The Rebe Meter Reading Camera is an industrial camera that reads pointer gauges, status meters, level gauges and digital displays locally on the device, and makes the reading available over RS485 Modbus RTU or Ethernet — turning instruments that have no communication interface into data sources without modifying or replacing them.
Need product specifications, use cases or references?
Call +86 130 4890 6506 for selection guidance and comparable project types Email usPanel instruments in substations, distribution rooms and factories — pointer-type ammeters and voltmeters, status indicators, level gauges, digital displays — often have no data output at all. If you want their values in a SCADA system or an energy management platform, the conventional answers are to replace the instrument or to send someone to read it.
This camera is the third option: mount it to observe the instrument face, and it reads the value on-device and makes it available over its data interface. See reading pointer and analog gauges remotely for what the approach means in general, and on-device recognition for why the image does not have to leave the device.
In short, it is an analog gauge reader that never touches the gauge: the instrument is not opened, wired or replaced, and no reading module is fitted to it. The camera and the edge computing box share the same interface and environment ratings — including a wide operating temperature range (−40 °C to +70 °C) and IP66 — which is what makes them usable in outdoor cabinets and unheated switch rooms.
Typical use:
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Function | Local sampling, meter reading recognition, on-device recognition library upgrade |
| Applicable instruments | Pointer gauges, status meters, level gauges, digital displays |
| Form factor | Bullet camera |
| Dimensions | 186 × 84 × 93 mm |
| Weight | 1 kg (net) |
| Core board | ARMv7-A, 1.2 GHz, quad-core |
| Memory | 512 MB |
| Operating system | Linux 4.14 |
| Resolution | 720P |
| Zoom | 10× |
| Power supply | DC 10–16 V; < 1.5 A; < 18 W (at 25 °C, 12 VDC) |
| Uplink — serial | RS485; up to 1000 m; 300 W surge protection; Modbus RTU; default 4800 bps, even parity |
| Uplink — Ethernet | 100 Mbps socket |
| Operating temperature | −40 °C to +70 °C |
| Ingress protection | IP66 (IEC 60529; equivalent to GB/T 4208) |
| Typical applications | Substations, factories |
A camera that reads a gauge is not useful on its own — the value has to reach your system. Two design choices make that straightforward:
Native Modbus RTU over RS485. Your gateway, PLC or SCADA master polls the camera directly. There is no vendor middleware and no protocol driver to write. Integration is done by mapping the device's registers into your system, so ask us for the register map to confirm the values you need are exposed.
RS485 that survives a substation. Up to 1000 m of cable run and 300 W surge protection matter in an electrical environment — those are the figures this device is specified to.
The environments where instruments actually live are the hard part: unconditioned plant rooms, outdoor cabinets, coastal humidity and summer heat. What a device is specified for is the question — and this is what this camera is specified for:
| Condition | This camera |
|---|---|
| Operating temperature | −40 °C to +70 °C |
| Ingress protection | IP66 |
That is a specification, not a marketing claim — it is what makes the difference between a device that works on a bench and one that still works in August.
We can provide: selection guidance · integration and network design guidance · product documentation on request
Call +86 130 4890 6506 for selection guidance and comparable project types Email usTell us your site conditions and what the data needs to connect to — we reply within one business day.
Rebe supplies two form factors that share the same interface and environment ratings:
| Reading camera (this page) | Edge computing box | |
|---|---|---|
| Reads | Pointer gauges, status meters, level gauges, digital displays | Mechanical water meters, electricity meters, gas meters |
| Form | Bullet camera | Square enclosure, 100 × 100 × 45 mm, 0.5 kg |
| Power | DC 10–16 V, < 18 W | DC 10–28 V, < 18 W |
| Uplink | RS485 Modbus RTU + Ethernet 100 Mbps | Same |
| Environment | −40 to +70 °C, IP66 | Same |
Both can be mixed on the same site and are polled the same way.
For the complete retrofit picture — how the reading device, the meters and your gateway fit together — see the meter retrofit solution.
Pointer gauges, status meters, level gauges and digital displays. For mechanical water meters, electricity meters and gas meters, use the edge computing box instead — see section 6.
No. It reads on-device and makes the reading available over RS485 or Ethernet to your own system, as a Modbus RTU slave that your system polls.
Over RS485 using Modbus RTU (default 4800 bps, even parity), or over Ethernet at 100 Mbps. Your master polls it like any other Modbus device.
Reading accuracy depends on the instrument face, the lighting at the mounting position and the viewing angle. We do not publish a single blanket figure, because it would not be honest across different instrument types. We can quote a chargeable sample unit so you can verify recognition on your own instruments before a rollout.
−40 °C to +70 °C, with IP66 ingress protection.
Yes — the recognition library can be upgraded on the device.
Physically mounted to observe the instrument face. Because the correct mounting position depends on the instrument and its lighting, tell us about the installation during scoping and we will advise.
We supply system integrators, automation contractors and utilities. If you are delivering a project for an end customer, we support you as the supplier and do not approach your customer.
Tell us your instrument types and mounting conditions, and we will confirm whether the reading camera fits — and can quote a chargeable sample unit for you to test on your own instruments.