UniFi Protect: Alarm Manager

UniFi Protect: Alarm Manager

Imagine a security system that goes beyond recording footage - proactively alerting you to loitering intruders, repositioning cameras to track suspects, activating audio deterrents, and reporting unauthorized access in restricted areas. With AI-driven capabilities and instant notifications, it minimizes false alarms. This is the power of UniFi Protect's Alarm Manager, a feature optimized for commercial environments like warehouses, manufacturing facilities, office buildings and retail locations.

In commercial spaces like warehouses, factories, office buildings, and retail stores, security needs to be smart and reliable. UniFi Protect's Alarm Manager is a key tool that helps with this. It lets you set up custom rules based on real-time data from cameras and sensors. For example, it uses AI to spot people, vehicles, or unusual activity, then sends alerts or takes actions automatically.

This feature runs on your local UniFi hardware, like the UNVR or Enterprise NVR, with no monthly fees. It's part of the bigger UniFi system, so it works well with doors, lights, and other tools. In busy places, it reduces unnecessary alerts, helps follow safety rules, and keeps things running smoothly.

How Alarm Manager Works

At its core, UniFi Protect's Alarm Manager employs simple yet powerful logic to transform your security setup into a smart, responsive system. It's based on an "if-this-then-that" approach, where events detected by cameras or sensors trigger automated responses. This helps businesses handle security without constant manual checks.

The process starts with triggers. These are real-time events captured by your UniFi cameras or integrated devices. For example, the system can detect motion, a person crossing a line, or even specific AI-based details like a vehicle with unknown license plate entering a restricted area. The Alarm Manager pulls data from the cameras' feeds and sensors, using built-in AI to analyze what's happening. This AI is key because it adds intelligence. It doesn't just detect movement-it identifies whether it's a person, animal, or vehicle, and evaluates details like dwell time or zone presence. The system also recognizes faces, license plates, vehicle colors, and body types. This enables precise determination of authorized or unauthorized status, allowing tailored actions.

Next comes the rule logic. Once a trigger happens, the Alarm Manager applies custom conditions to decide if it's worth acting on. Recent updates added "AND" logic, so you can combine multiple factors. For instance, an alert might only fire if there's loitering AND it's unknown faces. Or line crossing (entry/exit from parking) AND it's an unknown vehicle. This filtering significantly reduces false alarms by focusing on meaningful events. The system also has options to ignore repeated triggers within a set time, avoiding alert spam in busy commercial areas like warehouses.

Finally, if the conditions are met, the Alarm Manager executes actions. These can be notifications (like app pushes or emails) or automations (such as moving a PTZ camera to track the event or activating lights). It can even send and receive data via webhooks to/from other systems, unlocking endless possibilities for automation. Everything runs locally on your hardware, like the UNVR, so it's fast and secure - no cloud delays or extra fees.

In commercial settings, this logic shines because it scales. For a factory, it might monitor machinery zones for unauthorized access, using AI to differentiate workers from intruders. In an office, it could track visitor movement across floors. The Alarm Manager introduced high-precision monitoring, making it ideal for escalating issues quickly while keeping operations smooth. Overall, it's not just reactive-it's proactive, leveraging AI and rules to anticipate and mitigate issues early.

What Features Are Available (Triggers and Actions)

UniFi Protect's Alarm Manager offers a wide range of triggers and actions to make your security system smart and customizable.

Here's a list of the main triggers, grouped by category:

• ID:
  • Faces: Unknown Faces, Known Faces, Person of Interest (POI), Specific Face
  • LPR (License Plate Recognition): Unknown Vehicles, Known Vehicles, Vehicle of Interest (VOI)
• Object: Person, Animal, Package, Vehicle
• Activity: Line Crossing, Loitering, NFC Card / Fingerprint Scan (on the Doorbell), Ring (from the Intercom/Reader), Sound (recognizes various sounds like: Speaking, Baby Crying, Barking, CO Alarm, Smoke Alarm, Car Horn, Glass Breakage, Siren, Burglar), Motion
• Webhook: Can be activated by any 3rd party system, opening huge opportunities for integrations and automation
• Sensor: Motion Sensor, Magnetic Entry Sensor for Door or Window Open/Close, Accelerometer for Garage Door Open/Close, Temperature Sensor, Humidity Sensor, Ambient Light Sensor, Alarm Sound Sensor, Water Sensor
• System: Geofencing, Device Issue, Admin Access, Deletion of the footage, etc.

It’s worth highlighting the additional AI Triggers that become available with the AI Key (a separate hardware unit). These triggers unlock the full potential of UniFi’s AI capabilities and allow highly customized alarm configurations.
For example, the AI can detect whether a worker in the warehouse loading zone is wearing a high-visibility reflective vest - and if not, it can notify a designated person and/or trigger an audible warning.
A detailed overview of these features deserves it’s own article.

Here are the main actions you can set:

• Notify – Can notify a particular user, group of users, or all of them
• Webhook – Can send webhooks to 3rd-party systems
• Unlock Door/Gate – Unlocks doors/gates connected to UniFi Access
• Sound Alarm – Can play custom sounds (e.g., police siren) or custom messages through Chimes or AI Horns
• Light – Can activate floodlights and lights on cameras
• PTZ – Can point PTZ cameras to a particular preset view

Any triggers and actions can be combined and work on a schedule.

Use Cases

UniFi Protect's Alarm Manager is versatile for commercial settings, turning basic surveillance into proactive security and operations tools. It uses AI triggers, custom rules, and actions to handle real-world scenarios like theft prevention, safety compliance, and access control.

Loitering Detection and Perimeter Deterrence

The system can detect loitering around the perimeter of your location and trigger an audio alert - such as a siren or a message informing that the area is under video surveillance.

Emergency situations

In the event of an emergency, the system can recognize the sound of a siren and automatically unlock door locks and open gates.

Compliance

For compliance, Alarm Manager enables combining Person detection with accessories (like no hard hat) to trigger webhooks that log incidents for audits. For instance, in construction sites or factories, the AI can spot workers without safety gear, then repositioning PTZ cameras and sounding alarms to enforce rules instantly, potentially avoiding accidents and fines.

Restricted zones

Detect hazards or unauthorized entry in high-risk zones, such as machinery or food production areas.
The system can combine motion and face recognition detections to notify a manager if someone enters a restricted zone without proper clearance.

Face and License Plate Recognition Alerts

The system can detect the appearance of a specific person or vehicle on cameras and send an alert. For example, this could be a specific employee or a delivery truck entering the parking lot.

Tracking An Unauthorized Person On The Premises:

When motion is detected by cameras or sensors, the system can automatically direct PTZ cameras toward the activity and begin tracking the movements of the unauthorized individual. Perfect for High-Security Facilities.

Conclusion

UniFi Protect's Alarm Manager advances integrated security by using AI-driven triggers, rule-based logic, and automated responses to provide robust, scalable protection in commercial settings like warehouses, factories, office buildings, and retail stores. It goes beyond traditional video surveillance by correlating events precisely and escalating responses, which supports operational efficiency and compliance with limited manual oversight.

The flexible combinations of Alarm Manager configurations allow users to customize the system for various needs, from detailed access control to effective threat mitigation. Webhooks further enable automation, supporting integration with external platforms and APIs for tailored workflows.

In summary, Alarm Manager makes UniFi Protect a valuable tool for enterprise security, running fully on-premises for low latency and data control, with no ongoing subscription fees. For those looking to fine-tune their setup, experts at YesTechie offer deep experience in tailoring UniFi Alarm Manager to meet specific challenges.