Simcenter Testlab Neo has multiple options to support data acquisition with synchronized video (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Example video playback synced with analog data from vehicle.
Options include acquiring video synced with analog data channels (strain, vibration, etc), video playback, and importing video for post analysis.
This article covers the following: 1. Video Acquisition: 1.1 USB Based Camera 1.2 SCADAS RS 1.3 CIM2 and SCADAS 2. Video Replay 2.1 Video Viewing 2.2 Imported Video and Sync
1. Video Acquisition
There are several options to collect video data simultaneously with analog data channels (strain, acceleration, sound, etc).
1.1 USB Based Camera
To record video, a USB camera can be plugged into a laptop or PC that has Simcenter Testlab Neo Time Data Acquisition installed.
Both Simcenter SCADAS data acquisition hardware (Ethernet or USB) and a video camera (USB) are connected to the PC as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2: PC with Simcenter Testlab Neo Time Data Acquisition configured with video camera and SCADAS hardware.
The video camera has two requirements:
The hardware must be UVC (USB Video Class) compliant.
The video camera must support H.264 video compression.
If the camera does not meet these requirements, it will not show up in the Channel Instrumentation area in Simcenter Testlab Neo.
With the video camera plugged into the USB port of the PC, start Simcenter Testlab Neo Time Data Acquisition.
In the “Channels” view of the “Instrumentation” tab, the camera should be the last line in the channel list as shown in Figure 3.
Figure 3: In the “Channels” tab of “Instrumentation”, turn on video camera with checkbox in channel list, select the “Camera Preview” from the home ribbon, and arm the system to verify camera is working.
Turn on the camera by clicking in checkbox at the beginning of the row. In the “Home” ribbon, turn on “Camera Preview” (icon on right side of ribbon) to open the camera preview area.
In order to check the image, arm the system and a live video feed should appear.
If the camera preview shows a image and is working, disarm and go to the “Measure” tab to take measurements and record video (Figure 4).
Figure 4: “Measure” tab of Simcenter Testlab Neo with video capture.
Both data channels and video can be viewed while acquiring data. Select data to view by clicking in the pivot table of the “Data Selection” area.
USB based video acquisition is available in version 2506 and higher of Simcenter Testlab Neo.
1.2 SCADAS RS
Video capture with SCADAS RS hardware is also supported as described above, but SCADAS RS hardware is often used without a PC.
If no PC is present, there are USB ports on the SCADAS RS REC unit that can be used for collecting video (Figure 5).
Figure 5: USB ports on the SCADAS RS REC unit that can be used for video inputs.
To connect a video camera to the SCADAS RS Rec unit, use a USB2 to Yamaichi cable (part number SCRSA-CAB004) or a USB3 to Yamaichi cable (part number SCRSA-CAB007).
Figure 6: SCADAS RS configured for acquiring video with Simcenter Testlab Recorder App.
In the SCADAS RS Recorder App, video can be viewed in the Monitor area. There is a “Video” tab. In the “Custom” tab video and data channels can be displayed together as shown in Figure 7 below.
Figure 7: In the Monitor area of the Simcenter Recorder App a custom display can show data and video simultaneously.
1.3 CIM2 and SCADAS
Another option to record video with Simcenter Testlab Neo Time Data Acquisition and SCADAS Mobile/Recorders is to equip the SCADAS with a CIM2 camera card.
The video cameras will be connected to the CIM2 card in the SCADAS rather than to the PC. A SCADAS Mobile/Recorder with CIM2 card is shown in Figure 8 below.
Figure 8: SCADAS Recorder/Mobile equipped with CIM2 card.
Cameras are powered from SCADAS via POE (Power Over Ethernet). These cables and cameras are provided with the CIM2 card.
The CIM2 card cameras work with Time Data Acquisition and in standalone SCADAS Recorder mode. Standalone SCADAS Recorder mode is useful for scenarios where video recording is desired, but no laptop with Simcenter Testlab Neo is available.
See the Siemens support center for information on setup of CIM2 card (product code: SCM-CIM2) and cameras.
2. Video Replay
In the Simcenter Testlab Neo Desktop, recorded video can be played back along with recorded analog data channels. This can be even be done with video data that was not originally recorded along with the analog data channels.
2.1 Video Viewing
Turn on “Video Replay” under File -> Add-ins. Then highlight the run that contains video data (Figure 9).
Figure 9: Video replay is possible in the Simcenter Testlab Neo Desktop.
In a pivot table view, select the channels to view during replay including the video. Use the play button to watch the data. Press pause will stop the replay and the blue playback cursor can be manually moved.
Video replay can sync with both GPS and audio data. To hear audio, turn on “Audio Replay” and “Advanced Audio Replay” under “File -> Add-ins”.
When not in replay mode, add a coupled cursor (“Right click -> Add Coupled Cursor -> Throughput”) in the display to manually advanced back and forth in the video and data channels.
2.2 Imported Video and Sync
MP4 video files that were acquired separately can be imported for playback.
Importing video is useful when it was not acquired through synchronized means as described previously in this article. After import, the video can be synced with the analog data acquisition channels.
Right click on the run containing the analog channels and choose “Import” and select a *.mp4 file a shown in Figure 10.
Figure 10: To import an external video file into Testlab Neo, right click on the run, select “Import” and select a MP4 file.
After importing the data, the mp4 can be synced with the analog data channels with the Video Sync feature. (Figure 11).
Figure 11: An imported mp4 file can be synced with analog data channels.
This is done by aligning on a common event in both the video and the data.
