Development aicap Command

1

Introduction

When developing custom detection programs, development is typically done on a development machine (Linux/Windows/Mac) rather than directly on a Raspberry Pi.
We provide a stub module that allows you to run the aicap command in such a development environment.

This stub module (Development aicap Command) has the same command arguments as the aicap command built into AIBOX OS. By placing it in your system path, you can develop custom detection programs on your PC.

The development aicap command uses a USB-connected webcam on your development PC. Push notification images and JSON strings are saved to a specified local directory.

Important Note

The development aicap command uses FFmpeg, so please install it in your development environment.

2

Installation

Here are the installation steps for the development aicap command.

The configuration file (aicap.conf) required to run the command will be explained in the next step for each environment.

1Install FFmpeg on your development environment

Install FFmpeg appropriate for your development environment.
Please refer to other resources for installation instructions.

2Download the aicap module for your environment

Download the development aicap command appropriate for your environment from GitHub.

aicap for development

3Connect a UVC camera to your development machine

Connect a UVC camera to a USB port on your development machine.

4Create a configuration file

Create a configuration file for the development aicap command.
The creation steps will be explained in the next section.

5Set the PATH

Set the path to the location where you placed the development aicap command so it can be run directly.
You can add it to your system PATH, or if you're using Visual Studio Code, you can add PATH to the env in launch.json to run the command.


{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [

        {
            "name": "Python Debugger: Current File",
            "type": "debugpy",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "extmod.py",
            "console": "integratedTerminal",
            "args": [],
            "env": {
                "MODEL_FILE_NAME" : "yolo11m.pt",
                "PREVIEW_IMAGE_PATH" : "C:/Users/yukio/Desktop/temp/result.jpg",

                // On Windows, PATH separator is [;]
                // On Linux/Mac, use [:]
                "PATH": "${env:PATH};C:/Users/yukio/work"
            }
        }
    ]
}

3

Configuration File Setup

To use the development aicap command, you need to create a configuration file.

Create the configuration file in the same directory as the development aicap command with the name aicap.conf.

The format is JSON, and there are two parameters:


{
    "VideoCaptureDevice" : [USB webcam connection information],
    "PushResultOutputPath" : [Directory to save images/JSON data specified in Push command]
}

VideoCaptureDevice acquisition and configuration methods differ for each environment. Here are the instructions for each:

1For Linux

Install V4L2 (Video for Linux2) if not already installed. (sudo apt install v4l2-utils)

Use v4l2-ctl --list-devices to display the device path of the connected UVC camera

Display Information

$ v4l2-ctl --list-devices

Microsoft® LifeCam HD-3000: Mi (usb-0000:00:0b.0-1):
	/dev/video0
	/dev/video1
                            

Set the one with the lower number. (In the above example, /dev/video0)


{
    "VideoCaptureDevice" : "/dev/video0",
    "PushResultOutputPath" : "/home/user/work/temp"
}

2For Windows

Enter "ffmpeg -list_devices true -f dshow -i dummy" in the command prompt

Display Information

$ ffmpeg -list_devices true -f dshow -i dummy

[dshow @ 000002d291eebb80] "HD Webcam eMeet C960" (video)
[dshow @ 000002d291eebb80]   Alternative name "@device_pnp_\\?\usb#vid_328f&pid_2013&mi_00#7&39fbeec7&0&0000#{65e8773d-8f56-11d0-a3b9-00a0c9223196}\global"
[dshow @ 000002d291eebb80] "Microphone (HD Webcam eMeet C960)" (audio)
[dshow @ 000002d291eebb80]   Alternative name "@device_cm_{33D9A762-90C8-11D0-BD43-00A0C911CE86}\wave_{44545183-13C6-4A8E-A80C-20BD4E517837}"
                            

Set the name of the video device. (In the above example, HD Webcam eMeet C960)


{
    "VideoCaptureDevice" : "HD Webcam eMeet C960",
    "PushResultOutputPath" : "/home/user/work/temp"
}

3For Mac

Enter "ffmpeg -list_devices true -f avfoundation -i dummy" in the terminal

Display Information

$ ffmpeg -list_devices true -f avfoundation -i dummy

[AVFoundation indev @ 0x7f8b4af05000] AVFoundation video devices:
[AVFoundation indev @ 0x7f8b4af05000] [0] Microsoft® LifeCam HD-3000
[AVFoundation indev @ 0x7f8b4af05000] [1] Capture screen 0
[AVFoundation indev @ 0x7f8b4af05000] AVFoundation audio devices:
[AVFoundation indev @ 0x7f8b4af05000] [0] Microsoft® LifeCam HD-3000
                            

Set the number of the video device. (In the above example, 0)


{
    "VideoCaptureDevice" : "0",
    "PushResultOutputPath" : "/home/user/work/temp"
}