Interface IP camera with STM32

[SSala.3]

Hi all,

Is it possible to capture image from an IP camera which is connected to an STM32 MCU via ethernet port? An external RAM can be added to handle the data traffic. Due to multiple reasons I cannot use a digital camera instead of an IP camera.

Does anyone have prior experience in it?

Thanks

[Piranha]

You can connect and download anything you want, but, whether the RAM and CPU resources are enough, depends on image size, frame rate, compression and the specific MCU.

[SSala.3]

@Piranha​ Hi, is the interface generic to any IP camera? Is there any commands or any specific protocol to fetch the data from an IP camera?

[Piranha]

There is no single standard, but the interfaces are not completely random either. Be warned that image and video capabilities are limited on MCUs and also such task is not for beginners...

[Pavel A.]

Use STM32MP1 with Linux and there you have it.

[SSala.3]

Thanks for the reply, exploring things makes us experts from beginners...

I went through the datasheet of few IP cameras and obviously there was not much information to interface it with an MCU or any other third party hardware. What would be the first step to communicate with an IP camera after the ethernet communication is set on the MCU?

[Piranha]

A few seconds on Google:

https://bensoftware.com/blog/comparison-of-streaming-formats/

You still haven't named the most critical part - resolution, frame rate and CODEC requirements. At least the approximate needs...

[SSala.3]

Hi @Piranha​ 

Our project requirement is to capture an image from an IP camera based on some events. At present I'm checking the feasibility of using an MCU based solution. So this is my starting point as I haven't done any image processing projects before.

For a reference camera output can be 5 MP (2960 × 1668) @20 fps

Thanks, have a great day