right click control to name, edit and delete cameras.
Thanks for the feedback.
Are there any licensing issues or similar with using Google's imagery? Any limitations or caveats as far as that goes that we should know about?
On our side, there are licensing requirements (in terms of accessibility and usage load).
From a user's side, I am not aware of any major non-obvious ones (those interested, here are the Google Map terms).
Pretty cool so far. Could use a "corridor mode" option though.
Well done Gentlemen! No more switching from google maps to lens calculators to camera vendor pages, this tool has it all in one handy interface and adds export too. This looks like it will be a huge time saver.
#bookmarked
This is incredibly useful. Thank you for your hard work!
I can't wait for IPVM to add Nightingale mode so I can just click on the map, have an IPVM drone fly in, take a bunch of scene photos and load them in to the Camera Calculator. That's about the only thing the Camera Calculator doesn't do yet!
This is phenomenal! Like anything else, it will build functionality - great work.
This is an excellent tool and well worth the price of subscription by itself! Are there any plans to address camera mounting height? I realize the data is limited by what Google can provide with their street views, but this is still useful information. Also, if we could upload our own prints to replace the Google data this would be a one-stop tool for all of our basic design needs. That would be one beneficial feature request for future iterations.
A, thanks for the feedback.
On mounting height, Google Street View is taken from a camera about 8 - 9 feet high, like so:
I am not sure what we could do given that limitation. We could provide other visuals to show deadspots / etc. This is being discussed here: Camera Calculator Request - Mounting Elevation / View.
On uploading your own prints, that is something on our list to do - to allow importing images, PDFs, Visio diagrams, AutoCAD, etc.
Perhaps I'm missing something, but when I place a camera on the map, it always points in the same direction. I don't see a way to adjust the orientation of the camera (e.g. rotate the camera 90 degrees). Is this supported?
Yes, it is. Grab the person at the end of the field of view, and click and drag that marker to move the camera.
See here, look how the camera is rotated:
Grab the top bar / man icon and move / rotate.
I used the calculator for the first time for a site design yesterday and I am very impressed. The distance and width vs pixels and lens size in mm is great information and the example views are super. I recommend this as a solution tool for all who design video systems. Thanks!
Can we have just the map to use?
Lucas, what do you mean? If you just want the map without our camera design functionality, just use Google Maps. I assume I am missing something. Please clarify.
Hi John, I'm just discovering this tool.
It's really cool for a quick approach, especially when you plan to place your camera to a low height which is close from the google pictures. (some LPR for example) Good job, I will use it right now for a project where I need to simulate a video extension of about 15 new cameras in a middle size french city on the West.
Thanks!
Will we be able to rotate the map soon or am I just missing it?
Map rotation depends on what Google Maps data is available. They don't have all angles available at all zoom levels in a lot of suburban/rural areas. In my area I can only rotate the map if I zoom all the way in, and it's limited to a few mile radius from the city center.
The area I'm working on can be rotated in Google Maps just not in the calculator. Not a big deal but I do have another question. Any way to lock the scenes to the cameras? When I move the view around (like showing the customer what a car would look like centered in the Vehicle Entrance scene) it moves the view around in the other scenes. I've also noticed that once exported the view in the scene images are randomly moved around as well. This happens with PDF and Word and I'm using FF.
I am logged in, do not see the Google Maps Camera Calculator under Tools
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