add dora-webcam node
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Captures frames from a V4L2 camera and publishes them as std/media/v1/Image:
an Arrow struct of width, height, encoding and data, so a receiver needs
nothing from the message metadata. For a compressed encoding the recorded
dimensions are the image's, not the length of the payload.

Based on opencv-video-capture from dora-hub, with three changes. The output is
the typed image struct rather than a flat UInt8 buffer plus metadata. Camera
selection by id reads /dev/v4l/by-id/ only; the upstream macOS system_profiler
and Windows PowerShell enumeration is not carried. CAPTURE_FRAMES bounds a run
so a test ends on its own, in place of upstream's ten-second CI cutoff -- a
timeout would have made the CI step exit non-zero.

CI=true keeps a failed capture from raising, publishing a labelled black frame
instead, which is what lets dataflow.yml run on a machine with no camera.

Two dataflows, run one at a time, as dora has no cross-dataflow wiring:
dataflow.yml is the camera alone and the CI gate; dataflow_view.yml wires it
into dora-image-view and is not run by CI, since it fetches that node over the
network and needs a tag to exist there.
This commit is contained in:
2026-09-15 06:04:25 -03:00
commit 3c0e0f327d
16 changed files with 1647 additions and 0 deletions
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"""Dora node that captures webcam frames and publishes them as std/media/v1/Image."""
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"""Opening a capture device and reading frames from it."""
import os
import platform
import cv2
import numpy as np
BY_ID = "/dev/v4l/by-id/"
# Size of the frame substituted when a read fails under CI.
PLACEHOLDER = (480, 640)
def resolve(camera_id: str | None, capture_path: str | int) -> str | int:
"""Decide which device to open.
Parameters
----------
camera_id : str or None
Substring of an entry in ``/dev/v4l/by-id/``. A by-id name is stable
across reboots and across which USB port a camera is in, unlike an
index, so it takes precedence when set.
capture_path : str or int
Device path such as ``/dev/video1``, or an index. A numeric string is
read as an index.
Returns
-------
str or int
The argument to hand to ``cv2.VideoCapture``.
Raises
------
RuntimeError
If ``camera_id`` is set and matches no device.
"""
if camera_id:
index = _by_id(camera_id)
if index is None:
raise RuntimeError(
f"no camera matching id `{camera_id}`. "
f"{_hint()}",
)
return index
if isinstance(capture_path, str) and capture_path.isnumeric():
return int(capture_path)
return capture_path
def read(capture: cv2.VideoCapture, device: str | int, ci: bool) -> np.ndarray:
"""Read one frame, or a placeholder when running without a camera.
Parameters
----------
capture : cv2.VideoCapture
An opened capture device.
device : str or int
What was opened, used only in messages.
ci : bool
When true, a failed read yields a labelled black frame instead of
raising. This is what lets the dataflow run on a machine with no
camera, which is every CI runner.
Returns
-------
np.ndarray
A BGR frame.
Raises
------
RuntimeError
If the read fails and ``ci`` is false.
"""
ok, frame = capture.read()
if ok:
return frame
if not ci:
raise RuntimeError(
f"could not read a frame from `{device}`. To keep a dataflow "
f"running across a camera disconnect, set `restart_policy: "
f"on-failure` on this node.",
)
return placeholder(f"no frame from {device}")
def placeholder(message: str) -> np.ndarray:
"""Build the black frame that stands in for a camera that did not read.
Parameters
----------
message : str
Text drawn on the frame, so a recording shows why it is black.
Returns
-------
np.ndarray
A BGR frame of size ``PLACEHOLDER``.
"""
frame = np.zeros((*PLACEHOLDER, 3), dtype=np.uint8)
cv2.putText(
frame,
message,
(30, 30),
cv2.FONT_HERSHEY_SIMPLEX,
0.5,
(255, 255, 255),
1,
)
return frame
def _by_id(camera_id: str) -> int | None:
"""Find the /dev/videoN index whose by-id name contains `camera_id`."""
if not os.path.isdir(BY_ID):
return None
for entry in sorted(os.listdir(BY_ID)):
if camera_id.lower() not in entry.lower():
continue
target = os.path.realpath(os.path.join(BY_ID, entry))
if target.startswith("/dev/video"):
return int(target.removeprefix("/dev/video"))
return None
def _hint() -> str:
if platform.system() != "Linux":
return (
"Selecting a camera by id is implemented for Linux only; "
"use CAPTURE_PATH with an index or device path instead."
)
return f"Check {BY_ID} for the ids this machine offers."
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"""Turning a captured BGR frame into the bytes of a chosen encoding."""
import cv2
import numpy as np
# Compressed encodings, and the OpenCV file suffix each is written through.
COMPRESSED = {
"jpeg": ".jpeg",
"jpg": ".jpg",
"jpe": ".jpe",
"png": ".png",
"bmp": ".bmp",
"webp": ".webp",
}
RAW = ("bgr8", "rgb8", "yuv420")
SUPPORTED = (*RAW, *COMPRESSED)
def encode(frame: np.ndarray, encoding: str, jpeg_quality: int) -> np.ndarray:
"""Convert a BGR frame into the bytes of ``encoding``.
Parameters
----------
frame : np.ndarray
Captured frame, BGR, as OpenCV reads it.
encoding : str
One of ``SUPPORTED``.
jpeg_quality : int
Quality 0-100, consulted only for the JPEG encodings.
Returns
-------
np.ndarray
The bytes to publish. Its shape is not the image shape for a
compressed encoding, which is why the dimensions are recorded
separately.
Raises
------
RuntimeError
If ``encoding`` is unsupported, or the encoder fails.
"""
if encoding == "bgr8":
return frame
if encoding == "rgb8":
return cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2RGB)
if encoding == "yuv420":
return cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2YUV_I420)
if encoding in COMPRESSED:
params = (
[cv2.IMWRITE_JPEG_QUALITY, jpeg_quality]
if encoding in ("jpeg", "jpg", "jpe")
else []
)
ok, encoded = cv2.imencode(COMPRESSED[encoding], frame, params)
if not ok:
raise RuntimeError(f"could not encode the frame as {encoding}")
return encoded
raise RuntimeError(
f"unsupported encoding: {encoding}; expected one of {', '.join(SUPPORTED)}",
)
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"""Packing a frame as std/media/v1/Image.
The struct is respelled here rather than imported from the viewer: node
repositories share no source package, so the manifest and this schema are the
whole contract between them.
"""
import numpy as np
import pyarrow as pa
IMAGE_TYPE = pa.struct([
("width", pa.uint32()),
("height", pa.uint32()),
("encoding", pa.utf8()),
("data", pa.large_binary()),
])
def pack(frame: np.ndarray, encoding: str, width: int, height: int) -> pa.Array:
"""Pack encoded frame bytes as a single-row std/media/v1/Image array.
Parameters
----------
frame : np.ndarray
The bytes to send. Either a raw pixel buffer or the output of an
encoder; either way only its bytes are read.
encoding : str
Name of the encoding the bytes are in, e.g. ``bgr8`` or ``jpeg``.
width, height : int
Dimensions of the *image*, which for a compressed encoding are not the
shape of ``frame``. They are recorded so a receiver can size a buffer
without decoding first.
Returns
-------
pa.Array
One-row struct array matching ``IMAGE_TYPE``.
"""
return pa.array(
[{
"width": width,
"height": height,
"encoding": encoding,
"data": frame.tobytes(),
}],
type=IMAGE_TYPE,
)
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"""A dora webcam source: captures frames and publishes them as std/media/v1/Image.
Each `tick` reads one frame, optionally flips and resizes it, encodes it, and
sends it. The node stops when the tick input closes, or after CAPTURE_FRAMES
frames if that is set.
"""
import argparse
import os
import cv2
from dora import Node
from dora_webcam import camera, encode, image
FLIPS = {
"VERTICAL": 0,
"HORIZONTAL": 1,
"BOTH": -1,
}
def main() -> None:
"""Open the camera and publish one frame per tick."""
args = _parse_args()
device = camera.resolve(os.getenv("CAMERA_ID"), os.getenv("CAPTURE_PATH", "0"))
capture = cv2.VideoCapture(device)
width = _int("IMAGE_WIDTH")
height = _int("IMAGE_HEIGHT")
# Ask the camera for the size rather than only resizing after the fact: a
# camera that can deliver it natively avoids a scale per frame.
if width and height:
capture.set(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_WIDTH, width)
capture.set(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_HEIGHT, height)
encoding = os.getenv("ENCODING", "bgr8").lower()
quality = _int("JPEG_QUALITY") or 95
flip = FLIPS.get(os.getenv("FLIP", "").upper())
ci = os.getenv("CI") == "true"
# 0 runs until the tick closes; a positive count is what lets CI run the
# dataflow to completion instead of killing it on a timeout.
limit = _int("CAPTURE_FRAMES") or 0
node = Node(args.name)
sent = 0
try:
for event in node:
if event["type"] == "ERROR":
raise RuntimeError(event["error"])
if event["type"] == "INPUT_CLOSED" and event.get("id") == "tick":
break
if event["type"] != "INPUT" or event["id"] != "tick":
continue
frame = camera.read(capture, device, ci)
if flip is not None:
frame = cv2.flip(frame, flip)
if width and height and (frame.shape[1], frame.shape[0]) != (width, height):
frame = cv2.resize(frame, (width, height))
# Taken before encoding: a compressed payload's byte count is not
# its pixel dimensions.
frame_height, frame_width = frame.shape[:2]
node.send_output(
"image",
image.pack(
encode.encode(frame, encoding, quality),
encoding,
frame_width,
frame_height,
),
{},
)
sent += 1
if limit and sent >= limit:
break
finally:
capture.release()
def _parse_args() -> argparse.Namespace:
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
description="Dora webcam source: publishes captured frames as std/media/v1/Image.",
)
parser.add_argument(
"--name",
type=str,
default="dora-webcam",
# Passing the name lets the node also run standalone as a dynamic node;
# when dora spawns it, the id from the dataflow wins.
help="The name of the node in the dataflow.",
)
return parser.parse_args()
def _int(name: str) -> int | None:
"""Read an integer environment variable, treating unset and empty as absent."""
value = os.getenv(name)
return int(value) if value else None
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()