need to process real time video data

[JAJansenJr]

I hope I've selected the right board.  I'm new so if there is a more appropriate forum, bear with me and accept my apologies.

I have a need to take a video signal from a camcorder and do data processing on the digital images at regular time intervals

in real time.  I will also need to transmit the results of the data processing in real time to a remote computer by some wireless technology.  I'm just getting started on this project.  I have a good general electronics and computer hardware/software background.  Any and all suggestions on how to get started will be sincerely appreciated!  Thanks.

JAJansenJr 

[BCho]

Hey JAJansenJr,

What sort of system are you looking into? Are you interested in doing "Real Time" processing in the sense that you want to determine loop rates manually and not rely on the non-determinsitc operating system? This is as opposed to "real time" processing in the sense of processing the images as they are coming in. Check out this Tutorial: What is Real-Time? for a little more information and what definition of "real time" you are referring to.

If you are interested in a Real Time operating environment, you may be interested in the Compact Vision System for your application. If you are simply interested in processing images as they are acquired, you may be able to you a normal PC in conjunction with the Vision Development Module (VDM) to do your image processing. VDM is the software package that would allow you to process the images, you would also likely need hardware to acquire the images from you camera, check out the main vision page for more information on what other hardware you might be interested in: NI.com/Vision.

Hopefully some of this information helps you get started and gives you a general idea of what hardware and software you might need for your application.

-Ben

[JAJansenJr]

Thanks.  Very helpful reply.  Basically, my application will need to look for new elements appearing in the field of view, with some tracking of how those elements "move" in the field of view.  So I should be able to code "tightly" to observe just the changes I want to track, and not examine the entire field of view.  I'm not interested in reinventing the wheel here.  It seems highly likely to me someone else has done something similar.  From some casual browsing on the site it appears there is quite a bit of image "grabbing" hardware.  Are there any places on the site which discuss the pros and cons of these?

[BCho]

Hey JAJansenJr,

It sounds like you don't necessarily need a Real Time system in the sense that you need a deterministic operating system. In terms of what software you need, the Vision Development Modules should allow you to accomplish your task quite nicely. In terms of hardware, check out this article: Choosing the Right Camera Bus for more information on what camera platform might be right for your application.

I hope this helps!

-Ben