MultiRoombaRover/roomcam-service/README.md

Room camera snapshot service

Lightweight systemd service that serves a JPEG snapshot from any MJPEG-capable webcam (most USB webcams) at 4 fps. The server pulls http://<host>:8080/snapshot.jpg for room cams.

Files

• room-cam-snapshot.sh – ffmpeg + simple HTTP server wrapper
• room-cam.service – systemd unit template

Usage

1. Copy the service into place (adjust path/env as needed):

   sudo cp roomcam-service/room-cam.service /etc/systemd/system/room-cam.service
   sudo systemctl daemon-reload
   sudo systemctl enable --now room-cam.service
   

2. Override defaults via Environment= in the unit or drop-ins:
   • DEVICE=/dev/video0
   • RESOLUTION=640x480
   • QUALITY=5 (ffmpeg MJPEG quality; lower is higher quality)
   • PORT=8080
   • WORKDIR=/run/roomcam
   • INPUT_FORMAT=mjpeg (use bayer_grbg8 for OV534/raw Bayer cams; aliases GRBG/grbg are accepted)
3. Point the server roomCameras[].url to http://<host>:8080/snapshot.jpg.

Notes:

• The camera runs at its native MJPEG frame rate; the server polls snapshots at ~4 fps, so no extra filtering is applied here.

To run outside systemd, just execute ./room-cam-snapshot.sh with any overrides.