This guide provides step-by-step instructions on how to setup, use and optimize your Solink Service Display Monitor.
Before You Begin
You must have an account with permission to edit layouts on the SDM. See this FAQ for more information.
You must have at least one camera enabled with Vision Analytics for vehicle detection. See Enable Vision Analytics for more information.
You must have at least one AI-monitored zone for an area with vehicles, such as a drive-thru lane. See the following guides for more information:
Zone Tracking Events (how to create an AI-monitored zone)
Creating an AI Tag
The first step to getting the SDM operational is to create an AI tag for one of your AI-monitored zones within the Solink platform.
To create an AI tag:
Launch an AI-enabled camera on the Video page, specifically for vehicles (see Enable Vision Analytics if you have not yet configured a camera for AI vehicle detection).
Navigate to the Zone Tracking Events tab (AI > Zone Tracking > Events tab):
Use a pre-made AI tag or create a new one (type a name for the tag) in the AI Tags field:
Select Save to apply the changes.
Once you have created an AI tag, you can "connect" this zone to a widget in the SDM. The associated widget in the SDM tracks and displays the data from this zone once you connect it using the same AI tag configured in this section - see the following section to learn to how to launch the SDM and create your first widget and layout.
Launch SDM
Select the SDM button near the top-right of the Solink platform to launch it.
SDM Layouts
The SDM is made up of a layout containing widgets - data points tied to your AI-monitored zones.
Create a New Layout
You must create a new layout when using the SDM for the first time. Select the large "+" button in the middle of the screen when you first launch the SDM to create your first layout.
You can also create a new layout afterwards whenever you want a fresh start — for example, when you’re testing a different mix of widgets or building a layout for a new menu rollout.
To create a new layout:
Select the Layout dropdown menu in the top-right > New Layout button to create a new layout:
Type a name for the layout.
Select Create to create your new layout. Now you can create widgets for this layout. See the following sections for more information.
Delete Layout
If you need to delete the layout, select the More Actions icon next to the layout (three dots) > Delete:
Edit Layout
Select the Edit button in the top-right corner of the page to edit a layout, including:
Re-arrange widget placement
Edit widgets
Delete widgets
SDM Widgets
Your layout consists of widgets that display AI-monitored zone data.
Create SDM Widget
To create a new widget:
Select Edit in the top-right corner.
Select Add Metric to add a new widget. Note that if you are at the maximum number of widgets (5), you are not able to add an additional widget until you delete another one.
Now you can configure the following:
AI Tags: Choose the camera zones that power this widget. Tags like MENU, WINDOW, and STACK come from the AI tags you applied to your zones.
Name: Give a name to the widget. It is recommended to keep it simple, like "Menu Board 1", for clarity.
Widget Type: Set what metric the widget display:
Count: How many objects are in the zone.
Time: How long an object stays in the zone.
Drive-off: Cars that leave the line before completing the transaction.
Count Threshold: The value that turns the widget red. For Count and Drive-Off widgets, enter a single number. For Time, enter minutes and seconds.
Time Horizon: Determine whether the widget displays in Real time or a rolling total (Sum of last hour). Use Sum of last hour for widgets that track throughput or total drive-offs.
Day Parts
Day Parts are the time windows that make up your operating day — for example, breakfast, brunch, or afternoon rush. They appear in the Day Parts panel on the right side of the layout editor:
Day Parts allow you to set different service standards in the SDM based on time of day.
For example, if your lunch hour between 12-1 PM is typically busier, you can create a dedicated Day Part for this block of time, assign it to a specific widget, then set a different Threshold (see Count Threshold) specifically for this block of time to create an additional sense of urgency during the lunch rush.
Create a Day Part
To create a new Day Part:
Ensure you are in Edit mode.
Select the + icon in the top-right of the Day Parts panel.
In the New Day Part window, enter a Day Part Name — for example, Afternoon Rush.
Under Active Days, check each day of the week the day part should run, and set its start and end times.
If the times are the same every day, select Copy to all next to the first day to apply that day’s times across the rest of the week.
Select Save. The new day part appears as a block on the schedule.
Assign Day Part to Widget
Once you have day parts, you can override a widget’s default threshold during specific windows. This is useful when your service expectations change throughout the day — for example, tighter targets during Afternoon Rush.
To assign a Day Part to a widget:
Ensure you are in Edit mode.
Select the "gear" icon for the widget you want to edit.
Navigate to the Day Part-Specific Thresholds section.
Check the box next to the Day Part you want to assign to this widget and set a new threshold for this day part. For example, if you set 25 seconds, the widget turns red when it exceeds 25 seconds only during the period of time for the selected Day Part. It still follows the Threshold during the hours outside of the Day Part.
