Qt-based UI for camera control on the Raspberry Pi's 7" touch display.
- Embedded DIY DSLM camera
- Synchronous timelapse controller for CNC manufacturing processes, such as 3D printing, milling, or turning
- Optical microscopy
- Astrophotography
- Etc.
camctrl is designed to be used as a standalone, embedded application on a dedicated Raspberry Pi. I recommend against using it on a device you need for something else. The program uses root privileges, and is intended to autostart on boot. I offer no insurance the software is bug-free. I've put a lot of work into this, but I'm not perfect.
If you want/need camctrl to not autostart (such as for debugging, you only want to use some of its command-line tools, or you aren't using it on an embedded system), remove the line from the installation script which copies .bashrc.
The application uses root priviliges for fast memory mapping over /dev/mem. I know /dev/gpiomem is available and does not require root. However, I have chosen to remain with /dev/mem for two reasons: I will need it for planned future features, and the program's nature as an (intended) embedded application effectively necessitates its backend to have elevated privileges. Privileges in the "userspace"/frontend are intended to be normal.
I'm not a security engineer. If you find a way for the user to acquire elevated privileges from the frontend, please open an issue.
Read the scripts and make sure you understand them before you run them. Always know what you are installing on your devices.
- Tests (sorry!)
- Filesystem integration. Currently, I mount an NFS share over the project directory automatically at boot. This works very well, but you have to set it up manually. I'd like to allow the user to manage any remote locations from the application. If you don't do this, currently you'll need to remove the SD card to take off the media, or change the project directory in the source.
Clone the repository and change working directory:
$ git clone https://github.com/RiScJ/camctrl && cd camctrl
camctrl is built in Qt and requires many of its modules. We need to install them. This script will also create a new user for the application.
$ ./configure
The list of dependencies is located in cfg/dependencies.
The installation script will handle the build process, and then copy over binaries and static resources. To install, run:
$ ./install
camctrl comes with a GUI (its main purpose), but it also comes with a set of commandline tools mostly designed for debugging before deploying to your application.
Runs a series of tests on the application. Prints their results as they come in. At the end, a report is generated detailing any problems.
This is still in progress.
Displays a live reading in the commandline of measured GPIO levels. Good for testing your external triggering circuits.
The control window consists of three main areas: a camera preview to the left, a control panel to the right, and a statusbar at the bottom.
The control panel contains an interface for interacting with the camera, and the statusbar gives pertinent information about its state as well as that of the currently-active project.
camctrl allows capturing media in three different "modes": images, videos, and timelapses. When capturing a timelapse, each trigger event signals the camera to take a single frame. When the timelapse is stopped, these frames can be stitched into a video automatically, or moved to a folder and stored to be stitched at a later time.
To change the capture mode, tap on the "Mode" tile. A menu will appear from which you may select the desired option.
The power of the application lies mostly here. camctrl controls media capture using a "triggering" system, similar to the shutter button on a physical camera. There are three options for what presses this "shutter": manual input from the user; an internal timer; or an external GPIO connection.
To change the triggering mode, tap on the "Trigger" tile. A menu will appear from which you may select the desired option.
For information on setting up trigger settings (such as time intervals and GPIO), see §2.2.3.1.
The exact way media capture works depends on the above selections.
Tap the "Capture" tile to take a single image.
Tap the "Capture" tile to begin taking images. Images will be taken non-stop, separated by your specified time interval, until you tap "Stop".
Tap the "Capture" tile to begin taking images. An image will be taken each time an edge of your specified type is detected on your specified pin, until you tap "Stop".
Tap the "Record" tile to start recording a video. Tap "Stop" to finish.
Tap the "Record" tile to start the process. Video will start recording after your specified delay time elapses. Video will continue recording until your specified duration time elapses, at which point it will pause. After another delay time, the recording resumes. The cycle will repeat indefinitely until you tap "Stop".
Tap the "Record" tile to start the process. Video will start recording when an edge of your specified type is detected on your specified pin. It will continue until another such edge is detected, at which point the video will pause. When another such edge is detected, the video recording resumes. This cycle will continue indefinitely until you tap "Stop".
Tap the "Lapse" tile to start. Tap the "Capture" tile to take a frame. You may do this as many times as you wish. When you are done, tap "Stop".
Tap the "Lapse" tile to start. A frame will be taken every time your specified delay time elapses. This will continue until you tap "Stop".
Tap the "Lapse" tile to start. A frame will be taken every time an edge of your specified type is detected on your specified pin. This will continue until you tap "Stop".
The statusbar contains six pieces of information: the name of the currently-active project, the current capture mode, the current triggering mode, trigger-dependent information, the number of mediafiles of the current capture-type that are already in the project, and the current status of the application.
On a trigger event, the application will...
IMG -- capture a single image
VID -- either start or stop video recording
LPS -- start capturing a timelapse
FRM -- capture a single timelapse frame
To serve as a trigger event, the application will use...
USR -- user input
TMR -- the internal timer signal
EXT -- edges on a GPIO pin
Empty
Displays delay time. When started, will count down to next trigger event. If capture mode is VID, when the recording starts the delay time will be replaced with the duration time, which will also count down.
Displays the GPIO pin number to listen for edges on. An arrow is also displayed showing whether to listen for rising or falling edges.
The application is idle. No media is being captured.
The application is ready to accept a trigger event.
The application is currently recording video.
The application is currently capturing an image or frame. Under typical circumstances, this process should be so fast that this status ought not ever be visible.
camctrl uses the idea of "projects" to separate your work. How exactly you utilize them is up to you. Media within a project are considered separate from media within another. This is important because it allows you to conduct certain actions project-wise: things like stitching frames into timelapses, syncing only certain projects to a remote location, etc.
The project manager consists of two main areas: a list view on the left, and a control panel on the right.
The list view contains entries for each of your projects, displaying both their names and the last time you modified the project.
The control panel contains an assortment of tiles which allow you to interact with the projects. You will find the ability to create new projects, delete projects, select the project you want to work on, and open them to see previews of the media you've captured.
To create a new project, tap the "Projects" tile to enter the project manager. Once there, tap the "New" tile. You'll be taken to a context with a single text input, and two buttons to either confirm or cancel.
Tap the text input and an on-screen keyboard will appear. Type the desired name for your new project, and tap "Create". If successful, you should see a new project with the name you entered appear in the list view on the left side of the project manager.
Scroll through the list view on the left side of the project manager until you find the project you want to delete. Tap its entry, and a highlight bar will move over it. Once highlighted, tap the "Delete" tile. A popup window will appear letting you know that this action cannot be undone, and to make sure you are certain before continuing.
If you are sure, tap "Confirm". You should see the project disappear from the list view.
To select a project to work on, scroll through the list view until you find it. Tap on it to move the highlight bar over the project in question. Once highlighted, tap the "Select" tile. The project's background color in the list view will change to a bright off-white.
Once you have captured media for a project, you may wish to preview them. To do so, scroll through the list view to find the project in question. Highlight it by tapping its name, as above. Once highlighted, tap the "Open" tile. You will be taken to the media viewer's menu.
The media viewer's menu is similar to that of the project manager, composed of a list view on the left, and a control panel on the right.
The list view contains entries for each media file within the project. The control panel contains an interface for filtering the media, and opening them.
Choosing a media file is similar to choosing a project: simply scroll through the list, and select a file by tapping on it. Tap the "Open" tile to view the mediafile.
If the mediafile is a video, after opening you will have to tap the screen to start playback.
If your project has a substantial number of mediafiles, you may wish to filter them to make them easier to manage. You can do so by checking and unchecking the boxes in the control panel. By default, all filetypes are checked.
To configure options for both timed and external triggering, tap on the "Trigger Setup" tile from the main window.
Here you may select the GPIO pin for external triggering as well as whether to listen for rising or falling edges
The tumblers in the "Timer" tile control intervals for timed triggering. The left tumbler controls the delay time, and the right tumbler controls the duration time.
From the main window, tap the "Settings" tile.
Here are options to add annotations to the captured media (such as timestamps or exposure settings), and change the framerate of the encoded timelapse.