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VIVOTEK VORTEX tailgating detection

Kisi admins can set up tailgating detection to monitor and identify unauthorized entry attempts by detecting line-crossing incidents through connected cameras.

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This is a Kisi-built integration, maintained and supported by Kisi.

Camera requirements​

Tailgating detection requires a VORTEX camera with onboard AI analytics, specifically line crossing detection. Not all AI-capable VORTEX models are compatible. Only the following fisheye models are supported for Kisi tailgating detection. Other VORTEX camera models can still be used with the VORTEX by VIVOTEK video integration for video surveillance and access event footage.

The following models can be included with the Kisi tailgating detection subscription:

Additionally, ensure that both the camera and the Kisi controller are properly connected to the network.

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The FD833 technically supports line-crossing detection and can be used for tailgating if it has already been purchased and successfully tested in your environment. However, it is less reliable than the FE931-EHV and is not recommended for new setups.

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A third-party camera connected to a VORTEX NVR may potentially support tailgating detection on a rare basis. See Tailgating detection with a third-party camera for the requirements. We recommend using one of the officially supported VORTEX cameras listed above.

Camera installation and setup​

Proper installation and configuration of your VORTEX camera are crucial for effective tailgating detection. Follow the guidelines below to set up your camera correctly.

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Follow the text guide below for camera installation and VORTEX account setup. Once your camera is installed, your account is created, and the camera is imported to the VORTEX dashboard, you can follow the video guide for all remaining configuration steps.

Positioning of the camera​

Install the camera under the roof, directly in front of the door you wish to monitor. The optimal distance between the camera and the door should be between 1 and 1.5 meters. This placement ensures that the camera captures clear images of individuals entering and exiting through the door.

Installation height​

Mount the camera at a height ranging from 2.7 meters to 8 meters from the floor. This height provides a comprehensive field of view while minimizing blind spots and ensuring that the detection algorithms function effectively.

Avoiding misdetections​

To prevent false alarms and ensure optimal performance, consider the following:

  • Field of view: Do not set the detection region or line too close to the edges of the camera’s field of view. Keeping the detection area within the central portion minimizes potential algorithm errors.
  • Reflections: Be mindful of reflective surfaces such as mirrors or water puddles near the detection area. Reflections can cause the system to misinterpret images, leading to false detections.
  • Bright light sources: Avoid positioning the camera where direct light sources or surface reflections can obscure or distort the images. Adjust the camera angle if necessary to reduce the impact of bright light.

Setting up your VORTEX Cloud account​

After installing your camera, you need to create a VORTEX Cloud account that will serve as the platform for setting up Kisi tailgating functionality.

Creating your VORTEX organization​

  1. Visit the VORTEX Portal
  2. Start creating your VORTEX organization
  3. When selecting the type of organization, choose VORTEX xPro License
  4. Select your data storage location based on your geographical region:
    • US-based: Choose United States
    • EU-based: Choose Germany
    • Australia-based: Choose Australia
    • South East or East Asia: Choose Japan
    • In other cases choose the region geographically closest to you.
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It is critical to select VORTEX xPro License as the organization type. Failing to choose this license type will prevent the tailgating detection functionality from working properly.

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The timezone configured for a camera in VORTEX must match the timezone of the Kisi place where tailgating is set up. A mismatch will cause tailgating detection not to work correctly. Once the first line crossing event arrives, the troubleshooting page flags a mismatch automatically.

Adding the camera to VORTEX portal​

After physically installing your camera, you need to add it to your VORTEX account using the mobile app:

  1. Ensure your camera is connected to the network and powered on
  2. Download and open the VORTEX mobile app on your phone
  3. Log in to your VORTEX account
  4. Tap on Account
  5. Select Add Devices
  6. Scan the QR code of your VORTEX camera
  7. Click Add
  8. Verify that your camera appears in the device list and shows as online

For detailed instructions, see the VORTEX Getting Started guide.

Setting up reseller management​

  1. When logged in for the first time, navigate to System
  2. Go to Reseller Management
  3. Click Add reseller
  4. Enter support-team@getkisi.com

Setting up the tailgating detection trigger​

Watch the video guide to see how to set up line crossing detection, webhook configuration, Kisi integration, and incident policies!

To ensure that the Kisi API can successfully query line-crossing detections, you need to set up a trigger that notifies the API when to perform queries.

Configuring the trigger in the VORTEX portal​

  1. In the VORTEX Portal, select the installed camera under Device
  1. Navigate to Video Content Analysis from the left-hand menu under Detection
  2. Click on the Add button
  1. Select Line Crossing Detection.
  1. Configure the crossing_in trigger: Set up a V-shaped detection line with the direction set to "Out -> In". Ensure that the detection line spans the entire entrance, extending slightly beyond the doorway for optimal coverage, and that the V-shape points toward the inside of the building. Once you've completed the setup, click Save.
  1. (Optional) Test the setup by walking through the line, waiting for 5 minutes, and then clicking the Search button to perform a search. If the detection result of your line crossing appears on the right, your setup is successfully completed for this step.
  1. Locate the 3-dots button in the bottom-right corner and click Copy line crossing coordinates.
  1. Store the copied coordinates in a text editor or notepad for later use.

Setting up the webhook​

  1. In the VORTEX Portal, navigate to System > Alarm Management and select Add alarm
  1. Select Video Content Analysis events as the alarm source
  1. Select the installed camera as the source device
  1. To set up actions, select Webhook as the action type
  2. Select Configure Webhooks and enter the following URL: https://marketplace.kisi.io/trpc/vortex.webhook
    • This URL is standardized and remains the same across all organizations
  1. Include the following JSON payload: 
       {
       "organizationName": "{{.OrganizationName}}",
       "organizationId": "{{.OrganizationId}}",
       "eventType": "{{.EventType}}",
       "eventName": "{{.EventName}}",
       "eventId": "{{.EventId}}",
       "deviceName": "{{.DeviceName}}",
       "deviceId": "{{.DeviceId}}",
       "deviceGroupName": "{{.DeviceGroupName}}",
       "deviceGroupId": "{{.DeviceGroupID}}",
       "localTime": {{.LocalTime}},
       "timezone": "{{.Timezone}}",
       "utcTime": {{.UtcTime}},
       "utcISOTime": "{{.UtcISOTime}}"
       }
  1. Once you've set up your webhook, select it from the configured webhooks list and proceed to the next step
  2. Adjust your alarm schedule according to your requirements (e.g., an all-day schedule)
  1. After reviewing the summary, click Save

Adding the VORTEX integration to Kisi​

With the coordinates obtained, you can now integrate the VORTEX camera with the Kisi system.

Add the integration​

  1. Sign in to Kisi
  2. Click the integrations icon (3x3 grid of dots) > Add Integration
  3. Select VORTEX as the integration type and enter a name for the integration
  4. Click Add. The Sign in to Vortex form opens.
  5. Enter the Email and Password of your VORTEX account and sign in
  6. If you see Invalid email or password, check your VORTEX credentials and try again. If sign-in still fails, contact our support team to enable access to your development environment. You will need to provide your integration ID, which you can find by clicking on the integration and clicking on Copy Id
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Sign in with a VORTEX account that has access to the cameras you want to connect. Kisi keeps using this account's credentials for tailgating detection, so if the account's password changes, the integration stops working until you sign in again.

If the VORTEX sign-in becomes invalid​

If Kisi can no longer authenticate with VORTEX, for example because the VORTEX account's password changed or the sign-in expired:

  • The integration is disabled in Kisi, and organization administrators receive an email with the reason, such as Refresh token expired or Invalid Vortex credentials
  • Line crossing events from VORTEX are ignored, so tailgating detection stops
  • Live streams from the integration's cameras don't load

To fix this, open the VORTEX integration. The page shows Your Vortex authorization has become invalid. Click Sign in again and sign in with your VORTEX account. Signing in again re-enables the integration.

Configure the integration​

Adding a camera has up to two steps: Camera Setup and Setup Tailgating. The dialog header shows Step 1 of 2 when the second step applies, and Step 1 of 1 when it doesn't.

  1. Click Configure Integration and then select Add Camera
  1. Under Select Device, choose your VORTEX by VIVOTEK camera. Devices that are already connected to this integration aren't listed.
  2. In Select Place, select the Kisi place where the camera is installed
  3. Under Search Doors, choose the door you want to link to the camera
  4. (Optional) Under Snapshot Offset, enter a whole number of seconds between -30 and 30 to start the clip earlier (negative) or later (positive) than the event. The default is 0.
  5. (Optional) Select Enable Visual Analytics to use this camera for visual analytics
  6. If the dialog shows Step 1 of 2, continue to Setup Tailgating:
    • Paste the line crossing coordinates into Line Coordinates (JSON format)
    • (Optional) Under Select Users, select the users who should receive tailgating incident notifications. Kisi then creates the tailgating incident policy for you.
    • To finish tailgating setup later, select Skip tailgating setup for now
  7. Save the camera

The Setup Tailgating step only appears when the camera model is FE931-EHV or FE912-H and no enabled tailgating incident policy covers the place yet. An organization-wide policy or a policy for that place both count.

If the Setup Tailgating step doesn't appear, for example because a tailgating policy already exists for the place, save the camera. Then click the edit (pencil) icon next to the camera and paste the coordinates into Line Crossing.

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Both coordinate fields need a JSON array of at least two points, each with an "x" and a "y" value, for example [{"x": 0, "y": 0}, {"x": 100, "y": 100}]. Check that "x" and "y" are in quotation marks. Otherwise, Add Camera shows Invalid JSON format. Please check the pasted content. and Edit Camera Configuration shows Invalid format. Expected an array of objects with x and y properties.

If Select Device shows Error fetching devices. Please verify that you have the required permissions in Vortex., sign in with a VORTEX account that has access to the camera. If a Kisi camera with the same VORTEX device already exists outside this integration, a Camera Already Exists dialog lets you delete it and reconnect the device to this integration.

Change the clip duration​

Kisi attaches a video clip from the camera to each unlock event. The clip is 10 seconds long by default. To change it:

  1. Click Settings on the VORTEX integration page
  2. Select the Clip Duration tab
  3. Under Select Clip Duration, choose 10, 15 or 30 seconds and save

The clip duration applies to every camera in the integration.

Edit or delete cameras​

  • To change a camera's settings, including Line Crossing, click the edit (pencil) icon next to the camera
  • To delete cameras, select them in the cameras list, click Delete and confirm with Delete Cameras. This also deletes the matching cameras in Kisi.

Removing the VORTEX integration deletes every Kisi camera it created.

Setting up the incident policy​

After completing the above procedures, the tailgating detection system is correctly installed. The final step is to set up the incident policy to effectively monitor incidents.

Policy created by the integration​

If you selected users in the Setup Tailgating step, or used Configure Incident Policy on the troubleshooting page, Kisi has already created an organization-wide tailgating incident policy with these settings:

  • Name - Tailgating Policy - Organization Level
  • Severity - Critical
  • Schedule - every day, 00:00–23:59
  • Audience - the selected users, subscribed to email and push notifications

You can review or change it under Signals > Incident Policies. Don't create a second tailgating policy for the same place.

If the camera was created but the policy wasn't, the dialog shows Camera was created successfully, but failed to create the tailgating policy. Create the policy from the troubleshooting page or manually as described below.

Configuring the incident policy​

If you skipped tailgating setup or no policy was created for you, create the policy manually:

  1. Navigate to Signals > Incident Policies and select Add Incident Policy
  2. Choose Tailgating as the incident type
  3. Configure the severity level based on your organization's needs
  4. Select the corresponding user as the audience who will receive incident notifications
  5. Save the policy configuration

Now, every time a tailgating incident occurs, you will receive an incident notification containing detailed event information and an attached camera snapshot.

When the same subject tailgates again while an incident is still open, Kisi adds a new occurrence to the existing incident rather than creating a new one. Once the incident is resolved, a subsequent tailgating event from the same subject will create a new incident.

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Administrators will not receive new notifications for additional occurrences until the ongoing incident is resolved. To trigger notifications for subsequent occurrences, resolve the current incident first.

Setting up tailgating notification emails​

When a tailgating incident is acknowledged, Kisi can automatically send an email to the user linked with the unlock event that caused the tailgating detection. This allows you to notify members directly when a tailgating incident involves their entry.

Enable tailgating notification emails​

  1. Sign in to Kisi
  2. Click on the VORTEX video integration
  3. Click Settings
  4. Select the Tailgating Notification tab
  5. Toggle on Send Tailgating Notification Email
  6. Check Email Subject and Email Message and save. Both fields are required.

Customize the email​

Email Subject and Email Message are pre-filled with a default template. The default subject is Tailgating detected during your recent visit to {orgName}. The following placeholders are automatically replaced per email based on the incident:

  • {orgName} - your organization's name
  • {memberName} - the name of the user linked to the unlock event
  • {incidentTime} - the time of the incident, in the timezone of the camera's Kisi place
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The email is only sent when an admin clicks Acknowledge on the incident report, not automatically on detection, and only if the incident is linked to a user. Only one email is sent per incident — new occurrences added to an already-acknowledged open incident do not trigger additional emails, and resolving an incident without acknowledging it sends no email at all.

View contacted users​

To see a log of all users who have been sent a tailgating notification email:

  1. Sign in to Kisi
  2. Click on the VORTEX video integration
  3. Select the Tailgating Notifications tab

The tab shows the Recipient (email address) and Sent At time of each notification. Only the 100 most recent notifications are shown.

Visual analytics​

VORTEX cameras also support visual analytics, allowing you to track occupancy across areas you define directly on the camera feed. To use a camera for visual analytics, select Enable Visual Analytics when you add or edit the camera in the VORTEX integration. See the Visual analytics page for setup instructions.

Notes and limitations​

  • To enhance the accuracy of the detection algorithm, the tailgating detection pipeline operates in near-real-time.
  • An incident report is generated 15 minutes after detection if no valid unlock or line-crossing events occur at the door during that period.
  • Line crossing events that arrive more than 60 minutes after they happened are skipped, for example after a camera reconnects from an outage. The troubleshooting page counts these skipped events.
  • Camera online status is synced from VORTEX to Kisi every 15 minutes. If VORTEX can't be reached, the cameras are shown as offline.

Setup completion checklist​

Ensure you have completed all the following steps. Tailgating detection will only work properly once every item is checked off:

If you have completed all items in the checklist above, your tailgating detection system should now be working properly. You can test the system by tailgating someone through the monitored entrance and verifying that incidents are detected and reported correctly.

Troubleshooting​

If you're experiencing issues with your tailgating detection setup, use the VORTEX Tailgating Troubleshooting page to diagnose problems before contacting support.

  1. Sign in to Kisi
  2. Click on the VORTEX video integration
  3. Click the troubleshooting icon of the camera you use for tailgating. The icon is a gear when the camera has no warnings, and an orange warning triangle (Troubleshooting (N warnings)) when it does.
  4. You will see the tailgating troubleshooting page with two sections:
    • Setup Health Check: Runs the checks listed below
    • Live Line Crossings: Displays the 10 most recent line crossing events received in the past 24 hours to confirm events are being detected and transmitted to Kisi

The Setup Health Check checks that:

  • The camera is online. Camera status is synced from VORTEX every 15 minutes, so a recent change can take a while to show.
  • The camera model supports tailgating detection. If it doesn't, the check names the model.
  • Line crossing coordinates are configured
  • Line crossings have been received in the past 24 hours
  • A tailgating incident policy is configured. An enabled organization-wide policy or a policy for the camera's place counts, and the check links to it. If there is no policy, click Configure Incident Policy and select the users to notify to have Kisi create one.
  • No camera events were skipped in the past 24 hours because they arrived too late to be processed
  • The camera timezone matches the Kisi place timezone. Until the first line crossing event arrives, this check shows awaiting first line crossing event.

If no line crossings appear or the data seems outdated, first check the timezone result. If the timezones match, review your line crossing detection configuration and webhook setup. Also make sure the VORTEX sign-in is still valid, because line crossing events are ignored while it isn't.

FD833 and third-party cameras​

For camera models other than FE931-EHV and FE912-H, Add Camera skips the Setup Tailgating step. The troubleshooting page then shows that the camera model doesn't support tailgating detection, greys out the tailgating checks and disables Configure Incident Policy. To use an FD833 or a qualifying third-party camera:

  1. Add the camera, then click its edit (pencil) icon and paste the coordinates into Line Crossing
  2. Create the tailgating incident policy manually

Camera warnings​

A camera in the cameras list can show a warning when Kisi can't fetch its video clips:

  • Not a camera - the selected VORTEX device isn't a camera, for example an NVR. Clips stop until you connect a camera instead.
  • Firmware outdated - clips stop until the camera's firmware changes, then resume automatically
  • Export queue full - a temporary condition that Kisi retries automatically

Customer onboarding checklist​

If you are working with the Kisi onboarding team to set up VORTEX tailgating detection, this checklist outlines the tasks you need to complete yourself. The Kisi onboarding team will handle all remaining configuration steps.

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This checklist is only for customers who have onboarding included in their package. If you do not have onboarding support, you need to complete all tasks in the setup completion checklist above.

Tasks for you to complete​

Tasks handled by Kisi onboarding team​

Once you have completed the tasks above, the Kisi onboarding team will complete the remaining configuration, including webhook setup, Kisi integration configuration, and incident policy setup.

Get in touch​

If tailgating detection is not functioning as expected, first use the troubleshooting page to check your setup health and verify that line crossings are being received. Review the setup completion checklist and ensure every step has been completed.

If you have verified all steps and the troubleshooting page doesn't show any problems, contact our support team for assistance.

Last updated on by valentinanikitina