> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/autorope/donkeycar/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Camera Parts API

> Camera input parts for image capture from various hardware platforms

Camera parts capture image data from various camera hardware including Raspberry Pi cameras, webcams, CSI cameras, and mock cameras for testing.

## Base Classes

### BaseCamera

Base class for all camera implementations.

**Methods:**

<ParamField path="run_threaded" type="() -> np.ndarray">
  Returns the most recently captured frame
</ParamField>

## Camera Implementations

### PiCamera

Raspberry Pi camera using the Picamera2 library (Bullseye and later).

**Constructor:**

```python theme={null}
PiCamera(image_w=160, image_h=120, image_d=3, vflip=False, hflip=False)
```

<ParamField path="image_w" type="int" default="160">
  Image width in pixels
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="image_h" type="int" default="120">
  Image height in pixels
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="image_d" type="int" default="3">
  Image depth/channels (3 for RGB, 1 for grayscale)
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="vflip" type="bool" default="false">
  Flip image vertically
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="hflip" type="bool" default="false">
  Flip image horizontally
</ParamField>

**Methods:**

<ParamField path="run" type="() -> np.ndarray">
  Captures and returns a new frame from the camera buffer
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="update" type="() -> None">
  Continuously captures frames in a threaded loop
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="shutdown" type="() -> None">
  Stops the camera and releases resources
</ParamField>

**Usage Example:**

```python theme={null}
from donkeycar.parts.camera import PiCamera

# Create camera with custom resolution
cam = PiCamera(image_w=160, image_h=120, vflip=True)

# Get a frame
frame = cam.run()

# For threaded mode
import threading
thread = threading.Thread(target=cam.update)
thread.start()
frame = cam.run_threaded()
```

### Webcam

USB webcam using pygame camera interface.

**Constructor:**

```python theme={null}
Webcam(image_w=160, image_h=120, image_d=3, framerate=20, camera_index=0)
```

<ParamField path="image_w" type="int" default="160">
  Image width in pixels
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="image_h" type="int" default="120">
  Image height in pixels
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="image_d" type="int" default="3">
  Image depth/channels (3 for RGB, 1 for grayscale)
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="framerate" type="int" default="20">
  Target framerate in Hz
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="camera_index" type="int" default="0">
  Index of the camera device to use
</ParamField>

**Installation:**

```bash theme={null}
sudo apt-get install libsdl2-mixer-2.0-0 libsdl2-image-2.0-0 libsdl2-2.0-0
pip install pygame
```

**Methods:**

<ParamField path="run" type="() -> np.ndarray">
  Captures and returns a new frame
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="update" type="() -> None">
  Continuously captures frames at the specified framerate
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="shutdown" type="() -> None">
  Stops the camera and releases resources
</ParamField>

### CSICamera

Jetson Nano CSI camera using GStreamer.

**Constructor:**

```python theme={null}
CSICamera(image_w=160, image_h=120, image_d=3, capture_width=3280, 
          capture_height=2464, framerate=60, gstreamer_flip=0)
```

<ParamField path="image_w" type="int" default="160">
  Output image width in pixels
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="image_h" type="int" default="120">
  Output image height in pixels
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="image_d" type="int" default="3">
  Image depth/channels
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="capture_width" type="int" default="3280">
  Sensor capture width
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="capture_height" type="int" default="2464">
  Sensor capture height
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="framerate" type="int" default="60">
  Camera framerate
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="gstreamer_flip" type="int" default="0">
  Flip method: 0=none, 1=rotate CCW 90°, 2=flip vertical, 3=rotate CW 90°
</ParamField>

**Methods:**

<ParamField path="run" type="() -> np.ndarray">
  Captures and returns a new frame
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="update" type="() -> None">
  Continuously captures frames in a threaded loop
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="shutdown" type="() -> None">
  Stops the camera and releases resources
</ParamField>

### V4LCamera

Video4Linux camera using v4l2capture library.

**Constructor:**

```python theme={null}
V4LCamera(image_w=160, image_h=120, image_d=3, framerate=20,
          dev_fn="/dev/video0", fourcc='MJPG')
```

<ParamField path="image_w" type="int" default="160">
  Image width in pixels
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="image_h" type="int" default="120">
  Image height in pixels
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="dev_fn" type="str" default="/dev/video0">
  Video device path
</ParamField>

<ParamField path="fourcc" type="str" default="MJPG">
  Video format FourCC code
</ParamField>

**Installation:**

```bash theme={null}
sudo apt-get install libv4l-dev
pip install python3-v4l2capture
```

## Mock/Testing Cameras

### MockCamera

Returns a static image for testing.

**Constructor:**

```python theme={null}
MockCamera(image_w=160, image_h=120, image_d=3, image=None)
```

<ParamField path="image" type="np.ndarray" default="None">
  Optional image array to use. If None, creates a blank image.
</ParamField>

### ImageListCamera

Returns images from a directory in sequence.

**Constructor:**

```python theme={null}
ImageListCamera(path_mask='~/mycar/data/**/images/*.jpg')
```

<ParamField path="path_mask" type="str">
  Glob pattern for image files
</ParamField>

**Methods:**

<ParamField path="run_threaded" type="() -> np.ndarray">
  Returns the next image in the sequence
</ParamField>

## Configuration

Cameras are typically configured in `myconfig.py`:

```python theme={null}
# Camera settings
CAMERA_TYPE = "PICAM"  # PICAM, WEBCAM, CVCAM, CSIC, etc.
IMAGE_W = 160
IMAGE_H = 120
IMAGE_DEPTH = 3
CAMERA_FRAMERATE = 20
CAMERA_VFLIP = False
CAMERA_HFLIP = False
```

## Integration Example

From templates like `complete.py`:

```python theme={null}
if cfg.CAMERA_TYPE == "PICAM":
    from donkeycar.parts.camera import PiCamera
    cam = PiCamera(image_w=cfg.IMAGE_W, image_h=cfg.IMAGE_H,
                   image_d=cfg.IMAGE_DEPTH, vflip=cfg.CAMERA_VFLIP)
elif cfg.CAMERA_TYPE == "WEBCAM":
    from donkeycar.parts.camera import Webcam
    cam = Webcam(image_w=cfg.IMAGE_W, image_h=cfg.IMAGE_H,
                 image_d=cfg.IMAGE_DEPTH)

V.add(cam, outputs=['cam/image_array'], threaded=True)
```