Camera Setup & Object Detection — Research 1
Camera hardware setup, multi-node frame acquisition, synchronization, and bill of materials for the Jarvis capstone project.
Research Area 1 · Hardware & Acquisition
Research 1: Camera Setup & Hardware Pipeline
Investigating multi-viewpoint optical coverage, synchronized frame capture, network transfer across Linux host nodes, and hardware bill of materials.
Research Question 1
How reliably can timestamped frames from opposing viewpoints across two networked Linux nodes be synchronized and transferred at configurable intervals without frame drops, latency spikes, or timestamp drift?
Acceptance & Test Cases
- Capture timestamped still frames from the primary Logitech BRIO camera via FFmpeg at a 10-second interval
- Receive frames from a secondary camera on the opposite wall transferred over SSH/NetBird from a second Linux computer
- Preserve original timestamped raw captures in a local storage archive for downstream evaluation and replay
- Maintain frame timestamp synchronization within ±500ms between opposite viewpoint nodes
- Ensure continuous remote diagnostics and camera device monitoring without interrupting live capture
Bill of Materials & Hardware Status
The current testbed uses one Logitech BRIO connected to a primary Linux machine. The target multi-view setup introduces a second camera node.
| Item | Status | Purpose / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Logitech BRIO 4K webcam | CURRENT | Primary classroom camera; accessible on Linux through /dev/video* and validated with FFmpeg/ffplay. |
| Main Linux computer | CURRENT | Captures primary stream, stores centralized frame archive, and executes the Python processing pipeline. |
| Second Logitech BRIO camera | PLANNED | Opposite-side viewpoint to eliminate occlusion zones and evaluate multi-camera triangulation. |
| Second Linux capture computer | PLANNED | Dedicated secondary edge node for remote camera ingest and automated frame transmission. |
| Camera mounts & rigging | PLANNED | Elevated wall mounts to stabilize perspective angles for consistent spatial calibration. |
| Active USB 3.0 extension cabling | AS NEEDED | Maintains signal integrity over extended cable lengths from elevated mounting positions to host machines. |
| NetBird / Local mesh connection | TESTED | Secure inter-node peer communication and remote monitoring across isolated subnets. |
Camera Placement Rationale: Mounting two cameras on opposing diagonal corners maximizes surface visibility across desks while providing redundant observations when students or chairs block a single line of sight.
Open Issues & Next Milestones
- Mounting & Calibration: Finalize non-invasive mounting fixtures and measure lens distortion across wide-angle FOV settings.
- Lighting Variations: Evaluate sensor auto-exposure adjustments during morning sunlight vs. artificial overhead fluorescent lighting.
- Storage Retention: Establish automated rolling pruning policies for raw frame archives to prevent disk exhaustion.