CSI-CAM

A Viam Module for CSI Cameras

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CSI Camera Module

Easily integrate CSI Cameras into your Viam projects using this camera module.

Supported Modules

• Nvidia Jetson: Use the csi-cam module. More Info
• Raspberry Pi: Use the csi-cam-pi module. More Info

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csi-cam model for Jetson boards

Requirements

The csi-cam module is distributed as an AppImage. AppImages require FUSE version 2 to run. See FUSE troubleshooting for instructions on installing FUSE 2 on your system if it is not already installed.

Currently, the csi-cam module supports the Linux platform only.

Usage

To use this module, follow these instructions to add a module from the Viam Registry and select the viam:camera:csi model from the csi-cam module.

Configure your CSI camera

Note

Before configuring your camera, you must create a robot.

Navigate to the Config tab of your robot’s page in the Viam app. Click on the Components subtab and click Create component. Select the camera type, then select the csi model. Enter a name for your camera and click Create.

On the new component panel, copy and paste the following attribute template into your camera's Attributes box.

{
  "width_px": <int>,
  "height_px": <int>,
  "frame_rate": <int>,
  "debug": <bool>
}

Note

For more information, see Configure a Robot.

Edit the attributes as applicable and save your config. In the Control tab of the Viam app, you can now view the camera feed. If you do not see anything, check the logs tab for errors.

Attributes

The following attributes are available for viam:camera:csi cameras:

Name	Type	Inclusion	Description
width_px	int	Optional	Width of the image this camera captures in pixels. Default: 1920
height_px	int	Optional	Height of the image this camera captures in pixels. Default: 1080
frame_rate	int	Optional	The image capture frame rate this camera should use. Default: 30
video_path	string	Optional	The filepath to the input sensor of this camera on your board. If none is given, your robot will attempt to detect the video path automatically. Default: "0"
debug	boolean	Optional	Whether or not you want debug input from this camera in your robot's logs. Default: false

Once configured, check the Logs tab of your robot in the Viam app to make sure your camera has connected and no errors are being raised.

Example Configuration

{
  "modules": [
    {
      "type": "registry",
      "name": "viam_csi-cam",
      "module_id": "viam:csi-cam",
      "version": "0.3.0"
    }
  ],
  "components": [
    {
      "model": "viam:camera:csi",
      "attributes": {
        "width_px": 1920,
        "height_px": 1080,
        "frame_rate": 30,
        "debug": true
      },
      "depends_on": [],
      "name": "csicam_test",
      "namespace": "rdk",
      "type": "camera"
    }
  ]
}

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Latest Version Installation

Install the latest development version of the module on your device with these commands:

For Jetson Devices

sudo wget http://packages.viam.com/apps/csi-camera/jetson/viam-csi-latest-aarch64.AppImage -O /usr/local/bin/csi-cam

For Raspberry Pi Devices

sudo wget http://packages.viam.com/apps/csi-camera/pi/viam-csi-latest-aarch64.AppImage -O /usr/local/bin/csi-cam

See local-app-config.json for how to configure with local csi-cam appimage.

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Develop

View DEVELOP.md for more information on how to build and run the module locally or in Docker. Pull Requests and Issues are welcome!

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csi-cam-pi model for Pi boards

See PI.md for dependency information and tested setups.

Usage

To use this module, follow these instructions to add a module from the Viam Registry and select the viam:camera:csi-pi model from the csi-cam-pi module.

Configure your CSI camera

Note

Before configuring your camera, you must create a robot.

Navigate to the Config tab of your robot’s page in the Viam app. Click on the Components subtab and click Create component. Select the camera type, then select the csi-pi model. Enter a name for your camera and click Create.

On the new component panel, copy and paste the following attribute template into your camera's Attributes box.

{
  "width_px": <int>,
  "height_px": <int>,
  "frame_rate": <int>,
  "debug": <bool>
}

Note

For more information, see Configure a Robot.

Edit the attributes as applicable and save your config. In the Control tab of the Viam app, you can now view the camera feed. If you do not see anything, check the logs tab for errors.

Attributes

The following attributes are available for viam:camera:csi cameras:

Name	Type	Inclusion	Description
width_px	int	Optional	Width of the image this camera captures in pixels. Default: 1920
height_px	int	Optional	Height of the image this camera captures in pixels. Default: 1080
frame_rate	int	Optional	The image capture frame rate this camera should use. Default: 30
debug	boolean	Optional	Whether or not you want debug input from this camera in your robot's logs. Default: false

Once configured, check the Logs tab of your robot in the Viam app to make sure your camera has connected and no errors are being raised.

Example Configuration

{
  "modules": [
    {
      "type": "registry",
      "name": "viam_csi-cam-pi",
      "module_id": "viam:csi-cam-pi",
      "version": "0.3.0"
    }
  ],
  "components": [
    {
      "name": "your-csi-cam",
      "model": "viam:camera:csi-pi",
      "type": "camera",
      "namespace": "rdk",
      "attributes": {
        "width_px": 1920,
        "height_px": 1080,
        "frame_rate": 30,
        "debug": true
      },
      "depends_on": []
    }
  ]
}

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Development

Interested in contributing? Check out DEVELOP.md for guidelines on how to build and run the module locally or using docker. We welcome Pull Requests and Issues!