campy

• Python package for streaming video from multiple cameras to disk.
• Features real-time hardware-accelerated video compression and debayering using FFmpeg.

Hardware/software

• Basler and/or FLIR machine vision camera(s)
• Windows or Linux PC
• (Optional) AMD or Nvidia GPU for hardware encoding (see https://developer.nvidia.com/video-encode-decode-gpu-support-matrix)
• (Optional) Arduino/Teensy microcontroller for syncing cameras and other recordings

Installation

1. Update graphics drivers
2. Create and activate a new Python 3.7 Anaconda environment:

conda create -n campy python=3.7 imageio-ffmpeg matplotlib -c conda-forge
conda activate campy
pip install -U setuptools

3. Install camera software

• If using Basler cameras, install Pylon software:

  • Install Basler Pylon with Developer options
  • Install pypylon: Windows:

  pip install pypylon
  

  Linux:

  conda install swig
  git clone https://github.com/basler/pypylon.git
  python ./pypylon/setup.py install
  

• If using FLIR cameras:

  • Download and install Spinnaker SDK and SpinView software from FLIR's website: https://www.flir.com/support-center/iis/machine-vision/downloads/spinnaker-sdk-and-firmware-download/
  • Manually install binary wheel for PySpin (included in the Spinnaker download) E.g. for Python 3.7 on Windows amd64 system, install "spinnaker_python-2.3.0.77-cp37-cp37m-win_amd64.whl"

  pip3 install <wheel>
  

4. Clone or download campy to local folder:

git clone https://github.com/ksseverson57/campy.git

5. Finally, install campy and its dependencies (see setup.py) by navigating to campy folder:

pip install -e .

Usage

Configuration

• For Basler cameras, use the Pylon Viewer to configure and save your '.pfs' camera settings file. Examples are included in campy/configs.
• Edit the config.yaml file to fit your system and recording configuration.
• Several example config files are located in campy/configs.
• For help setting config parameters:

campy-acquire --help

Camera Triggering

Campy's trigger module supports Arduino and Teensy microcontrollers:

1. Download Arduino IDE (https://www.arduino.cc/en/software). If using Teensy, install Teensyduino (https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/teensyduino.html).
2. Connect your microcontroller and note its port number (e.g. "COM3" on Windows or "/dev/ttyACM0" on Linux).
3. In your config.yaml, configure:

startArduino: True 
digitalPins: [<pin IDs>] # e.g. [0,1,2]
serialPort: "<port>" # e.g. "COM3" or "/dev/ttyACM0"

4. Open and upload "trigger.ino" file (in campy/trigger folder) to your board. Make sure serial monitor is closed while using pyserial connection.
5. Campy will synchronously trigger the cameras once acquisition has initialized.

Start Recording:

campy-acquire ./configs/campy_config.yaml

Stop Recording:

• Campy can be configured to stop automatically after set recording time (e.g. 1 hour):

recTimeInSeconds: 3600

• To manually end, press Ctrl^C. Wait until campy exits!
• Three files, "frametimes.mat", "frametimes.npy", and "metadata.csv", will be saved along with the video file in each camera folder containing timestamps, frame numbers, and other recording metadata.

Helpful tips

• To debug broken ffmpeg pipe error, include this in config.yaml:

ffmpegLogLevel: "warning"

• Use the command "ffmpeg" to check enabled packages. Hardware encoder support must be enabled in your ffmpeg binary.
• Windows ffmpeg binary installed by Anaconda should have hardware encoder support enabled by default.
• On Linux, you may need to compile your own ffmpeg binary to enable encoders:
• Nvidia:

git clone https://git.videolan.org/git/ffmpeg/nv-codec-headers.git
cd nv-codec-headers && sudo make install && cd ..

• Intel:

sudo apt-get install libva-dev libmfx-dev libx264-dev libx265-dev libnuma-dev

• AMD:

git clone https://github.com/GPUOpen-LibrariesAndSDKs/AMF.git
sudo cp -r ./AMF/amf/public/include/core /usr/include/AMF
sudo cp -r ./AMF/amf/public/include/components /usr/include/AMF

• Compile ffmpeg:

git clone https://git.ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.git
cd ffmpeg
sudo ./configure \
--enable-cuda --enable-cuvid --enable-nvdec --enable-nvenc --enable-nonfree \
--extra-cflags=-I/usr/local/cuda/include --extra-ldflags=-L/usr/local/cuda/lib64 \
--enable-gpl --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libmfx \
--enable-amf
sudo make -j -s
sudo cp -r ./ffmpeg /usr/bin

• Include in config.yaml:

ffmpegPath: "/usr/bin/ffmpeg"

Authors

Written by Kyle Severson with contributions from Diego Aldarondo and Iris Odstrcil (2019-2021).

Credits

Special thanks to Tim Dunn, David Hildebrand, Vincent Prevosto, Manuel Levy, and Paul Thompson for helpful comments.

License

MIT License