The software for the easy assessment of pipe inspection data on mobile workstations

User Manual

Version 2.0

Date 03.08.2022

Introduction

The new generation of ProTouch is an optimized application for simplified data entry during mobile inspections of pipelines (sewer, gas pipes etc.) all over the world in all languages. The software allows MPEG video recording and taking pictures directly via live video signal. Section/inspection data entry as well as the description of pipe defects is done via predefined templates and catalogues that follow the standards used in the corresponding countries (e.g. PACP, WRC, WSA, NZPIM etc.)

The whole user interface has been adapted to the operation on mobile equipments with integrated touch screens.

The present documentation describes the stepwise procedure from software installation, project creation, data entry, video recording, taking pictures to printing and project upload via the cloud service WinCan-WEB.

Minimum system requirements

Hardware

• Processor: INTEL Core i5

• RAM: 8 Gbyte RAM

• Free disk space (C:\): 250 Gbyte

• Number of USB ports: 2

• Number of COM ports (RS232): 1

• Type of screen: Touch-Screen: 12 to 13 inch

Operating System

• Windows 8.1 PRO, 64bit: all updates provided by Microsoft must be downloaded and installed.

• Windows 10 PRO, 64bit: all updates provided by Microsoft must be downloaded and installed.

Software Installation and Configuration

Download the software installation package under www.wincan.com\Downloads and double-click on the installation file ProTouch_SETUP.exe to run the installation. Confirm all the steps given by the installation wizard hitting the button Next accordingly.

Click on the corresponding desktop icon to run the application: the control monitor opens and shows the live video signal and 3 main control buttons located below:

Above the videoscreen on the right hand side you will find the control icons of the battery status, the internet connection as well as a direct access to the most important commands (foto/video gallery, report preview etc.) listed in a standard menu.

Hitting the button Go To Dashboard opens the Home Screen that provides all basic commands/functionalities you will need to work with ProTouch:

1. Direct access to existing ProTouch projects which are ready to be uploaded to the WinCan cloud.

2. Re-open the most recent project.

3. Create a new project: you must at least enter a name and set the damage recording standard used in your country (PACP, WRC, WSA, NZPIM).

4. Manage the addresses of all project participants (i.e. customers, project managers and contractors)

5. Hit this button directly after the software installation to make sure all basic configurations have been done before you start your inspection job.

6. Quit the software

General Program Settings

Hitting the button Settings provides a list of categories that contain configuration options you will have to check or uncheck accordingly. All the settings are organized in categories and sub-categories to make the navigation easier. The most important settings options are described below.

General > Options:

Make sure all options provided in this sub-category are checked. The option Virtual Keyboard Enabled is especially important, if ProTouch has been installed on a tablet computer.

General > Language:

Use this sub-category to set the language of your ProTouch installation on the current computer (English, German, French, Italian, Spanish etc.).

Auto naming:

Select a predefined combination for the section names which the software will enter automatically: The entry NONE allows the user to type the section name manually:

Video > Video Source:

Once the camera is connected to a compatible video encoding device (i.e. Sensoray 2253, Dazzle DVD-Videorecorder or DFG/USB2pro etc.) and switched on the LiveVideo signal appears in the preview panel and the camera thus is ready for recording:

Video > OSD devices

This sub-category provides a list of OSD-devices that are currently supported by ProTouch. Select the desired device and the corresponding COM-port which the device is connected to:

Device Control:

A precise description of this sub-category will follow…

WinCan Web:

Enter your credentials for the usage of the cloud service WinCan WEB. Mind that you have to register your company and your web-account before under web.wincan.com.

Updates:

Connect to the internet, select this category and hit the Update button in order to check whether a new version of ProTouch is available.

Licence:

Check the status of your ProTouch license.

Help:

In case of technical problems write an e-mail to support@wincan.com and type the corresponding ticket number (e.g. WGS-8459) that you will find in the automatic reply. As soon as someone from the technical service is available, he will contact you.

Creating projects

Go back to the Home Screen and hit the green button Create Project. Next fill out all mandatory fields as shown below:

The check box Simple Project (1) needs to be activated only when end customers ask you to take pictures and record video clips of the inspected sections directly without any data entry.

Hitting the blue button Create is going to generate the corresponding project structure in the background and switches to the Project Start Screen which is shown below. Hitting the button Project data entry then opens the interface for section and inspection data entry:

Entering section and inspection data

First select the object category SECTIONS and create a new section pushing the green button Add New on the left part of the interface:

The input mask for section and inspection data entry then pop up automatically. If the virtual keyboard has been enabled in the program settings, it will appear automatically on the screen as soon as you want to type text into a data entry field.

After data entry you always have to hide the virtual keyboard manually (1) to be able to save the section and inspection data (2):

Use the pen icon (1) to edit or correct existing data. Hitting the corresponding trash icon (2) on the other hand is going to delete sections, inspections or observations:

Entering observations and defects

Click on the command button Enter Observations (3) to open the defect catalogue (4) the current project is based on:

Start entering stepwise all observations or defects for the current section and confirm each observation using one of the blue buttons (5).

Observation entry can be done via an imported video clip or via a LiveVideo signal from a TV camera as a part of the mobile inspection equipment.

Hit the camera icon at the bottom to the right (1) to have the control buttons for video recording and playback shown:

1a: Import existing video clips

1b: Run video recording directly from the inspection camera

1c: Start and pause video playback

1d: Stop or restart video playback

Push the button Go Back to get back to the overview that will show you all sections and the list of observations per section inspection listed on the right part of the panel:

You can take 2 pictures per observation per default. The first one is taken automatically hitting the command button Create Photo Observation.

Click on the empty placeholder (1) to add a second photo to the same observation. This is going to open the video panel. Move the slider to the desired location in the clip and push the blue button Add 2nd Photo (2):

Clicking on an existing photo opens a separate panel and shows the original size of the picture. This panel also allows you to either delete (3) or overwrite (4) the photo:

Entering continuous defects

Continuous defects must always have a START and an END point. Use the catalogue field Continuous Observation, pick the list item Start for a given observation code (e.g. DEX) and confirm the observation entry.

When you enter a new observation afterwards, all open continuous defects will be listed inside a separate field below the observation catalogue. Simply highlight the desired continuous defect, complete the observation picking the list item Finish (2) and finally confirm the observation entry (3):

Control of text display

Observation entry based on a LiveVideo signal allows the user to control the text display if the corresponding text generator of the camera equipment is supported by ProTouch. Click on the main button OSD, then select the command button OSD-Panel to get the most important text display control buttons shown below the video screen:

The Project Bar contains 3 preconfigured lines of basic information to the current section and shows it during the whole video recording process.

The Section Data contain 8 preconfigured lines of detailed information to the current section that are displayed for 10 sec and usually shown at the beginning or the end of the video recording.

The button Objects gets information like the current date, inclination and distance displayed at the bottom of the video screen: the software obtains these data directly from the camera equipment.

Placing and moving OSD-Objects

ProTouch provides configuration modes to have object data from the camera (date, inclination, distance, pressure, temperature etc.) placed and displayed as close to the lower edge of the video screen as possible before you start recording a video clip. Push the button Objects (1) to open the object configuration panel.

Use this dialogue panel to activate the object display and to define whether you want change the object position via Drag&Drop or via value entry (X and Y values):

Hitting the button Show changes returns a preview of the object display. Click on Save if you agree with the result (2).

Activate the mode Value input to move the OSD-Objects in horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) direction. The software then is going to interpret the values as follows:

• X values: Number of characters from the left edge of the video screen

• Y values: Number of lines from the upper edge of the video screen

The maximum values for X and Y depend upon the text generator which is connected to the computer. Unlike the mode Drag on Screen the mode Value input allows the user to place the OSD objects much more precisely on the video screen.

Hitting the button Show changes returns a preview of the object display. Click on Save if you agree with the result (2).

Open photo/video gallery

Selecting the standard menu command Photo/Video Gallery is going to list you all media files (i.e. photos and videos) which are available in the current project. So you can check at any time whether all sections have really been assigned their specific videoclips:

You may also change the media filenames hitting the pencil icon or delete a media file via the trash symbol.

Managing project

All projects you created on your mobile computer are saved per default into the folder C:\WinCan_Projects:

Get back to the Home Screen and hit the button Project Management to easily look for a specific project available on the list:

The most important function buttons of this panel are briefly described below:

1. Enter a part of a project name into the search field and run the search process via the magnifier icon.

2. Update project list: invalid entries to deleted projects will be removed and the project list thus cleaned up.

3. Create a new project

4. Open an existing project from the list

5. Add a project to list, that you have previously copied into the folder C:\WinCan_Projects. Therefore you always must browse for the project database in the project sub-folder \DB an (e.g. Test_ProTouch_EN.db3).

6. Copy a project to a removable drive

7. Rename the selected project

8. Delete the project from the list

Managing addresses of project participants (contact)

The addresses of all project participants (clients, managers and contractors) will be saved in the address database C:\WinCan_Projects\Meta.db3 and are automatically available for all future projects on the current computer.

Get back to the Home Screen and hit the button Contact Management to easily look for a specific address available on the list:

The most important function buttons of this panel are briefly described below:

1.) Enter a part of a contact name into the search field and run the search process via the magnifier icon.

2.) Click on this button to create a new address.

3.) Run the import of an existing address database saved as a ZIP file from another computer.

4.) Run the export of an existing address database on the current computer and save it as a ZIP file.

5.) Select and edit an address from the list. Use the input mask (contact details) on the right to modify the current contact or select a specific contractor address to assign the logo file via the corresponding text field (6). To delete the contact the user needs to select it from the list and click on the trash icon in contact details bar.

Assigning existing addresses to a project

You can assign contacts to existing projects via the contact management: select the desired contact (1) and hit the button Append (2) to link it to the current project:

If you like to assign a contact to a new project already before the project has been created, you will have to pick existing address data (2) provided by the correspond list fields for clients, managers or contractors (1) and confirm with the button Apply (3):

Forwarding project data

There are two possibilities to forward projects you created with the software ProTouch:

• Copy the project on a removable drive, open it in WinCanVX on an office computer and upload it to the WinCan cloud.

• Upload the project directly from your mobile equipment to the WinCan cloud.

1.) Check whether you have assigned all contacts (i.e. client, manager and contractor (with logo)) to the current project.

2.) Create a report preview via the standard menu (1) ans save the protocol as a PDF file hitting the corresponding button (3):

3.) Check the status of your internet connection.

4.) Switch to the Home Screen, click on the button Settings and make sure you have entered a valid account to make full use of the cloud service WinCan-WEB.

5.) Get back to the Home Screen and click on button Project Management to see the list of all projects that are available on your local disk.

6.) Select the desired ProTouch project, hit the gear icon and choose the command Send to Cloud from the menu:

Editing plots or maps with the drawing program

You can assign a plot either to your project or to a single section and draw the geografic location of the inspected objects accordingly. Open the project and click on the button Project data entry. Next click on the button Drawings (1) left to the Observation Entry button. Select the type Project drawing (2) in the pop-up panel to draw the location of all sections on one single page:

The drawing module in ProTouch supports the formats JPG, PNG or PDF for the import of existing plots or maps. So you can draw the inspected sections on a background layer (1) and have them adjusted automatically to the corresponding scale:

The button Shapes (2) provides curved and straight lines, arrows, circles, rectangles, polygones and a huge number of predefined symbols for access points (3) that you can select and draw directly on the plot.

Adding captions to drawing elements is done with the button Text (4) whereas all formatting commands can be found in the symbol bar (5) above the drawing area.

The drawing program is automatically saving any modification in small intervals. Hitting the diskette icon (6) will also save your work manually.

Expert mode (unavailable in official version)

To allow user to modify the default OSD settings the ProTouch license has to contain a feature called:

“ProTouch Expert”. It has to be called exactly this way to make it work. After a second check the application will add a new tab in the General part of Settings. This tab is called “MODE” and it allows the user to get into the Expert mode.

So far all the changed that the expert mode gives are visible in the OSD tab of Settings. The user in this mode is able to change all the settings connected with object configuration, common settings, masks settings, function and values assignment add create a favorite free texts. In this mode one more tab is available. It is called “Panels” and gives the possibility to specify additional OSD panels as well as giving them custom naming and elements. What is more – ProTouch in the Expert mode has got a possibility to connect into more than one OSD device. It could be for example hardware OSD IP08 and ProTouch Software OSD to display some additional elements that are not available from the first device. To specify which device is being controlled there is a need to specify the correct function assignment from the corresponding pop-up. It can be found on the “SETTINGS” tab of the OSD part in the Settings (Figure 30).

As you can see on the Figure 30 “OSD functions” and “OSD objects” has been switched into “2” device. It means that the configurations and changes will be applied into the second device on the list visible on first page (Figure 31).

This screen has been already described in the previous part of the document. It allows user to select OSD devices, add additional ones and specify the connection parameters and port. On the right hand side the user can see the video stream and control the changes done on the configuration.

Configuration of OSD objects

Another very useful window is “Object configuration” (Figure 32) it gives user a possibility to manipulate OSD objects visible on the screen.

The position can be specified using a coordinates of the elements or by drag&drop. The second possibility needs to be enabled to be used. To do that the user needs to switch into “Drag on screen” mode and then select the object you want to displace directly via Drag and Drop. After that the blue rectangle will appear on the screen and the user will be able to manipulate elements position. What is needed to be done is to place the desired object on the specified location. The changes are automatically visible on the live video stream.

General settings

Next pop-up (Figure 33) is concerned on the most important settings of the OSD. It contains all the major values like: colors of objects, timing of visibility time, etc. those settings are global – which means that those values will be same for every connected device and the change is automatically sent to all of them at the same time.

Masks settings

On this window the user can specify the OSD masks. This feature allows to display database values on a specified moment on the video. When the user adds an observation it will be displayed on the screen, when there will be a recording started the video will be filled with the section details, etc. There are 6 masks and every one of them can be added into the OSD Panel to be displayed on demand.

The masks pop-up (Figure 34) consists of couple main parts:

1. Mask selector,

2. Colors selector,

3. Values provider,

4. Video preview

The values provider is divided into two parts. The first allows the user to enter any single text from keyboard, and the second one allows to select a database field. If the user clicks on the “Select from DB” button the pop-up (Figure 35) is being opened.

Function assignment

This pop-up (Figure 36) gives user a possibility to specify multidevice support details. On the left hand side there are OSD functions. All of them can be used by one of the connected devices. If the user specifies that some function should be used by second device – it will be. The number of the device corresponds with the order on the “DEVICE” tab of OSD settings.

Value assignment

This pop-up gives user a possibility to specify multidevice support details. This one Is similar to the “function assignment” one but it is connected with the OSD values that are delivered into the application. Those could be: meter counter, inclination, or camera angles.

Free text favourites

This pop-up (Figure 37) allows user to specify the free texts. This functionality provides a possibility to show on the screen texts that has been provided by user. Settings entered in this screen can be then added into the OSD panel as a button (description provided in OSD Panels section) and shown on the video during inspection. This pop-up contains one box per text on the left hand side and a preview video that can be maximized to preview changes. Every box consists of coordinates, visibility time, colors and text itself. All those settings has to be specified to allow saving.

Panels

Last option that is getting visible on Expert mode is “PANELS” tab (Figure 29). In this section there is a possibility to add, remove, name and manipulate with the OSD Panels visible on the inspection screen.

To edit specified panel the user should click on its name. From this screen the user is able to add objects into the OSD Panel, remove them and change its position on the panel.

1. To add an object – Double click on its name.

2. To remove an object – Click on the corresponding “x” button.

3. To change its position press and hold the object and move it as soon as its color change.