On-board cameras in refuse collection vehicles

The XTrack Image Recording System complements all the data from the XTrack vehicle monitoring system with integrated video recordings and photos every second. Four on-board cameras provide a full 360-degree view of the situation in the field.

Unlike traditional vehicle dash cams that act as a back-up safety system, the XTrack solution focuses on a wider area with camera settings that include the horizon line. The XTrack image recording system can be used in any vehicle or machine, such as municipal vehicles, including refuse trucks and hook loaders, as well as sanitation vehicles, agricultural and construction machinery.

Photo: The rear on-board camera captured a case of significant spillage and disorder at the waste collection site. It took the truck crew 15 minutes to deal with the situation.

XTrack on-board cameras

Each XTrack on-board camera (including the cab camera) can record video in quality ranging from HD to Full HD, at a frame rate of 1 to 25 frames per second. Unlike standard vehicle recorders, XTrack does not use heated hard disks, but ruggedised solid-state storage.

Real-time online recording in the cloud instead of a traditional vehicle recorder

Our hard drive is the XTrack cloud with virtually unlimited capacity. At the time of writing, it exceeds 1,000 terabytes / 1,000,000 gigabytes, and its capacity is still growing. As all video is transmitted online to XTrack WebX at LTE speeds (5G in the future) while the vehicle is in motion, there is no need to copy recordings via SD cards, additional cables or Wi-Fi networks, as with other vehicle recorders.

Photo: The front on-board camera in the refuse truck captures images that clearly show which properties have put out their bins.

Video and photographic material integrated with other data from the vehicle's monitoring system

The full integration of the XTrack Image Recording System with XTrack's other vehicle monitoring modules makes searching for recordings from digital on-board cameras in XTrack WebX intuitive and efficient. A specific segment of the recording can be accessed by searching based on location, events from body sensors, RFID identification data, onboard weighing systems, CAN bus data or user-defined areas on the digital map.

Full integration at the vehicle monitoring level allows the driver to attach views from on-board cameras as photos to notes from the on-board terminal. The vehicle crew also has access to diagnostic tools that provide real-time information, including the correct functioning of the cameras.

Photo: Rear on-board camera documenting the operation of the monitored hook loader.

XTrack vehicle cameras - real-time data archiving and analysis

As XTrack WebX's integrated on-board camera footage is available while the vehicle is in motion (in addition to the additional LiveView mode), this means that task performance can be monitored and complaints can be dealt with without waiting for the vehicle to return to base.

Data analysis means working efficiently with recordings stored in the XTrack cloud, rather than via a remote connection to the vehicle recorder's memory. User-relevant segments can be played directly in XTrack WebX or downloaded to the computer. Collaboration is facilitated by the ability to share direct links to specific identified cases requiring attention between users.

Photo: The rear on-board camera in the refuse truck records the waste collection process with a full view of the contents of the container before it is emptied.

Comprehensive management and security of vehicle visual monitoring data, confirmed by ISO certification

The XTrack image recording system also ensures data security. We do not require customers to provide IT infrastructure for material from XTrack on-board cameras.

We use professional data centres with ISO 27001:2017, 27017:2015, 27701:2019, 27018:2019 certifications. Each user also has full control over access to the data recorded in the XTrack system, both in terms of sharing archive data with individual business partners and real-time vehicle location (allowing flexible operation of monitored vehicles between contracts, even within a single day). In addition, the machine learning mechanisms (artificial intelligence) built into the XTrack system enable anonymisation of photos and video recordings, as well as the detection of asset inventory numbers in the field (e.g. for hook loader vehicles).

Photo: The on-board camera in the garbage truck records the image on the left side of the vehicle. Thanks to built-in artificial intelligence, the XTrack system automatically recognises and anonymises images of bystanders.

Video: Without such material, the relationship between waste producer and service provider is sometimes difficult to navigate. The parties' versions of events differed. The container owner claimed that the contamination came from the truck's systems. Fortunately, the XTrack image recording system integrated with XTrack telematics (including chassis GPS monitoring, dust-free body operation monitoring, driver on-board terminal and automatic LF RFID identification system) was vigilant in this case.