Raspberry Pi Camera Module

You can use the Raspberry Pi Camera Module v1 and v2 with the Vicharak Vaaman. The raspi camera module is a small circuit board that connects to the CSI connector on the Vaaman and allows you to take photos and videos.

We do not build or design the camera module, but we do test it for compatibility with our Vaaman. We recommend buying the original camera module from the Raspberry Pi Foundation, or from one of our authorized resellers.

You can find more information about the camera module on the Raspberry Pi Camera documentation.

Buy the Raspberry Pi Camera Module v2.

Vaaman Camera Guide

1. Enable overlays options sutiable for your camera.

2. You can setup camera using cheese application or python source.

Note

If you do not have cheese application in your system

You can also install cheese application using command by opening terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T).

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install cheese

Otherwise, you can also use python source as provided below in Setup Section.

Pre-Requisites

• Camera ( OV5647 / IMX219 )

• FPC50 15 Pin 1mm Pitch Cable

Enable Overlays In Vaaman / Axon

Steps to follow for Configuration

1. Open a terminal window(Ctrl+Alt+T).

2. Run command sudo vicharak-config in it.

3. Select Overlays options in it by pressing enter key.

   

4. You will see Warning Page, click on yes and select Manage Overlays options.

   

5. Select overlays as per your camera part number ( OV5647 / IMX219 ) by pressing spacebar on keyboard, then select Ok.

   

6. To return back to terminal, press the Esc key until you exit from it.

7. In order to enable your configuration, Restart your computer or Run command sudo reboot in terminal.

Note

Make sure that whenever you are going to connect Camera, Device should be power off.

Setup

Cheese Application

1. Attach the camera along with FPC50 15 Pin 1mm pitch cable to the CSI connector.

   

2. Open the Cheese application in your Ubuntu Linux operating system.

   

3. You will be shown Cheese camera interface.

4. You have to click on hamburger button located at top right side.

5. Click on Preferences and select rkisp_mainpath in Device option.

   

6. Click on a webcam button in the middle of the bottom panel, or press the spacebar key, to take the photo.

   

7. There will be a short countdown, followed by a flash, and the photo will appear in the photo stream.

8. You can use camera as Photo mode and Video mode as well.

   Note

   In case above steps do not work, Follow below steps.

   1. Open a terminal window(Ctrl+Alt+T).

   2. To open cheese application, Run command sudo cheese.

Python Source

Introduction

This documentation provides instructions on how to run the Python to open the camera frame and capture an image using OpenCV.

Pre-Requisites

1. Python3 installed on your system.

2. OpenCV library installed (opencv-python).

3. Any Text Editor Software like, Vim, gedit, nano etc.

   To Install Vim:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install vim
   

   To Install Gedit:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt-get install gedit
   

Setup

1. Attach the camera along with FPC50 15 Pin 1mm pitch cable to the CSI connector.

   

2. Install Python if not already installed. You can download Python from the official website: Python Downloads.

   for Debian-based systems (like Ubuntu):

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install python3-pip
   

3. Install the OpenCV library using pip

   for Debian-based systems (like Ubuntu):

   pip install opencv-python
   

Execution of Program

1. Open a terminal window(Ctrl+Alt+T).

2. To create a (.py) file in vim editor, Run command vim <file_name>.py in terminal.

3. Copy this below content into the file and paste it by pressing Ctrl + Shift + v, then press Esc and to save this file, type :wq.

   # !/bin/env python3
   import cv2
   cap = cv2.VideoCapture(0)
   while True:
       ret, frame = cap.read()
       cv2.imshow('frame', frame)
       if cv2.waitKey(1) & 0xFF == ord('q'):
           break
   # After the loop release the cap object
   cap.release()
   # Destroy all the windows
   cv2.destroyAllWindows()
   

4. Open a terminal window(Ctrl+Alt+T).

5. Navigate to the directory where your Python program is located using the cd command.

6. Run Python program using the following command:

   python3 <file_name>.py
   

   If you have multiple versions of Python installed, ensure you use python3 to run the program for Python 3.x.

Expected Behavior

1. Upon running the program, the camera frame will open.

   

2. Press the Ctrl+S key on your keyboard to capture an image.

   

3. The captured image will be saved in the current directory unless the directory location has been changed.

4. Press the key Q on your keyboard to exit the camera frame.

Troubleshooting

• If you encounter any errors related to missing modules or libraries, ensure that Python and OpenCV are properly installed on your system.

• If the camera frame does not open or the program does not behave as expected, check for any errors in the terminal output and review your program for potential issues.