USB based video capture card with API - api

I am looking for a usb based video capture card (to be used with cctv analog cameras) which comes with an api. An api of sorts would help as I am planning to do some analytics on the video stream.
Any ideas on such a device?

What platform? Pretty much any capture card would work with DirectShow on Windows. On Linux, the usual API is V4L - the hardware compatibility list isn't as extensive on Linux, but most things do work with it.

The only capture boards I know of internal to a PC are PCI capture cards. A USB capture card would limit the data you could capture. For instance if you try to stream video to a USB drive you'll get error messages because USB is too slow. You're better off purchasing an encoder to do what you want. Retail for an analog encoder is as low as 300 dollars and it allows you to connect 4 analog cameras.

Related

Send raw infrared codes on Sony Xperia devices

i have posted this hoping that a responsible sony engineer answers like recommended on https://developer.sony.com/support/how-to-post-tag-a-question/
My question/requirement is simple.. Why do Sony devices like the Xperia Z2 tablet not implement the Google Infrared API:
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/hardware/ConsumerIrManager.html
I think the official Sony IR Remote API is a ridiculous choice compared to that. Not only it cannot send raw infrared sequences, but also limits its use to Sony STOCK roms. I think this is a major flaw and limits the possibilities of Sony devices compared to other brands like Samsung and HTC.
The Sony API description says:
"Sony’s remote control app on the tablet or smartphone, through the IR remote API, without the need for low level communication with the infrared element."
It sounds like something positive - while it is in fact negative. I WANT the low-level communication!!! So please do something, releasing some code snippet how to access the blaster and send raw commands like 400µs on, 600µs off would be enough , and would open sony devices to third party infrared apps which can support more devices, and open new possibilities. Shouldn't be so hard.
Devices such as the Z2 Tablet and older predate the Google IR API that was introduced in Android 4.4. As such, the hardware was not designed to support the Google IR API and can only support the Sony IR API.

Camera Remote API beta SDK: How to synchronize multiple DSC QX 100 cameras

Can we control multiple DSC-QX100 cameras using the Camera Remote API SDK from an iPad OS7?
The objective is to cause multiple cameras to "snap" picture at the exact same time. Perhaps each camera has an address (serial number)...can the software communicate with all cameras at the same time using multiple addresses? Need is limited to still photos and so-called fast, rapid photography. Video not necessary.
If so, how?
Unfortunately you can only control one QX100 lens at a time. This is because the lens connects over WiFi and you are limited to only a single WiFi connection at once on an iPad. It may be possible using a desktop PC with multiple wireless cards installed but that would be the only way.
As the Sony rep said, there's no way to do this with "officially supported" techniques.
The reason for this is that the camera acts as a WiFi Access Point (AP) - so while multiple devices can connect to it, most mobile devices can only connect to it and not anything else (since iOS and Android don't support connection to multiple APs simultaneously). This is also why you can't use other network interfaces when connected to the camera. (I don't know about iOS, but Android always prioritizes WiFi over cell network data, for example.)
Android devices have a feature called "WiFi Direct" that provides more flexibility in terms of peer-to-peer interconnection, but iOS does not support WFD. The QX100 DOES respond to WFD invites, and you can accept a pairing request with (if I remember correctly) a long-press of the shutter button. However, the official app only supports normal WiFi AP connections.
I have not yet attempted to see if using Sony's remote API in combination with the (unsupported but apparently present) WiFi Direct capability works.
More info on Wifi Direct and Android can be found at http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/wifip2p.html
Marlin SONY, I disagree, wifi is Ethernet and by definition can handle multiple devices on the same network. If you run a phone or iPad as a hotspot and connect multiple devices, it works.
Multicam Switcher Basic is an example of a free app that supports cutting together multiple camera angles live. Unfortunately the app is still being developed so features like third party camera support isn't included, but it does show what is possible and awaits development.
I think this should be possible. Apps like CollabraCam™ (Multicam Social Video Production) or RecoLive MultiCam prove that is possible to use mulitple cams simultaneous.
I need someone too to develop an App to be able to use "two" sony dsc-qx for 3D shoots. Please, if You know how or who can do this contact me email#3-d.re

How can I send/receive data to/from my samsung s3 to a (medical) device via an arduino board (wifi + usb)?

I am new to using arduino board. I will like to connect my samsung s3 to a medical device via a an ardunio board.
The first idea is to send/recieve data to/from the phone to the medica device via usb on an arduino board and the medical device recieve/send data from/to my phone via usb on the arduino board.
The second idea is send/recieve data to/from the phone to the medica device via WIFI on an arduino board via usb and the medical device recieve/send data from/to my phone via usb on the ardunio board.
Thanks for your proposed solutions.
All problems, including this one are best approached in increments. In this particular case, I assume you already have an arduino with a WiFi shield and a Samsung s3.
You don't mention the medical device or how it is programmed. But first, concentrate on how to get the Samsung to talk to your PC via wireless. In doing this you will learn a lot about how to write code for the Samsung and how to write code for a PC/Wireless connection. There are probably already sample applications that do this.
Next, identify how the arduino board will connected to the medical device and make the same connection from the arduino to your PC. Get this connection to work. I know there are many examples of how to do this.
Next, get the Samsung to talk just to the arduino board which maybe turns on an LED. Since you already learned how to code the Samsung to do wireless in the first step, then this step might be easy.
Next, connect the arduino to the PC and have the Arduino pass data back and forth between the PC and the Samsung.
After you have this "stack" of: Samsung <==> Arduino <==> PC working then consider what it would take to replace the PC with a medical device so that you have:
Samsung <==> Arduino <==> Medical Device
You can design your own series of incremental steps based on your more specific knowledge of the devices that you have. But the idea is the same, each step is something easy to do and easy to debug. But taking all the steps results in a complex system!
No one is able to do what you want on the first try (unless they have already developed the same or similar system). But everyone is capable of learning new material, if they are persistent.
Please keep me informed as you work on this, it is an interesting project!!

Web cam type video camera to iPad2 streaming over wired communication

I want to develop an App that requires wired communication between Web cam type video camera and iPad2. Basically I will directly connect Web cam and iPad2 using cable and when I start web cam, whatever images(picture/video) captured by web cam should be displayed on iPad2.
Based on my research on this I found that iPad2 cable is only made for iPod Program so the connector is not a traditional USB port I can't do direct communication between web cam and iPad2. Am I missing anything?
We are going to use Vivotek camera and they have mentioned here that we can use safari to receive the Motion-JPEG stream. I am wondering if that could also possible on iPad 2 and is it reliable?
Further I found Apple's MFi Program to develop electronic accessories that connect to iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Is there anyone out here used this already and know more about this if I can go for this?
Thanks.
You can receive a motion jpeg stream in mobile Safari or in a UIWebView in a custom app. I am not able to (yet) successfully receive a motion jpeg stream via an AVPlayer, AVPlayerItem or AVURLAsset.
Becoming a MFI authorized company is non-trivial (I tried once). They want larger established companies that have demonstrated they have the skills and manufacturing know-how/contacts to produce quality accessories.
Curious if you can step back from your initial requirement and see if you can figure out how to do it wirelessly for at least the last step to the iPad 2. Can go wired up to 2 feet away from the iPad and use a local private wifi network for that last 2 feet (say).
I recommend you add (use existing, or purchase) a wireless gateway. Connect the camera to the gateway, and then connect the iPAD to the wireless network, and then browse in safari to the camera and then you can view the image. There is no "hard wired" way to get this to work.
As for the "hard wired" portion of the question, I do not believe that is not possible without a lot of work and hardware. There is no "video in" on an ipad to make it a monitor for a camera.

GPS modem that can send data to our server

We are planning for vehicle tracking system. We would like to relay on GPS Tracking System and view position report via Google Maps.
For hardware requirement we are thinking of GPS modem that can transmit data to our system.
Which GPD Modem is suitable for my project?
Use a smartphone. Haha.
On a more serious note, since it's for vehicular application only, there are a lot of companies that manufacture GPS modules (u-blox is one of them). Just google and you'll find thousands of companies manufacturing them. But before you choose a GPS module, make sure you check the regulations of your target country. If the module works on the Iridium satellite network, countries like India & China won't allow it as Iridium frequency is close to their military frequencies. In Europe you'll be better off with the Inmarsat network. So, do your homework & you should be good.
Also, if you're developing your own map interface, you might wanna ask the manufacturer if they have any existing mapping interface you can hook into or disable. You mag be charged for either.
All the best!
Are mobile networks (like GSM/GPRS/UMTS) available where you are?
if so check-out the tracking products from this site or this site (Google keywords: GPS GPRS)
If not, you should consider a custom solution, maybe someone like this company can help...
I have worked on a project that involved sending data over GSM/CDMA network. It used a simple GSM/CDMA modem connected to an embedded linux device and was a stationary piece of hardware. Attach a GPS device and it may very well be a tracking system. The problem is when the network drops or the device moves out of the network coverage area. I am not sure if there any GSM/CDMA modem available with GPS added to them as we didn't have this facility in our hardware and it was very much desirable. We needed to use a separate GPS device, mostly iPhone, separately to determine the lat long of our device.
You can use any GSM/GPRS modem equipped with GPS device. The modem will forward the GPS data to your central server through GPRS and at the server side you just need to process rcvd data and display it on google maps.