Traffic Monitor

Traffic Monitor is a logistics building placed directly on a conveyor belt to monitor item flow and cargo presence. It can be placed over an existing belt or the belt can be run through it after placement. When configured, it watches the belt’s throughput over time and can trigger alerts when the observed flow does not match the chosen conditions. It is useful both for production-line monitoring and for making automated sounds or warning icons when a belt is empty, jammed, or moving at the wrong rate.

The monitor’s main settings are Cycle, Target flow, Condition, Item filter, Pass color, and Fail color. Cycle determines the rolling time window used to average throughput; the default is 6 seconds, and the value can be adjusted from 1 to 60 seconds in 0.25-second steps. Target flow is the desired item flow rate, measured in items per minute, and can be set from 0 to 7200. Condition compares the observed flow against the target using =, ≠, ≥, >, ≤, or <. While the monitor is still gathering data after placement or after a cycle change, its status is Waiting. If the condition is met, the monitor is Pass; otherwise, it is Fail. Item filter restricts the calculation to one selected item type, ignoring all others. Pass color and Fail color control the monitor’s display color for those states.

The monitor’s top indicator changes according to its state: green for Pass, red for Fail, and light gray for Waiting. The current flow rate is shown on the side display. It also has alert options that can be used to drive a global warning icon or a speaker sound. Global alert displays an icon in the warning area at the top of the screen, while speaker alert plays a sound. Alert triggers can be set to any of these states:

• None: never triggers
• Fail: triggers when the monitor is Fail
• Pass: triggers when the monitor is Pass
• Pass cargo: triggers when the monitor is Pass and at least one item passed during the last cycle
• No cargo: triggers when no items passed during the last cycle
• Fail and pass cargo: triggers when the monitor is Fail and at least one item passed during the last cycle
• Fail and no cargo: triggers when the monitor is Fail and no items passed during the last cycle

When a global alert is enabled, its icon can be changed to many different symbols, including warning marks, numbers, miscellaneous symbols, and even items, buildings, recipes, or technologies. Speaker alerts have additional settings for tone, range, loop, pitch, volume, and length. The sound can be previewed with a play button, and the audible range is adjustable.

In sandbox mode, the monitor gains an extra Generate/Consume Item option. With Generate Item enabled, it creates the selected filtered item at the target flow rate. With Consume Item enabled, it deletes matching filtered items at the target flow rate. This makes it useful as a sandbox tool for simulating belt flow without a full production chain.

A few practical uses stand out:

• Place one on a critical production belt to tell immediately if the line stops moving correctly.
• Put one in front of a storage unit to warn when it fills up, especially for byproducts.
• Use a low-flow or no-cargo alert on fuel supply belts so shortages are noticed quickly.
• Use a belt with hydrogen byproducts to detect backups before the line jams.
• Use it on mining output or on the next refining line to detect resource depletion.

Traffic Monitor can also be paired with a Hologram Beacon by matching IP values, allowing the beacon color to follow the monitor’s state. This is useful for checking status remotely, recording the setup in a Blueprint, or coordinating several monitors to observe changes across a factory.