Tutorial Three: Simple Camera

This tutorial demonstrates how to create a simple Camera simulator that can generate and transmit FITS images. It builds on the concepts introduced in the previous tutorials and introduces BLOB (Binary Large Object) handling for image data.

What You’ll Learn

  • How to create a Camera driver by inheriting from INDI::CCD
  • How to generate and transmit FITS images
  • How to handle BLOB properties
  • How to simulate CCD temperature control

Source Code

The source code for this tutorial can be found in the INDI library repository under the examples/tutorial_three directory.

Code Explanation

This driver simulates a simple camera that can:

  • Connect/disconnect to the device
  • Control the TEC temperature
  • Capture images with different exposure times
  • Generate and transmit FITS images

The key components include:

  1. CCD Properties: Temperature, exposure time, and image data
  2. FITS Generation: Creating simulated FITS images with random data
  3. BLOB Handling: Transmitting binary image data to clients

Running the Tutorial

To run this tutorial:

  1. Build the tutorial using CMake:

    cd /path/to/indi/build
make

  2. Run the INDI server with the tutorial driver:

    indiserver -v ./tutorial_three

  3. Connect to the server using an INDI client (like KStars/EKOS or INDI Control Panel).

  4. You should see the “Simple CCD” in the client, and you can connect to it, set the temperature, and take exposures.

Next Steps

This tutorial demonstrates a simple Camera simulator. In Tutorial Four, we’ll learn how to use skeleton files to define properties.