We offer two host options that we have tested: Windows/Mac laptop and Raspberry Pi. Both options work great and each has its unique advantages which we describe below.
Windows/Mac laptop
In this case you will use a windows or mac laptop as your host. This means that this will be your central unit which controls all the other components in the setup. Please keep in mind that you will still need a raspberry pi (pi) to interface with some of the sensors.
The advantage of using a windows or mac laptop/tablet is that these have a screen, keyboard and mouse so you don’t have to purchase these separately and mount them in a way that it is comfortable to work with.
The disadvantage is that you will need a pi anyway so you may find it more convenient to have everything running in the pi instead of having two separate computers. Also the price, it may be cheaper to get a pi, display, mouse and keyboard than a windows or mac machine if you don’t have one laying around that you can repurpose.
Step by step, how to get your machine ready
Raspberry Pi Setup Instructions:
Download Raspberry Pi Imager software from this link and install on your Windows or Mac OS.
Launch the Raspberry Pi Imager, and click on “CHOOSE OS” button.
From the main menu, choose “Raspberry Pi OS (other)”.
From the list of available OSs, choose the option of “Raspberry Pi OS (64-bit)”.
Next, select your external storage device by clicking on “CHOOSE STORAGE”.
Then click on “WRITE” button. Click on “YES” in the pop-up dialogue to start the process.
Once the process is finished, user is prompted to remove the storage device.
Put the external storage device in the Raspberry Pi and boot it up. Follow the instructions to setup the Raspberry Pi. Once the setup process is done, launch a terminal window and type in the following command to verify the architecture:
uname -m >> aarch64
Modify the bulk transfer rate configuration file as follows:
sudo nano /etc/rc.local
Add this at the end of the file right before 'exit 0':
sudo sh -c 'echo 150 > /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/usbfs_memory_mb'
Save the file and reboot. Make sure of changes by running below in command prompt:
cat /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/usbfs_memory_mb >> 150
Install package by running the command in RPi terminal
sudo apt install autoconf libtool libudev-dev gcc g++ make cmake unzip libxml2-dev
Go to site: https://support.d-imaging.sony.co.jp/app/sdk/licenseagreement_d/en-US.html
Download the SDK by the name:
Extract the contents of the zip in a folder. I have extracted the contents in 'SDK' directory in '/home/bb-pi/'.
In the terminal type in the following commands:
cd SDK mkdir build cd build cmake -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release .. cmake --build .
Once the application builds successfully, connect the camera to the RPi using a USB cable and launch the application by
./RemoteCli
Download Miniforge using the below link:
https://github.com/conda-forge/miniforge/releases/latest/download/Miniforge3-Linux-aarch64.sh
Run below commands to install it:
cd ~/Downloads bash Miniforge3-Linux-aarch64.sh
Create conda env with python 3.9 using below command:
conda create -n bbot python=3.9
Install PyQt5 in raspberry pi using below commands:
sudo apt-get install qtbase5-dev qtchooser sudo apt-get install qt5-qmake qtbase5-dev-tools sudo apt-get install qtdeclarative5-dev
Install PyQt in conda environment:
conda activate bbot conda install -c conda-forge pyqt
Install required packages:
conda install pandas conda install -c anaconda openpyxl conda install -c conda-forge python-dotenv
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