/zed-multi-camera

ZED SDK sample with multiple ZEDs

Primary LanguageC++MIT LicenseMIT

Stereolabs ZED - Using multiple ZED

This sample shows how to use multiple ZED cameras in a single application.

Getting started

Prerequisites

  • Windows 7 64bits or later, Ubuntu 16.04
  • ZED SDK and its dependencies (CUDA, OpenCV)

Build the program

Download the sample and follow the instructions below: More

Build for Windows

  • Create a folder called "build" in the source folder
  • Open cmake-gui and select the source and build folders
  • Generate the Visual Studio Win64 solution
  • Open the resulting solution and change the solution configuration to Release
  • Build solution

Build for Linux

Open a terminal in the sample directory and execute the following command:

mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make

Run the program

  • Navigate to the build directory and launch the executable file

  • Or open a terminal in the build directory and run the sample :

     ./ZED\ Multi\ Camera

How it works

  • Video capture for each camera is done in a separate thread for optimal performance. You can specify the number of ZED used by changing the NUM_CAMERAS parameter.
  • Each camera has its own timestamp (uncomment a line to display it). These timestamps can be used for device synchronization.
  • OpenCV is used to display the images and depth maps. To stop the application, simply press 'q'.

Limitations

  • This sample works on Windows with the latest firmware v.1523
  • USB bandwidth: The ZED in 1080p30 mode generates around 250MB/s of image data. USB 3.0 maximum bandwidth is around 400MB/s, so the number of cameras, resolutions and framerates you can use on a single machine will be limited by the USB 3.0 controller on the motherboard. When bandwidth limit is exceeded, corrupted frames (green or purple frames, tearing) can appear.
  • Using a single USB 3.0 controller, here are configurations that we tested:
    • 2 ZEDs in HD1080 @ 15fps and HD720 @ 30fps
    • 3 ZEDs in HD720 @ 15fps
    • 4 ZEDs in VGA @ 30fps
  • To use multiple ZED at full speed on a single computer, we recommend adding USB3.0 PCIe expansion cards.
  • You can also use multiple GPUs to load-balance computations (use param.device to select a GPU for a ZED) and improve performance.