foscam-bash

This project evolved from trying to fulfill several tasks. I wanted to learn bash, experiment with an IP camera API, and get some additional experience with the Linux command line. At first I didn't plan on combining my efforts. It was by accident that stumbled across a Gist with a shell script that accessed the same brand & model IP camera that I currently use.

And that original bit of shell script did almost everything I needed it to do. So I used it as a starting point and ended up creating what you see in this repository.

Here's a link to the Gist I used -

https://gist.github.com/bgerm/5814847

My modifications and additions included -

Functionality
- Individual cameras can be used by creating a configuration file
- Pan/Tilt the camera for preset "snapshot" and "home" positions
- Time stamps are selectable for image file names, and to overlay onto the snapshots.
- Automatic creation of an output folder
- Uses ffmpeg to create mp4 files
- Automatic start and stop of snapshots, and movie creation
- Camera name can be optionally overlaid onto the snapshots
Configuration
- Individual Camera info -
  - IP address
  - login and password
  - camera "home" and "snapshot" position presets
- Snapshots -
  - start time
  - end time
  - interval between snapshots
  - time-stamp use
  - auto conversion into a movie (mp4)

Disclaimer

This project is essentially a work in progress. It works, but may have some minor bugs. I intend on making improvements and adding more commentary. However I do not intend on any additional feature development. Although I plan on porting the functionality to a Node/Javascript project.

Usage

Using a Linux distribution place the *.sh files into a folder.
Use chmod to make them executable.
Edit the camera parameter file and provide the necessary IP camera information
It may be necessary change the first line of all the *.sh files from #!/usr/bin/env bash to something more appropriate to your environment.

After all editing and such is done, you can run it with -

$ ./fos_main.sh fosX ./snapshots

Where fosX is the first part of the file named fosX_params.sh And ./snapshots is the path to where you want the snapshots saved, and optionally wher the MP4 file would be created.

Platform Details

Hardware : An old Dell PC that I re-purposed for learning Linux.
OS : Centos 6 Server
Camera : Foscam 8910 IP PTZ Camera

File Structure

All of the *.sh files are kept in a single folder. There purposes are as follows -

fos_main.sh - Top level logic for the application
fos_movie.sh - Top level logic, used for creating movies after the snapshots have been created but the applciation was not configured to automatically create the movie.

The remaining files make up the restS of the application. They must be "sourced" in the following order -

timefunc.sh - "time" functions - start time, end time, and duration calculations
foscamparam.sh - generic constants and Foscam settings
fosX_param.sh - camera specific constants and settings
moviefunc.sh - functions for making movies (mp4) with ffmpeg
imagefunc.sh - image time stamp functions
foscamfunc.sh - camera functions such as take snapshot(s) and change position, there are also logging functions
utilfunc.sh - miscellaneous functions including some console output functions for debugging, ctrl-C handling, and output folder creation

Future

Port the functionality to a Node/Javascript project that has better scheduling and file management. I've also had some thoughts about creating a GUI to manage the scheduling and viewing the snapshots and movies.