Welcome

Because of the diverse configurations of equipment, mounting, layouts and placements cannot be specifically called out. Warnings, recommended order of installation and best practices will be highlighted here.

Warnings and important notes will be called out with a Bold Warning: and italics to explain the warning.

The installation of the Dozer Cam 1.0 system involves wiring for power, routing the wires safely and securely, mounting the cameras, mounting the base station and activation. These steps are outlined at a high level.

Follow this order of installation as a guide to putting a Dozer Cam 1.0 system on a new piece of heavy equipment.

Choose locations for cameras, mounting surfaces should allow mostly unobstructed views directly in front of the camera. Some body of the vehicle can be in view. Articulating parts such as the boom/stick of an excavator, the blade of a bulldozer, or the bucket of a loader. Plot locations so that visibility is given. If it can be set back to avoid tree branches and other obstructions from hitting but not so far back that it cannot see the work areas around the vehicle.

Also, large front or rear ends can have some of the body in view as shown below.

It is okay to set the camera back away from the edge of a vehicle body, the camera should detect people and objects as they approach or the vehicle approaches them before they reach the blind spot of a vehicle.

The system is designed to be removed from one piece of equipment to another. So there is very little need to be invasive through drilling, unless necessary.

Once initial planning of component locations has been determined, move to the wiring/cable layout.

Camera placement strategy can be virtually tested using our camera placement tool. You can virtually mount the cameras on a virtual machine to see the FOV of the camera when placed on the machine, this 3D virtual model will allow the installer to see how the camera placement and angle can be optimized based on its location and angle.

Camera Placement Tool

Basic recommendations for number of cameras per equipment type are as follows.

Attach wiring for power from the battery B+ side. Connection varies depending on whether the disconnect switch is on the B+ (positive) or ground (negative) side. (see notes about disconnect switches)

1. Run power cable to the Base Station location.
2. Attach the wiring for the ignition on signal. The least invasive way is to use a fuse tap on the fuse box. This wire will be run to the base station as well.
3. Run wires from camera locations to the Base Station.

• Run wires at the same location as factory wiring harnesses whenever possible. Maintain several inches from engine heat. Be mindful of turbochargers and exhaust generating higher than average heat. Use heat shielding wrap if necessary. Look at the OEM wiring in the same location. Does it have shielding? If so, it would be recommended to use heat shielding (reflective thermal shield, silicone fiberglass etc.).
• If crossing articulating areas on loaders, graders, dump trucks and others, run wires along similar paths as OEM hydraulic hoses or other wires. Most OEM routing pathways are ideal for Dozer system wiring.
• Excess cable should be bundled or looped carefully and then tucked away. There is space on the base station enclosure to tuck bundled wires so most bundling can be done near the base station.
• Zip ties should not be tied so tight that they may break wires, on articulating parts allow for strain relief by providing some slack.
• Magnetic mounts are used to secure the cables to the body, chassis or panels of the vehicle as needed. Make sure they are out of the way so as not to get pulled or ripped off the vehicle in the event of contact with a tree or other external interference.

The Dozer Cam 1.0 base station is an edge computational device, all processing is done within the device, it needs no cloud or external servers to function but it does require a wifi/cellular connection to connect with the system dashboard.

Location of the Base Station should be planned to minimize long cable/wiring routing. Base stations should be mounted on the cab side of an articulated vehicle. Ideal placement is on top of the ROPS section of the cab or somewhere adjacent.

All cables and wiring terminate at the Base Station, if there is any excess cabling, it can be coiled up and placed inside the enclosure.

Plug all cables into Base Station, cap unused connectors to keep the unused connectors free of dust and moisture, the unit itself is rated to resist dust and moisture.

Cameras are either mounted with clamps or magnets via the supplied kit parts. Again, due to the diversity of designs on different systems, camera quantity and location may vary. To support the operator with maximum safety, the cameras should be placed to enhance what they can’t see. Safety still falls on the operator to manage the equipment. The system does not take the operator out of the equation, it simply enhances their surroundings and supports a safer operation and jobsite.

Camera placement should allow for access to the FAKRA GMSL cable (camera cable) to access the camera connector and route back to the base station.

Tags are fiducial markers, they act as fixed reference points that assist the AI camera system know exactly where specific parts of the equipment (blade, stick, body, etc.) are at all times, even as the machine moves or vibrates the camera into a different position. This helps the system tell the difference between its own equipment and nearby people or obstacles, and to judge real-world distance accurately enough to trigger proximity and collision alerts. For installers, the main things that matter are placing each marker to go and keeping it flat, clean, and unobstructed, since the system relies on that marker being read reliably from different angles and lighting conditions.