A julia wrapper for the ASI Camera interface.
Please note that this is my first julia project, so suggestions for improvements are welcome!
To install this package, spin up julia, hit the ']' key to enter the package manager, then type:
pkg> add LibASICamera # works, as soon as this package is registered
#or
pkg> add https://github.com/AlfTetzlaff/LibASICamera.jlThe ZWO ASI SDK will be downloaded in the background. Please note that (on Linux) you have to install the udev rules for the cameras. Run
pkg> build -v LibASICamerato get the command to run in order to install the udev rules.
Or in your terminal, run:
sudo install /path/to/asi.rules /lib/udev/rules.d
Download and install the camera driver from here.
The wrapper was written and tested on Linux. In principle it should work on Windows and Mac as well, but I couldn't test it so far.
You can then connect the camera and run partial tests on functionality by typing in the package manager:
pkg> test LibASICameraGet the connected devices and open them:
devices = get_connected_devices()
cam = devices[1]Query information about the camera, like resolution or pixel size:
@show get_camera_property(cam)
#or
@show cam.infoGet the parameters, which can be controlled or queried by the user, like gain, exposure or temperature:
@show get_control_caps(cam)
# or
@show cam.control_capsGet and set a control value, for some, special shorthand functions exist:
value, is_auto_controlled = get_control_value(cam, ASI_GAIN)
set_control_value(cam, ASI_GAIN, value, is_auto_controlled)
set_gain(cam, value)
get_temperature(cam)Take a still image:
set_gain(cam, 30) # example values
set_exposure(cam, 500)
img = capture_still(cam)Take a video using Makie:
using LibASICamera
using Makie
devices = get_connected_devices()
cam = devices[1]
set_gain(cam, 30, true) # example values
set_exposure(cam, 500, true)
function capture_video(cam::ASICamera)
# Camera stuff setup
width, height, binning, img_type = get_roi_format(cam)
buffer = allocate_buffer(width, height, img_type)
# Makie scene setup
colorrange = img_type == ASI_IMG_RAW16 ? 2^16-1 : 255
scene = Scene()
img = image!(scene, buffer, show_axis = false, scale_plot = false, colorrange=(0,colorrange))[end]
display(scene)
function video_loop()
err = ASI_SUCCESS
while isopen(scene) && err == ASI_SUCCESS
err = get_video_data!(cam, buffer, 5000)
img[1] = buffer[end:-1:1, :] # for some reason we have to flip x
yield()
end
println(err)
end
start_video(cam)
video_loop()
stop_video(cam)
end
@async t = capture_video(cam)
stop_video(cam)
# Always close the camera at the end
close_camera(cam)The above example runs the video capturing asynchronously in the main thread. You might notice that the REPL input gets sluggish under certain circumstances (exposure times, bandwidth settings and depending on your hardware). This can be resolved by moving the video capturing to another process using Distributed.jl:
using Distributed
addprocs(1)
nprocs()
#%%
@everywhere using LibASICamera
@everywhere using Makie
#%%
@everywhere function main()
cam = get_connected_devices()[1]
set_exposure(cam, 500, true)
set_gain(cam, 30)
set_control_value(cam, ASI_BANDWIDTHOVERLOAD, 90)
set_control_value(cam, ASI_HIGH_SPEED_MODE, false)
set_roi_format(cam, 1280, 960, 1, ASI_IMG_RAW8)
# set_roi_format(cam, 640, 480, 2, ASI_IMG_RAW8)
# set_roi_format(cam, 640, 480, 1, ASI_IMG_RAW8)
# set_roi_format(cam, 320, 240, 1, ASI_IMG_RAW8)
# set_roi_format(cam, 168, 128, 1, ASI_IMG_RAW8)
function capture_video(cam::ASICamera)
# Camera stuff setup
width, height, binning, img_type = get_roi_format(cam)
buffer = allocate_buffer(width, height, img_type)
# Makie scene setup
colorrange = img_type == ASI_IMG_RAW16 ? 2^16-1 : 255
scene = Scene()
img = image!(scene, buffer, show_axis = false, scale_plot = false, colorrange=(0,colorrange))[end]
t = text!(scene, "0 FPS", color=:yellow, position=(width, height), align=(:top, :right), textsize=Int(height/16))
display(scene)
function video_loop(cam, buffer, img, t)
err = ASI_SUCCESS
while isopen(scene) && err == ASI_SUCCESS
t0 = time_ns()
err = get_video_data!(cam, buffer, 5000)
img[1] = buffer[end:-1:1, :] # for some reason we have to flip x
t1 = time_ns()
t[end][1] = string(round(1. /(Float64(t1-t0)/1E9), digits=1), " FPS")
yield()
end
println(err)
end
start_video(cam)
video_loop(cam, buffer, img, t)
stop_video(cam)
end
capture_video(cam)
close_camera(cam)
end
remotecall(main, 2)If you encounter any issues, don't hesitate to ask!