Help needed... starting from an Ip Camera

[archived]

Hi everybody!

Above all, thank you all for creating Pluto!

I installed successfully Pluto and I am trying to configure it to do specific tasks regarding first surveillance and later sensor driven process monitoring.
Let's focus on the first: I encountered my first problems adding an Ip Camera not listed in the Device Template

section of the Admin Website.

My hardware is a Cam made by 3JTech (http://www.3jtech.com.tw/ip_cameras.htm) model eCAMit III.

The cam was previously configured via serial port on another pc it was in use on and brings an internal static IP.

It does not work with DHCP.
I plugged it into system directly into the Core (a standalone/hybrid) and I can ping the Ip address of the cam.

I followed this path:

1 - I created a Device Template (e-camit) with a new manufacturer, (3jtech) associated with the Category #93,

(Peripherals - Surveillance cameras).
The device is controled via DCE Router and Orbiter.
I marked it as an Audio/video device and "is IP Based" and inherit mac from pc.

Device Data:
Device(string): what to write here? I wrote "ecamera"

Commands:
I checked "Camera commands", "Ruby internal Commands" and  "Generic IO Commands" (I set the value "1" in the On command) .


2 - Then I added a new top level device:
I named it "Camera1", associated to the device template "e-camit" .
It's controlled via "OnScreen Orbiter".
Room: Cucina
IP Address: 192.168......
Mac Address: this field is blank, who has to fill it? Does Pluto or I?
Ignore On/Off: off
ok reconfigure device

I left all other parameters blank except for:
Device data:
Device(string): cam1
PK_FloorplanObjectType(int): 0

I'd like to know wether my configuration is good or not. I'm sure it is NOT.

3 - Then I edited a new scenario under the Security scenarios:

Description: camera1 scenario
Hint: blank
Array type: Security scenarios
Design Obj: blank
Template: Security - View camera
Associated to the room "Cucina"

Commands:
Camera1 - Cucina: Get Video Frame and I left all the fields blank. What to do?

Once done this, I regenerate my on screen Orbiter and the result was that a new button appeared under the Security Scenario.

scenario in the room Cucina. If I click on this button nothing happens.

I tried to do the same with a cam device/template created over the Panasonic IP cam model and it worked, unless that i cannot view the image from the cam.... at least here i succeed in viewing something.

Probably I misconfigured something previously well done and now it doesn't work at all... Any click on the buttons does not produce anything.

Please help me, even if I have few basic informations about Linux and programming (but not so rookie) and have a desperate need of using a system like Pluto.

I thank in advance the people who will help me.

With my kindest regards,
Enzo Ciliberto

[archived]

Hi Enzo,

If we already had a driver for your camera, it would be very easy.  In the installation wizard under Wizard/Devices/Cameras, you would just click 'add camera', choose the model, and then under Wizard/Scenarios/Security, just check the box for the camera.  That's it.

But this is more difficult since theere is no driver (or device template).  Creating a new driver will always require some work.  However, it's not a major task like creating a driver in Windows since we have helper wizards that do most of the work for you.

So regarding your points 2 and 3, the easiest is just to delete the device you created (not the device template, which defines the device, just the device).  And delete the scenario.  Then use the wizard like I mentioned above to add the camera and the scenario.  Once that's done, on the orbiter click the 'advanced' button (the pluto logo in the lower left corner), click 'regen this orbiter'.  when the orbiter regens you will have a button to view your camera.  And if you click that button, and in then watch the DCERouter's log in Pluto admin, you will see that the orbiter is sending a "Get Video Frame" request to the camera to pull the video.

Of course, at this point although the framework is done, there is no driver for the camera.  So you'll see in DCERouter's log an error that the orbiter is trying to communicate with a device that hasn't registered.

So, before the camera will work, we will need to create a driver for it.  In windows it probably came with a driver.  So, we'll need a driver for Pluto--a DCE Device.  This document explains how to do it: http://plutohome.com/support/index.php?section=document&docID=51  There are 2 ways: C++ and Ruby.  Ruby is quicker and easier.  If this is not something you can do, what you can do is enable the 'remote assistance' option, and that will allow one of our programmers to login and work on the driver for you.

It sounds like you created your device template OK.  For our purposes a camera isn't considered an audio/video device--by A/V we mean TV's, Stereos, etc.  But that won't hurt anything.

As far as controlled via, rather than specifying 'controlled via device tempalte', delete those and choose controlled via device category, and choose the category "computer".  What that means is that the driver will run on anything that is a computer.

What you chose for DeviceData entirely depends on the driver.  When we write the driver we figure out what data parameters the driver needs, based on the device.  At this point I don't know what (if any) data parameters it will need.  There may be some settings like "color or black & white", or maybe "picture quality", or "motion detection", stuff like that.  When we do the drivers we'll figureout what to put here.

The only commands that a camera needs to implement are "Camera Commands".  That's the only box you need to check.  

Take a look at the programmer's guide document and see how much makes sense and if you want to do the driver, or want our help.  We're bringing in more programmers now to work on adding drivers, since it's such a common request, but they're still in training, so it will be a couple of weeks before we can have someone get to it.

Aaron