PC and Camera Set-up

Any camera can capture the needed scenery for vision and interaction, but other factors might limit the selection criteria:

Field of view: Most cameras come with fixed optics that might not capture enough of the scene.
Distance from the camera location to the processing PC: You might have the screen on one end of the store and the PC at the other end in a server room.
Presence of screens: The PC might be set up behind the LED screen generating light and heat.
Power availability: The location for the camera does not have easy access to power.
Space availabilty: The available space might require a smaller camera, mounts, etc.
Presence of obstacles: From glass to decorations, columns, walls, etc.
Cabling space: Not enough space to route cables.
Latency: Some solutions require hard real-time video feeds for interaction.
Auto-Focus: It is very important to disable the autofocus of the camera for the installation good perfomance.

Cameras

Cameras come in many variants, from run-of-the-mill webcams to expensive DSLRs. But mainly all of them have: - A digital sensor, based on CMOS or TTL technology that receives the image. - One or more lenses that focus the image. - Image processors that convert the sensor voltages into digital pixels and perform postprocessing on them.

CCD Sensors

The size of sensor that a camera has ultimately determines how much light it uses to create an image.

Sensor sizes are expressed, using the diagonal size, either by name or by an inch ratio. That is, the diagonal in inches multiplied by 3/2. E.g. a 8mm diagonal sensor, multiplied by 3/2 equals 0.47 inches, which is about 1/2".

1" (bigger)
2/3"
1/1.2" (e.g. SONY IMX485)
1/1.8"
1/2.3" (e.g. SONY IMX377)
1/3.2" (smaller)

Lenses

Lenses focus the image on the sensor. Two main factors determine the lens response:

Focal Length (in mm): Tells us
- The angle of view: how much of the scene will be captured
- The magnification—how large individual elements will be. The longer the focal length, the narrower the angle of view and the higher the magnification. The shorter the focal length, the wider the angle of view and the lower the magnification.
Aperture (f stops): It's the focal length divided by the diameter of the entrance pupil. It determines the quantity of light the sensor can receive.

Every lens is designed for a maximum sensor size.

Lenses can have fixed focus or variable focus (telephoto). Different camera apertures will focus on different areas and depths:

Lens mounts

The lens mount refers to the size of the screw the lens uses to attach to the camera body. It indirectly determines the size of the lenses, as a bigger lens can capture more light, but needs a bigger attachment.

Most common in industrial and CCTV are either imperial (C/CS) or metric (M#) based.

C/CS mount use a 1" thread, but differ on the focal point, and can be adapted with a 5mm spacer:

M mounts, of which the most common is the M12.

Some help

Kowa Lens Calculator lets you find matching CS lenses to a shot placement.
For camera setup depending on the installation and content setup you can use a tool like: CCTV Lens Calculator

USB Webcams

The most readily available kind.

Pros:
- The most affordable and simple option.
- Great variety.
- Some models have interchangeable optics.
Cons:
- Limited USB cord length without amplification.

Brands, models and providers

Logitech Brio 4k (fixed optics, FOV Diagonal: 90°/Horizontal:
- 82.1°/Vertical: 52.2°
- f/2.0,
- ~159€
ELP
- Has different CCDs (e.g. Sony IMX214, 13MP, CS mount, 111$)
- Has CS and M5 lens mounts, allowing for interchangeable optics.
Mokose (Sony IMX274, 4k, CS mount, 105$):
Arducam (Sony IMX477, CS Mount, 149$):

USB 3D Cameras

USB Cameras with 3D depth capture using infrared. Work well indoors, not so well with direct sunlight.

Intel RealSense:
- D415: 185$
- D455: 273$
Azure Kinect DK: 399$
Orbbec Astra: 150$

USB3+ Cameras

In case of USB 3+ cameras the USB cable should not exceed 1.5m and be of good quality, and has to be connected to a USB3.x port on the NUC or poor performance is to be expected.

Good quality USB3 extension cables with repeater can be used to extend the range.

Be cautioned though that there is much variability in cable quality.

Check the Intel Realsense guide about it at

Remote Managed USB Hubs

Some USB Cameras tend to fail and hang from time to time. It is recommended to install a remotely manageable USB 3.1 HUB like the Pegasus Astro. This HUB can cut power and data lines via software and fully reset the camera without needing presence.

https://pegasusastro.com/products/usb-control-hub/

USB over RJ45

A long range option using cheap webcams.

PROS: Use "any" webcam.
CONS: HD/4k is expensive, needs USB 3.1 support.
USB3.1 ~ 1500€ (+cable, +camera, etc, iCron)
USB2 from 80€ to 455€ (e.g. iCron USB Ranger 2304)

USB Webcam + network encoder (Raspberry, specific...)

Another option is to plug the camera to a small device (Raspberry Pi, NUC, ...) with network connectivity (wired or wireless). You can then use a server software to send the video stream over the network.

The caveat is that this will add some latency to the video stream. It might be better suited for analytics applications than hard real-time interaction.

There is also a "Commercial" version from AXIS (~300€):

Video Surveillance Cameras

Not the cheapest, but very affordable. Quality might vary. It is almost equivalent, in general, to using a USB webcam + raspberry (see previous section), but might add some useful features to the mix, such as:

Smaller footprint.
Simplified installation.
Support for Power-over-ethernet, using a single cable for power and data.
Reuse available security camera feeds.

On the other hand:

Should support MJPEG streams for low latency apps
Migh be offputting due to social issues.

Example:

Item	Qty	PriceU
Dahua Domo POE	1	180€
Cable Ethernet 30m	1	20€
PFT1200 adaptador e inyector de PoE Gigabit Ethernet	1	40€

SDI Cameras (Coaxial)

PROS: Distance +100m over coaxial, almost no delay.
CONS: Capture card on PC side, less camera options.

Providers

Mokose, cameras, UVC capture card.

Example:

Camera ~100$:
Capture Card~200$:
- Or AVerMedia Capture ~ 180€:
Coaxial cable, 30m: ~60€

DSLR Cameras

Usually connected over an HDMI capture card (some newer models sport USB3 UVC connectivity). This is the most expensive, but higher quality option.

Camera Placement

The camera is to be mounted using a ¼" screw adapter or similar around the screen, pointing towards the viewers.

Camera Orientation

Depending on the screen orientation (vertical vs portrait) the camera might be set up rotated 90º to acquire a larger photographic area. The image will arrive rotated to the PC software, and will have to be corrected later via software.