- Introduction -
In modern healthcare environments, seamless integration between monitoring systems and 3rd party platforms (e.g. Nurse Call Systems) is essential for efficient workflows and rapid response to critical events. The MOBOTIX c71 NurseAssist sensor provides intelligent event detection such as fall detection or bed presence monitoring. To fully leverage these capabilities, it is often required to integrate the sensor into existing systems like nurse call platforms, building management systems, or IoT infrastructures.
One of the most flexible and widely used methods for such integrations is MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport). By using MQTT, the c71 NurseAssist sensor can act as a publisher of real-time event data, enabling external systems to react instantly and reliably.
This guide explains how to configure the MQTT connection on the sensor and prepare it for custom integrations.
- About MQTT -
MQTT is a lightweight, publish/subscribe-based messaging protocol designed for efficient communication between devices, especially in environments with limited bandwidth or high reliability requirements.
Instead of direct communication between devices, MQTT uses a central component called a broker:
- The sensor (publisher) sends messages (e.g., events like “fall detected”)
- The broker receives and distributes these messages
- One or more subscribers (e.g., nurse call systems, dashboards, or middleware) receive the messages
This architecture allows for decoupled communication, meaning that the sensor does not need to know which systems will consume its data.
- Getting started -
The c71 NurseAssist sensor comes with a configuration optimized for the use case and thus differs significantly from other MOBOTIX cameras by default.
In order to integrate the alarms, this configuration must be extended with customized IP Notify profiles and action groups, which convert the MxMessageSystem events created by the NurseAssist app into compatible IP notification and address the alarm structure prepared in the client’s 3rd party system.
- Configuring the MQTT Connection on the c71 NurseAssist Sensor -
Before the c71 NurseAssist sensor can publish events via MQTT, a connection to an MQTT broker must be configured.Therefor navigate to “Admin Menu → Network Setup → MQTT Configuration” and configure the following parameters:
Enable: Activates or deactivates MQTT functionality on the sensor.
Host: Specifies the MQTT broker IP address (e.g., 192.168.178.13). This defines the target system the sensor connects to for publishing and subscribing to messages.
Port: Defines the network port used for the MQTT connection.
- Default (unencrypted): 1883
- TLS encrypted connection: typ. 8883
Caution: Ensure that the configured port matches the broker settings!
Username / Password: Defines the username and password used for broker authentication (Leave empty if the broker allows anonymous access). Authentication is independent of transport encryption.
Caution: Credentials must match the credentials configured on the broker. If TLS is not used, credentials and MQTT data are transmitted in plain text.
QoS (Quality of Service): Defines the reliability level for message delivery between the sensor (publisher) and the broker (receiver).
MQTT supports three QoS levels:
QoS 0 – At most once:
- Messages are sent once without acknowledgment.
- No delivery guarantee
- Lowest latency and overhead
Use case:
Non-critical status updates (e.g., “patient in bed”) where occasional data loss is acceptable.
QoS 1 – At least once:
- Messages are delivered at least once and require acknowledgment.
- Delivery is guaranteed
- Duplicate messages may occur
Use case:
Important events (e.g., “patient left bed”) where message loss is unacceptable, but duplicates can be handled by the receiving system.
QoS 2 – Exactly once
- Messages are delivered exactly once using a multi-step handshake.
- Highest delivery guarantee
- Increased network and processing overhead
Use case:
Critical alarms (e.g., “fall detected”) where messages must neither be lost nor duplicated.
Test Button: After completing the configuration, use the Test function to verify that the connection to the broker can be established successfully.
- Enable TLS Encryption -
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- Create a IP Notify Profile (MQTT Publish) for every notification type -
Option 1: Custom Payload
Go to "Admin Menu → Transfer Profiles → IP Notify Profiles. Click on the button “Add New Profile” and fill in the fields as shown in the image below:
IP Notify Type: Determines the underlying protocol of the message. In this case, MQTT Publish must be selected. The sensor uses the connection information described above in the “MQTT Configuration” menu.
The placeholder “user_topic” in the corresponding text bar can and should be customized according to the client’s requirements. The same applies to the message payload, which can be fully customized by the user. Here, we’ll use an example and some common variables.
The content of the example custom message is:
{
"time": "$(TMS)"
"identifier": "$(ID.NAM)",
"interface": "MOBOTIX"
},
"classifications": [
<classification-id>
],
"Event": "FallDetected",
"locations": [
{
"sensor": "$(ID.NAM)"
}
Explanation for the variables used in the example:
- $(TMS): Timestamp
- $(ID.NAM): Sensor’s network name (e.g.mx-10-33-1-240) → this name can be customized in the sensor’s network settings
- for more variables check the sensor’s online help accessible via shortcut in the IP Notify menu
Repeat this procedure for every notification type, corresponding to every Action
Group you created.
Option 2: Forwarding NurseAssist MxMessage content via MQTT Publish
After one of the events in the Kepler NurseAssist App is triggered, the app generates a real-time MxMessage containing the corresponding event data. Below is an example of the generated MxMessage after a “Fall Detected” event was triggered.
IMAGE TO BE ADDED
The latest generated MxMessage can be verified under the camera URL: https://IPAddressOfYourCamera/api/json/messages
For more information on the JSON payload structure and the available NurseAssist notifications, please see the following Community article: Understanding MxMessages of NurseAssist: Events, Payload Structure and Default Profiles
To forward the payload of the MxMessage to the configured broker via MQTT, the variable $(MSG.LOC.KeplerNurseAssist) can be set as the payload in the IP Notify Profile. This ensures that the original content of the MxMessage is transmitted.
The combination described here — consisting of an MxMessage event profile, an outgoing “MQTT Publish” IP Notify profile, and the Action Group that links the two profiles — must be created once for each NurseAssist event used. Depending on the structure of the message content, the configuration can then be saved and uploaded to other NurseAssist sensors.
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- Testing the configuration -
You can test the IP Notify Profile configuration by going to “Admin Menu → Network
Setup → Test Current Network Configuration → IP Notify”. Choose the IP Notify
Profile you configured above.