Adding a Webcam

A USB webcam plugged into an Axion Displays Radar Node lets you check the last picture of what’s actually happening at that install – is the display really showing content, is the room dark, is someone standing in front of it – without a site visit. This is a periodic still image, refreshed automatically every ~30 seconds, not a live video feed.

Requirements

  • A standard UVC (USB Video Class) webcam – most USB webcams sold today are UVC-compatible, no special drivers needed.
  • The Axion Displays Radar Node this camera plugs into must have completed a one-time remote setup step, done once per device by a super admin. See Managing Your Hardware → Edit Device → API Key tab.

Enabling It

  1. Plug the webcam directly into a USB port on the Axion Displays Radar Node. No configuration is needed on the physical device – it’s auto-detected.
  2. On the dashboard, open the device’s Edit page → API Key tab.
  3. Check Webcam Enabled and save.

This remotely turns on camera capture on the device itself. If the checkbox is greyed out with a note about linking this device first, the one-time setup step above hasn’t been done yet for this device – ask a super admin.

Viewing Snapshots

Add a Camera Snapshot widget (via Add Widget on the Overview or Diagnostics page) and pick the device. The widget shows:

  • The most recent captured image, refreshing automatically.
  • An ONLINE / OFFLINE badge – OFFLINE means the last snapshot is more than a few minutes old, so something’s likely stopped reporting even if an old image is still showing.
  • A “Webcam not connected” placeholder if no snapshot has ever been received for that device.

Troubleshooting

  • Placeholder never goes away – confirm the webcam is actually a UVC device (check it shows up as a standard webcam on any other computer), and that Webcam Enabled is actually checked and saved.
  • Badge stuck on OFFLINE – the Node isn’t currently capturing/uploading; check the Node’s own connectivity and that the camera is still physically connected.
  • Multiple cameras / an unusual camera the auto-detect picks the wrong one for – this is rare (most single-camera setups need nothing extra), and needs a device-level override rather than anything in the dashboard. Contact support if you hit this.
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