TechNexion USB Camera User Guide
Introduction
This article guides you how to get started using TechNexion USB camera on Windows and Linux.
Supported Camera Modules
| Camera Series | Products |
|---|---|
| VCI | VCI-AR0144 VCI-AR0145 VCI-AR0234 VCI-AR0521 VCI-AR0522 VCI-AR0821 VCI-AR0822 VCI-AR1335 |
| UVC-VLS3 | UVC-VLS3-AR0144 UVC-VLS3-AR0145 UVC-VLS3-AR0234 UVC-VLS3-AR0521 UVC-VLS3-AR0522 UVC-VLS3-AR0821 UVC-VLS3-AR0822 UVC-VLS3-AR1335 |
More Camera Products Details...
How to use
There are several methods to use the camera when you connect it to a computer or embedded development kit via a USB cable.
Method 1 - Using TechNexion VizionViewer (Windows/Linux)
Method 2 - Using V4L2 Control (Linux)
-
List all devices.
$ v4l2-ctl --list-device
VCI-AR0144-C (usb-xhci-hcd.1.auto-1.2):
/dev/video0
/dev/video1
/dev/media0 -
List camera formats.
$ v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --list-formats-ext
ioctl: VIDIOC_ENUM_FMT
Type: Video Capture
[0]: 'UYVY' (UYVY 4:2:2)
Size: Discrete 1280x800
Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 1280x720
Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 640x480
Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
[1]: 'MJPG' (Motion-JPEG, compressed)
Size: Discrete 1280x800
Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 1280x720
Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps)
Size: Discrete 640x480
Interval: Discrete 0.017s (60.000 fps)
Interval: Discrete 0.033s (30.000 fps) -
List camera v4l2 controls.
$ v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --list-ctrls
User Controls
brightness 0x00980900 (int) : min=0 max=32 step=4 default=16 value=16
contrast 0x00980901 (int) : min=0 max=10 step=1 default=5 value=5
saturation 0x00980902 (int) : min=0 max=80 step=8 default=16 value=16
white_balance_automatic 0x0098090c (bool) : default=1 value=1
gamma 0x00980910 (int) : min=0 max=40 step=1 default=18 value=18
gain 0x00980913 (int) : min=1 max=48 step=1 default=1 value=1
power_line_frequency 0x00980918 (menu) : min=0 max=2 default=0 value=0 (Disabled)
white_balance_temperature 0x0098091a (int) : min=2300 max=15000 step=1 default=5000 value=5000 flags=inactive
sharpness 0x0098091b (int) : min=0 max=64 step=8 default=32 value=32
backlight_compensation 0x0098091c (int) : min=0 max=480 step=8 default=256 value=256
Camera Controls
auto_exposure 0x009a0901 (menu) : min=0 max=3 default=0 value=0 (Auto Mode)
exposure_time_absolute 0x009a0902 (int) : min=1 max=10000 step=1 default=330 value=100 flags=inactive
pan_absolute 0x009a0908 (int) : min=-648000 max=648000 step=3600 default=0 value=0
tilt_absolute 0x009a0909 (int) : min=-648000 max=648000 step=3600 default=0 value=0
zoom_absolute 0x009a090d (int) : min=100 max=800 step=1 default=100 value=100 -
Camera streaming test with UYVY format.
$ v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=pixelformat=UYVY,width=1280,height=800 --stream-mmap
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 59.84 fps
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 59.85 fpsnoteUsing "Ctrl+C " to exit v4l2 streaming.
-
Camera streaming test with MJPG format.
$ v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-fmt-video=pixelformat=MJPG,width=1280,height=800 --stream-mmap
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 59.84 fps
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< 59.85 fpsnoteUsing "Ctrl+C " to exit v4l2 streaming.
Method 3 - Using GStreamer (Linux)
-
List all devices and formats.
$ gst-device-monitor-1.0
Device found:
name : VCI-AR0144-C
class : Video/Source
caps : video/x-raw, format=UYVY, width=1280, height=800, pixel-aspect-ratio=1/1, framerate={ (fraction)60/1, (fraction)30/1 }
video/x-raw, format=UYVY, width=1280, height=720, pixel-aspect-ratio=1/1, framerate={ (fraction)60/1, (fraction)30/1 }
video/x-raw, format=UYVY, width=640, height=480, pixel-aspect-ratio=1/1, framerate={ (fraction)60/1, (fraction)30/1 }
image/jpeg, parsed=true, width=1280, height=800, pixel-aspect-ratio=1/1, framerate={ (fraction)60/1, (fraction)30/1 }
image/jpeg, parsed=true, width=1280, height=720, pixel-aspect-ratio=1/1, framerate={ (fraction)60/1, (fraction)30/1 }
image/jpeg, parsed=true, width=640, height=480, pixel-aspect-ratio=1/1, framerate={ (fraction)60/1, (fraction)30/1 }
properties:
udev-probed = true
device.bus_path = platform-xhci-hcd.1.auto-usb-0:1.2:1.0
sysfs.path = /sys/devices/platform/soc@0/32f10108.usb/38200000.usb/xhci-hcd.1.auto/usb2/2-1/2-1.2/2-1.2:1.0/video4linux/video0
device.bus = usb
device.subsystem = video4linux
device.vendor.id = 3407
device.vendor.name = TechNexion
device.product.id = 0144
device.product.name = VCI-AR0144-C
device.serial = TechNexion_VCI-AR0144-C_000000008E604600A159178868A11A1A
device.capabilities = :capture:
device.api = v4l2
device.path = /dev/video0
v4l2.device.driver = uvcvideo
v4l2.device.card = VCI-AR0144-C
v4l2.device.bus_info = usb-xhci-hcd.1.auto-1.2
v4l2.device.version = 393527 (0x00060137)
v4l2.device.capabilities = 2225078273 (0x84a00001)
v4l2.device.device_caps = 69206017 (0x04200001)
gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src ! ... -
Preview with UYVY format.
$ gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! "video/x-raw, format=(string)UYVY, width=(int)1280, height=(int)800" ! videoconvert ! autovideosink sync=false -
Preview with MJPG format.
$ gst-launch-1.0 v4l2src device=/dev/video0 ! "image/jpeg, width=(int)1280, height=(int)800" ! jpegdec ! autovideosink sync=falsenoteGStreamer element
The element depends on your system, so the example may not be suitable for your system.
Troubleshooting
-
Auto-suspend
Since the camera's standby power consumption is low, the system may disconnect camera through the auto-suspend function as like below.
[86452.959044] usb 2-1.2: new SuperSpeed USB device number 5 using xhci-hcd
[86452.983505] usb 2-1.2: LPM exit latency is zeroed, disabling LPM.
[86453.022662] usb 2-1.2: Found UVC 1.10 device VCI-AR0144-C (3407:0144)
[86453.139540] input: VCI-AR0144-C as /devices/platform/soc@0/32f10108.usb/38200000.usb/xhci-hcd.1.auto/usb2/2-1/2-1.2/2-1.2:1.0/input/input8
[86467.470212] usb 2-1.2: USB disconnect, device number 5
[86468.959511] usb 2-1.2: new SuperSpeed USB device number 6 using xhci-hcd
[86468.983960] usb 2-1.2: LPM exit latency is zeroed, disabling LPM.
[86469.022673] usb 2-1.2: Found UVC 1.10 device VCI-AR0144-C (3407:0144)
[86469.139501] input: VCI-AR0144-C as /devices/platform/soc@0/32f10108.usb/38200000.usb/xhci-hcd.1.auto/usb2/2-1/2-1.2/2-1.2:1.0/input/input9
[86472.078213] usb 2-1.2: USB disconnect, device number 6You can first check flag of auto-suspend and modify it to turn off this function.
$ cat /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/autosuspend
2
$ echo -1 > /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/autosuspendAfter turning off auto-suspend, you need to reconnect the camera.
-
Floating framerate
Because of the product feature "Designed for Low Light Applications ", the camera will increase exposure time via automatic exposure mode to maintain image quality in low-light environment. You can change the camera to manual exposure mode to keep the framerate. However, if you increase exposure gain in low-light environment, you will see more noise.
$ v4l2-ctl -d /dev/video0 --set-ctrl auto_exposure=1The other way, you can use VizionViewer™ or VizionCTL to change to AGC mode (Auto gain control, Manual exposure time).