ContinuousCaptureAllDevices.cpp

The ContinuousCaptureAllDevices program is based on the ContinuousCapture.cpp example. It will try to open every device detected in the system and will display a live image with using the current settings stored for the individual device. Each live image will be displayed in a separate window.

Note

Please note that when there are a lot of devices connected to the system, the system might start to react slowly because of the massive amount of data it has to cope with. In that case the ContinuousCapture.cpp sample can be used to acquire live images from a particular device.

Program location

The source file ContinuousCaptureAllDevices.cpp can be found under:

%INSTALLDIR%\apps\ContinuousCaptureAllDevices\

Note

If you have installed the package without example applications, this file will not be available. On Windows® the sample application can be installed or removed from the target system at any time by simply restarting the installation package.

ContinuousCaptureAllDevices example:

1. Opens a Balluff device.
2. Snaps images from every detected device continuously (without display using Linux).

Console Output

[0]: BF000306 (mvBlueFOX-202C, Family: mvBlueFOX, interface layout: DeviceSpecific)

Please enter the number in front of the listed device followed by [ENTER] to open it: 0
Using device number 0.
Press [ENTER] to end the application
Initialising the device. This might take some time...
Info from BF000306: FramesPerSecond: 28.655660, ErrorCount: 0, CaptureTime_s: 0.104195
Info from BF000306: FramesPerSecond: 28.655636, ErrorCount: 0, CaptureTime_s: 0.104017
Info from BF000306: FramesPerSecond: 28.655659, ErrorCount: 0, CaptureTime_s: 0.104153
Info from BF000306: FramesPerSecond: 28.655636, ErrorCount: 0, CaptureTime_s: 0.104072
Info from BF000306: FramesPerSecond: 28.655660, ErrorCount: 0, CaptureTime_s: 0.104234

How it works

The continuous acquisition is similar to the single capture. The only major difference is, that this sample starts a separate thread that continuously requests images from the device.

However, the general stuff (selection of a device etc.) are similar to the SingleCapture.cpp source example. The major difference is that the user is not prompted to select a device as this application will use every recognized device anyway. Thus the main function looks slightly different while the actual acquisition thread remains unchanged (apart from some sync. Work that needs to be done for writing to the standard output).

//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
int main( int argc, char* argv[] )
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
{
  DeviceManager devMgr;
  const unsigned int devCnt = devMgr.deviceCount();
  if( devCnt == 0 )
  {
    cout << "No " << PRODUCT_NAME << " compliant device found! Unable to continue!" << endl;
    return 1;
  }
 
  string productFilter( "*" );
  bool boInvalidCommandLineParameterDetected = false;
  // scan command line
  if( argc > 1 )
  {
    for( int i = 1; i < argc; i++ )
    {
      const string param( argv[i] );
      const string::size_type keyEnd = param.find_first_of( "=" );
      if( ( keyEnd == string::npos ) || ( keyEnd == param.length() - 1 ) )
      {
        cout << "Invalid command-line parameter: '" << param << "' (ignored)." << endl;
        boInvalidCommandLineParameterDetected = true;
      }
      else
      {
        const string key = param.substr( 0, keyEnd );
        const string value = param.substr( keyEnd + 1 );
        if( ( key == "product" ) || ( key == "p" ) )
        {
          productFilter = value;
        }
        else
        {
          cout << "Invalid command-line parameter: '" << param << "' (ignored)." << endl;
          boInvalidCommandLineParameterDetected = true;
        }
      }
    }
    if( boInvalidCommandLineParameterDetected )
    {
      displayCommandLineOptions();
    }
  }
  else
  {
    cout << "No command-line parameters specified." << endl;
    displayCommandLineOptions();
  }
 
  // store all device infos in a vector
  // and start the execution of a 'live' thread for each device.
  map<shared_ptr<ThreadParameter>, shared_ptr<thread>> threads;
  for( unsigned int i = 0; i < devCnt; i++ )
  {
    if( match( devMgr[i]->product.read(), productFilter, '*' ) == 0 )
    {
      shared_ptr<ThreadParameter> pParameter = make_shared<ThreadParameter>( devMgr[i] );
#ifdef USE_DISPLAY
      // IMPORTANT: It's NOT save to create multiple display windows in multiple threads!!!
      // Therefore this must be done before starting the threads
      pParameter->createDisplayWindow( "mvIMPACT_acquire sample, Device " + devMgr[i]->serial.read() );
#endif // #ifdef USE_DISPLAY
      threads[pParameter] = make_shared<thread>( liveThread, pParameter );
      lock_guard<mutex> lockedScope( s_mutex );
      cout << devMgr[i]->family.read() << "(" << devMgr[i]->serial.read() << ")" << endl;
    }
  }
 
  if( threads.empty() )
  {
    cout << "No device found that matches the product filter '" << productFilter << "'! Unable to continue!" << endl;
    return 1;
  }
 
  // now all threads will start running...
  {
    lock_guard<mutex> lockedScope( s_mutex );
    cout << "Press [ENTER] to end the acquisition( the initialisation of the devices might take some time )" << endl;
  }
 
  if( getchar() == EOF )
  {
    lock_guard<mutex> lockedScope( s_mutex );
    cout << "'getchar()' did return EOF..." << endl;
  }
 
  // stop all threads again
  {
    lock_guard<mutex> lockedScope( s_mutex );
    cout << "Terminating live threads..." << endl;
  }
  s_boRunning = false;
 
  for( auto& it : threads )
  {
    it.second->join();
  }
 
  return 0;
}

Then after the device has been initialised successfully image requests will constantly be sent to the drivers request queue and the application waits for the results:

// Send all requests to the capture queue. There can be more than 1 queue for some devices, but for this sample
// we will work with the default capture queue. If a device supports more than one capture or result
// queue, this will be stated in the manual. If nothing is mentioned about it, the device supports one
// queue only. This loop will send all requests currently available to the driver. To modify the number of requests
// use the property mvIMPACT::acquire::SystemSettings::requestCount at runtime (note that some devices will
// only allow to modify this parameter while NOT streaming data!) or the property
// mvIMPACT::acquire::Device::defaultRequestCount BEFORE opening the device.
TDMR_ERROR result = DMR_NO_ERROR;
while( ( result = static_cast<TDMR_ERROR>( fi.imageRequestSingle() ) ) == DMR_NO_ERROR ) {};
if( result != DEV_NO_FREE_REQUEST_AVAILABLE )
{
  lock_guard<mutex> lockedScope( s_mutex );
  cout << "'FunctionInterface.imageRequestSingle' returned with an unexpected result: " << result
     << "(" << ImpactAcquireException::getErrorCodeAsString( result ) << ")" << endl;
}
 
manuallyStartAcquisitionIfNeeded( pDev, fi );
// run thread loop
const Request* pRequest = nullptr;
const unsigned int timeout_ms = {500};
int requestNr = {INVALID_ID};
// we always have to keep at least 2 images as the display module might want to repaint the image, thus we
// can't free it unless we have a assigned the display to a new buffer.
int lastRequestNr = {INVALID_ID};
while( s_boRunning )
{
  // wait for results from the default capture queue
  requestNr = fi.imageRequestWaitFor( timeout_ms );
  if( fi.isRequestNrValid( requestNr ) )
  {
    pRequest = fi.getRequest( requestNr );
    if( pRequest->isOK() )
    {
      // do something with the image
    }
    else
    {
      // some error: pRequest->requestResult.readS() will return a string representation
    }
    if( fi.isRequestNrValid( lastRequestNr ) )
    {
      // this image has been displayed thus the buffer is no longer needed...
      fi.imageRequestUnlock( lastRequestNr );
    }
    lastRequestNr = requestNr;
    // send a new image request into the capture queue
    fi.imageRequestSingle();
  }
  else
  {
    // If the error code is -2119(DEV_WAIT_FOR_REQUEST_FAILED), the documentation will provide 
    // additional information under TDMR_ERROR in the interface reference 
  }
}

With the request number returned by mvIMPACT::acquire::FunctionInterface::imageRequestWaitFor you can gain access the image buffer:

pRequest = fi.isRequestNrValid( requestNr ) ? fi.getRequest( requestNr ) : 0;

The image attached to the request can then be processed and/or displayed if the request does not report an error.

When the image is no longer needed you have to unlock the image buffer as otherwise the driver will refuse to use it again. This makes sure, that no image, that is still used by the user will be overwritten by the device:

pPreviousRequest->unlock();

Source code

//
// @description: Example applications for Impact Acquire
// @copyright: Copyright (C) 2005 - 2024 Balluff GmbH
// @authors: APIs and drivers development team at Balluff GmbH
// @initial date: 2005-03-15
//
// Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"),
// to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense,
// and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
//
// The above copyright notice and this permission notice (including the next paragraph) shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
//
// THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
// FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY,i
// WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
//
 
#include <iostream>
#include <map>
#include <memory>
#include <mutex>
#include <thread>
#include <apps/Common/exampleHelper.h>
#include <mvIMPACT_CPP/mvIMPACT_acquire.h>
#ifdef _WIN32
#   define USE_DISPLAY
#   include <mvDisplay/Include/mvIMPACT_acquire_display.h>
using namespace mvIMPACT::acquire::display;
#endif // #ifdef _WIN32
 
using namespace std;
using namespace mvIMPACT::acquire;
 
static mutex s_mutex;
static bool s_boTerminated = false;
 
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
class ThreadParameter
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
{
    Device*             pDev_;
#ifdef USE_DISPLAY
    unique_ptr<ImageDisplayWindow> pDisplayWindow_;
#endif // #ifdef USE_DISPLAY
public:
    explicit ThreadParameter( Device* pDev ) : pDev_( pDev ) {}
    ThreadParameter( const ThreadParameter& src ) = delete;
    Device* device( void ) const
    {
        return pDev_;
    }
#ifdef USE_DISPLAY
    void createDisplayWindow( const string& windowTitle )
    {
        pDisplayWindow_ = unique_ptr<ImageDisplayWindow>( new ImageDisplayWindow( windowTitle ) );
    }
    ImageDisplayWindow& displayWindow( void )
    {
        return *pDisplayWindow_;
    }
#endif // #ifdef USE_DISPLAY
};
 
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
void displayCommandLineOptions( void )
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
{
    cout << "Available parameters:" << endl
         << "  'product' or 'p' to specify a certain product type. All other products will be ignored then" << endl
         << "      a '*' serves as a wildcard." << endl
         << endl
         << "USAGE EXAMPLE:" << endl
         << "  ContinuousCaptureAllDevices p=mvBlue* " << endl << endl;
}
 
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
void writeToStdout( const string& msg )
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
{
    lock_guard<mutex> lockedScope( s_mutex );
    cout << msg << endl;
}
 
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
void liveThread( shared_ptr<ThreadParameter> parameter )
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
{
    Device* pDev = parameter->device();
 
    writeToStdout( "Trying to open " + pDev->serial.read() );
    try
    {
        // if this device offers the 'GenICam' interface switch it on, as this will
        // allow are better control over GenICam compliant devices
        conditionalSetProperty( pDev->interfaceLayout, dilGenICam );
        // if this device offers a user defined acquisition start/stop behaviour
        // enable it as this allows finer control about the streaming behaviour
        conditionalSetProperty( pDev->acquisitionStartStopBehaviour, assbUser );
        pDev->open();
    }
    catch( const ImpactAcquireException& e )
    {
        lock_guard<mutex> lockedScope( s_mutex );
        // this e.g. might happen if the same device is already opened in another process...
        cout << "An error occurred while opening the device " << pDev->serial.read()
             << "(error code: " << e.getErrorCode() << "(" << e.getErrorCodeAsString() << ")). Terminating thread." << endl
             << "Press [ENTER] to end the application..."
             << endl;
        return;
    }
 
    writeToStdout( "Opened " + pDev->serial.read() );
 
    // establish access to the statistic properties
    Statistics statistics( pDev );
    // create an interface to the device found
    FunctionInterface fi( pDev );
 
    // Send all requests to the capture queue. There can be more than 1 queue for some devices, but for this sample
    // we will work with the default capture queue. If a device supports more than one capture or result
    // queue, this will be stated in the manual. If nothing is mentioned about it, the device supports one
    // queue only. This loop will send all requests currently available to the driver. To modify the number of requests
    // use the property mvIMPACT::acquire::SystemSettings::requestCount at runtime (note that some devices will
    // only allow to modify this parameter while NOT streaming data!) or the property
    // mvIMPACT::acquire::Device::defaultRequestCount BEFORE opening the device.
    TDMR_ERROR result = DMR_NO_ERROR;
    while( ( result = static_cast<TDMR_ERROR>( fi.imageRequestSingle() ) ) == DMR_NO_ERROR ) {};
    if( result != DEV_NO_FREE_REQUEST_AVAILABLE )
    {
        lock_guard<mutex> lockedScope( s_mutex );
        cout << "'FunctionInterface.imageRequestSingle' returned with an unexpected result: " << result
             << "(" << ImpactAcquireException::getErrorCodeAsString( result ) << ")" << endl;
    }
 
    manuallyStartAcquisitionIfNeeded( pDev, fi );
    // run thread loop
    const Request* pRequest = nullptr;
    const unsigned int timeout_ms = {500};
    int requestNr = INVALID_ID;
    // we always have to keep at least 2 images as the display module might want to repaint the image, thus we
    // can't free it unless we have a assigned the display to a new buffer.
    int lastRequestNr = {INVALID_ID};
    unsigned int cnt = {0};
    while( !s_boTerminated )
    {
        // wait for results from the default capture queue
        requestNr = fi.imageRequestWaitFor( timeout_ms );
        if( fi.isRequestNrValid( requestNr ) )
        {
            pRequest = fi.getRequest( requestNr );
            if( pRequest->isOK() )
            {
                ++cnt;
                // here we can display some statistical information every 100th image
                if( cnt % 100 == 0 )
                {
                    lock_guard<mutex> lockedScope( s_mutex );
                    cout << "Info from " << pDev->serial.read()
                         << ": " << statistics.framesPerSecond.name() << ": " << statistics.framesPerSecond.readS()
                         << ": " << statistics.bandwidthConsumed.name() << ": " << statistics.bandwidthConsumed.readS()
                         << ", " << statistics.errorCount.name() << ": " << statistics.errorCount.readS()
                         << ", " << statistics.captureTime_s.name() << ": " << statistics.captureTime_s.readS() << endl;
                }
#ifdef USE_DISPLAY
                ImageDisplay& display = parameter->displayWindow().GetImageDisplay();
                display.SetImage( pRequest );
                display.Update();
#endif // #ifdef USE_DISPLAY
            }
            else
            {
                writeToStdout( "Error: " + pRequest->requestResult.readS() );
            }
            if( fi.isRequestNrValid( lastRequestNr ) )
            {
                // this image has been displayed thus the buffer is no longer needed...
                fi.imageRequestUnlock( lastRequestNr );
            }
            lastRequestNr = requestNr;
            // send a new image request into the capture queue
            fi.imageRequestSingle();
        }
        //else
        //{
        // Please note that slow systems or interface technologies in combination with high resolution sensors
        // might need more time to transmit an image than the timeout value which has been passed to imageRequestWaitFor().
        // If this is the case simply wait multiple times OR increase the timeout(not recommended as usually not necessary
        // and potentially makes the capture thread less responsive) and rebuild this application.
        // Once the device is configured for triggered image acquisition and the timeout elapsed before
        // the device has been triggered this might happen as well.
        // The return code would be -2119(DEV_WAIT_FOR_REQUEST_FAILED) in that case, the documentation will provide
        // additional information under TDMR_ERROR in the interface reference.
        // If waiting with an infinite timeout(-1) it will be necessary to call 'imageRequestReset' from another thread
        // to force 'imageRequestWaitFor' to return when no data is coming from the device/can be captured.
        // cout << "imageRequestWaitFor failed (" << requestNr << ", " << ImpactAcquireException::getErrorCodeAsString( requestNr ) << ")"
        //   << ", timeout value too small?" << endl;
        //}
    }
    manuallyStopAcquisitionIfNeeded( pDev, fi );
 
#ifdef USE_DISPLAY
    // stop the display from showing freed memory
    parameter->displayWindow().GetImageDisplay().RemoveImage();
#endif // #ifdef USE_DISPLAY
    // In this sample all the next lines are redundant as the device driver will be
    // closed now, but in a real world application a thread like this might be started
    // several times an then it becomes crucial to clean up correctly.
 
    // free the last potentially locked request
    if( fi.isRequestNrValid( requestNr ) )
    {
        fi.imageRequestUnlock( requestNr );
    }
    // clear all queues
    fi.imageRequestReset( 0, 0 );
}
 
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
int main( int argc, char* argv[] )
//-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
{
    DeviceManager devMgr;
    const unsigned int devCnt = devMgr.deviceCount();
    if( devCnt == 0 )
    {
        cout << "No " << PRODUCT_NAME << " compliant device found! Unable to continue!" << endl;
        return 1;
    }
 
    string productFilter( "*" );
    // scan command line
    if( argc > 1 )
    {
        bool boInvalidCommandLineParameterDetected = false;
        for( int i = 1; i < argc; i++ )
        {
            const string param( argv[i] );
            const auto keyEnd = param.find_first_of( "=" );
            if( ( keyEnd == string::npos ) || ( keyEnd == param.length() - 1 ) )
            {
                cout << "Invalid command-line parameter: '" << param << "' (ignored)." << endl;
                boInvalidCommandLineParameterDetected = true;
            }
            else
            {
                const string key( param.substr( 0, keyEnd ) );
                if( ( key == "product" ) || ( key == "p" ) )
                {
                    productFilter = param.substr( keyEnd + 1 );
                }
                else
                {
                    cout << "Invalid command-line parameter: '" << param << "' (ignored)." << endl;
                    boInvalidCommandLineParameterDetected = true;
                }
            }
        }
        if( boInvalidCommandLineParameterDetected )
        {
            displayCommandLineOptions();
        }
    }
    else
    {
        cout << "No command-line parameters specified." << endl;
        displayCommandLineOptions();
    }
 
    // store all device infos in a vector
    // and start the execution of a 'live' thread for each device.
    map<shared_ptr<ThreadParameter>, shared_ptr<thread>> threads;
    for( unsigned int i = 0; i < devCnt; i++ )
    {
        if( match( devMgr[i]->product.read(), productFilter, '*' ) == 0 )
        {
            shared_ptr<ThreadParameter> pParameter = make_shared<ThreadParameter>( devMgr[i] );
#ifdef USE_DISPLAY
            // IMPORTANT: It's NOT safe to create multiple display windows in multiple threads!!!
            // Therefore this must be done before starting the threads
            pParameter->createDisplayWindow( "mvIMPACT_acquire sample, Device " + devMgr[i]->serial.read() );
#endif // #ifdef USE_DISPLAY
            threads[pParameter] = make_shared<thread>( liveThread, pParameter );
            writeToStdout( devMgr[i]->family.read() + "(" + devMgr[i]->serial.read() + ")" );
        }
    }
 
    if( threads.empty() )
    {
        cout << "No device found that matches the product filter '" << productFilter << "'! Unable to continue!" << endl;
        return 1;
    }
 
    // now all threads will start running...
    writeToStdout( "Press [ENTER] to end the acquisition( the initialisation of the devices might take some time )" );
 
    if( getchar() == EOF )
    {
        writeToStdout( "'getchar()' did return EOF..." );
    }
 
    // stop all threads again
    writeToStdout( "Terminating live threads..." );
    s_boTerminated = true;
    for( auto& it : threads )
    {
        it.second->join();
    }
 
    return 0;
}