Using a USB Camera

1. Get your camera's path id

Start with no USB cameras plugged in and run the following command. You may see a camera listed here if your computer has a webcam.

ls /dev/v4l/by-id

Plug in your USB camera, wait a few moments, and run the same command again. You should see an additional camera listed here. This is your camera's path.

2. Point cam_pub to your camera's path

Refer to this line in launch/camera.launch which reads:

<param name="~source" type="string" value="/dev/video0" />

The parameter value is the path of the camera. Change it so that it reads

<param name="~source" type="string" value="/dev/v4l/by-id/<YOUR USB CAM PATH>" />

For example, yours may now look like

<param name="~source" type="string" value="/dev/v4l/by-id/usb-KYE_Systems_Corp._USB_Camera_200901010001-video-index0" />

That's it! cam_pub will now read from your USB camera.