Hi there!
I am using an ESP32-CAM to capture an image so that it can be later processed by Processing. I am attempting to send the info through Serial, and read it on Processing. However, I am having trouble getting the image to correctly transfer. From what I can tell, the base64 encoding isn't working properly, for when I paste it into a "Validate base64" tool, it throws an error (length isn't divisible by 4, so it's an invalid string).
Here is my code:
/*********
Rui Santos
Complete project details at https://RandomNerdTutorials.com/esp32-cam-take-photo-save-microsd-card
IMPORTANT!!!
- Select Board "AI Thinker ESP32-CAM"
- GPIO 0 must be connected to GND to upload a sketch
- After connecting GPIO 0 to GND, press the ESP32-CAM on-board RESET button to put your board in flashing mode
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files.
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all
copies or substantial portions of the Software.
*********/
#include "esp_camera.h"
#include "Arduino.h"
#include "soc/soc.h" // Disable brownour problems
#include "soc/rtc_cntl_reg.h" // Disable brownour problems
#include "driver/rtc_io.h"
#include <EEPROM.h> // read and write from flash memory
#include <base64.h>
// define the number of bytes you want to access
#define EEPROM_SIZE 1
// Pin definition for CAMERA_MODEL_AI_THINKER
#define CAMERA_MODEL_AI_THINKER
#define PWDN_GPIO_NUM 32
#define RESET_GPIO_NUM -1
#define XCLK_GPIO_NUM 0
#define SIOD_GPIO_NUM 26
#define SIOC_GPIO_NUM 27
#define Y9_GPIO_NUM 35
#define Y8_GPIO_NUM 34
#define Y7_GPIO_NUM 39
#define Y6_GPIO_NUM 36
#define Y5_GPIO_NUM 21
#define Y4_GPIO_NUM 19
#define Y3_GPIO_NUM 18
#define Y2_GPIO_NUM 5
#define VSYNC_GPIO_NUM 25
#define HREF_GPIO_NUM 23
#define PCLK_GPIO_NUM 22
void setup() {
WRITE_PERI_REG(RTC_CNTL_BROWN_OUT_REG, 0); //disable brownout detector
Serial.begin(2000000);
camera_config_t config;
config.ledc_channel = LEDC_CHANNEL_0;
config.ledc_timer = LEDC_TIMER_0;
config.pin_d0 = Y2_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_d1 = Y3_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_d2 = Y4_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_d3 = Y5_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_d4 = Y6_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_d5 = Y7_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_d6 = Y8_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_d7 = Y9_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_xclk = XCLK_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_pclk = PCLK_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_vsync = VSYNC_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_href = HREF_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_sccb_sda = SIOD_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_sccb_scl = SIOC_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_pwdn = PWDN_GPIO_NUM;
config.pin_reset = RESET_GPIO_NUM;
config.xclk_freq_hz = 20000000;
config.pixel_format = PIXFORMAT_JPEG; //JPEG FORMAT
if(psramFound()){
config.frame_size = FRAMESIZE_QVGA; //320x240
config.jpeg_quality = 10; //Lower size = higher quality
config.fb_count = 2;
} else {
config.frame_size = FRAMESIZE_SVGA;
config.jpeg_quality = 12;
config.fb_count = 1;
}
// Init Camera
esp_err_t err = esp_camera_init(&config);
if (err != ESP_OK) {
Serial.printf("Camera init failed with error 0x%x", err);
return;
}
pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
takePicture();
delay(2000);
//Serial.println("Going to sleep now");
delay(2000);
esp_deep_sleep_start();
Serial.println("This will never be printed");
}
void loop() {
}
void takePicture(){
camera_fb_t* fb = NULL;
// Take Picture with Camera
fb = esp_camera_fb_get();
if(!fb) {
Serial.println("Camera capture failed");
return;
}
// Turns on the ESP32-CAM white on-board LED (flash) connected to GPIO 4
digitalWrite(4, HIGH);
delay(500);
String encoded = base64::encode(fb->buf, fb->len);
Serial.write(encoded.c_str(), encoded.length());
Serial.println();
//Serial.print('\n');
/* Trying for direct transmission, doesn't seem to work either
for(int i=0; i<fb->len; i++){
Serial.print(fb->buf[i]);
Serial.print(",");
}
Serial.print('\n');
*/
esp_camera_fb_return(fb);
// Turns off the ESP32-CAM white on-board LED (flash) connected to GPIO 4
digitalWrite(4, LOW);
}
As you can see, I have adapted the code from RandomNerdTutorials, and I have also taken code from this repo that does a similar thing. However, the base64 encoding is sometimes oversized/undersized, and when I adjust the padding (= at the end) I still don't get a valid JPEG image (I am checking using this tool).
Here is an example base64-encoded string:
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
As you can check yourselves, it is 7009 characters long, not divisible by 4. To make it a valid base64 string, I remove the last = of padding. However, when put into the base64->JPEG converter, I still get nothing.
I do not know what could be the issue, and I have been trying to wrap my head around how the ESP32-CAM works and I can't seem to get it right.
I do think that, for my purposes, using RBG565 would be a better choice, but I have not had any luck deciphering how that works either and how I could use it in conjuction with Processing. JPEG just seemed more straightforward, but I am having lots of trouble with it anyway.
Any help will be appreciated, thanks!
