USB Camera will not show image on the FRC driverstation

[kdavis700]

In previous years, we were able to get a live feed from a USB camera by simply plugging in the camera to the roborio and selecting the camera on our driver station.  Ever since we upgraded to FRC labview 2023, we have been  unsuccessful in doing so.  Is this a bug with the software?  If not, how do we obtain the live feed?  The image below is what we see then it will eventually timeout.

[ThaysMolina]

Hi,

My name is Thays from Tech Support. 

Did you try the steps in this article, Robot Camera Images Not Appearing in FRC Dashboard - NI? Did you receive an error in a specific step?

[Americo.Tanji]

Hello, I have this same problem. Did you manage to solve it? I carried out all the tests in the article and no errors appeared.
Versions:
DS: 24.0.1
RIO: FRC_roboRIO2_2024_v2.2
Lib: 2024 LabVIEW Update 2024.1.0
We are running the standard program and dashboard.
Using the camera test VI and NI MAX it is possible to obtain images in both cases.
We used the RoboRIO2 and the Logitech C270 camera, a C3 Tech and the ELP Fisheye USB.
Regardless of the computer and cameras there is no connection. We tested with 3 computers of different models.
Below are some images.

[kdavis700]

We've tried all the steps on multiple computers. The camera does show up and works fine on NI Max and with roboRIO. We can get the camera footage in the "get image" vi of the Vision Processing in a default project (circled in blue in the image below). 

However, trying to display the image using a default project and default dashboard still does not work. Something to note is that when probing the code in the default dashboard project, it displays the following error:

Error 56 occurred at TCP Read in WPI_CameraIPCameraRead.vi:7140008->WPI_CameraManageConnections.vi:5380003->WPI_CameraRead MJPG for Dashboard_2.vi:7440002->Dashboard Main.vi

Possible reason(s):

LabVIEW: (Hex 0x38) The network operation exceeded the user-specified or system time limit.
=========================
LabVIEW: (Hex 0x38) The network operation exceeded the user-specified or system time limit.

We did use a highly compressed and low resolution on the dashboard, and we have yet to pinpoint where the issue is coming from. 

Another thing to note is that the specified camera we're using has an indicator LED to tell us if it is on. In this case, it is not on. 

[kdavis700]

Hello Thays, 

I am still having no luck.  I've tried everything you suggested but the camera feed will not show.

[oscarfonseca]

Apologies for the delay getting back to you.

To be clear (I am using step 6 of the document linked by Thays), with a default empty robot project in LabVIEW, do you:

1. See the NT Connection LED on the Dashboard turn on when the robot is connected and the code is deployed?
2. See the camera on the dropdown menu of the Dashboard?
3. Have already set the Size and Framerate to one supported by your camera, per the Camera Compatibility Test (step 8)?
4. See no errors on your Driver Station log? I see in one of the other screenshots shared by a different fellow that the code was being killed.
5. Have no firewall in the computer that would be blocking the ports used to send images between the roboRIO and the camera?

Thanks!

[mcgrathsean2000]

My team is also experiencing issues using a camera with the driverstation. We have tried re-imaging our roboRIO and had several FRC technicians look at our code at our last competition to no avail. We spoke to another team at this competition who was using labview and they told us they couldnt get the camera to work either. Have also tried using different computers with different firewalls incase the IP was being blocked using our coders computer and schools computer which has firewalls. 

We can see the camera in the dropdrop down to select cameras from the driverstation but when you select the camera it gives us the 30 second timer telling us that it cannot connect to server. I have verified that the camera works using NI MAX and we are able to adjust settings for it from there like normal.

[kdavis700]

We've given up on the USB camera.  It just doesn't work.  We've moved on to using one of the old Axis network camera's that used to come in the FIRST kit of parts.  

[Dhick025]

Hello NI,

We are struggling with a similar USB Camera issue but are not able to get our camera to connect.  Our NT Connection LED on the dashboard is on, the camera shows up in the dropdown menu, the camera has it's preset size and framerate, and we have no camera related errors in our driver station log.  Our firewalls have also been checked and should be letting it through.  We also just competed in week 1 and the other teams and volunteers also seemed stumped as to what the issue may be.  Are there any updates on if there is a bug, or if there is a work around?

Thank you for the help,

Team 7915

[oscarfonseca]

Apologies for the delay getting back to you, folks. With the season in full swing I’m dividing the time between assistance at events and online.

I see multiple of you answered, so I’ll try to make my responses personalized. Still, the recommendation is to walk through the shared KB and share with us which steps are failing on your side, so we can be of more assistance.

• Kdavis700 – Thanks for sharing the Axis camera works for now. Apologies the USB implementation did not function as expected. I sent a couple of questions to check on firewalls and NT tables, but I’m unsure we got answers on these specific points, hence I have no further recommendations for now.
• Americo.Tanji – I see a lot of “Robot Code not Currently Running: prints in your driver station messages. I recommend ensuring your code is stable before attempting to connect the camera. Maybe it’s crashing or restarting for some reason? Consider testing with an empty robot template and seeing if there’s different behavior than with your team’s code. Also, are you using the settings that you have tested work for your cameras? Usually if the camera server does not start within the given timeout, it may be a bandwidth or camera settings configuration problem.
• mcgrathsean2000 – Can you share with us which camera and settings are you using? Do they match the ones you saw work properly for your camera using the LabVIEW diagnostics tool?
• Dhick025 – will answer in your other post USB Camera Will Not Connect - LABVIEW

Cheers,