Web GUI

The rc_cube’s Web GUI can be used to test, calibrate, and configure the device.

Accessing the Web GUI

The Web GUI can be accessed from any web browser, such as Firefox, Google Chrome, or Microsoft Edge, via the rc_cube’s IP address. The easiest way to access the Web GUI is to simply double click on the desired device using the rcdiscover-gui tool as explained in Discovery of rc_cube devices.

Alternatively, some network environments automatically configure the unique host name of the rc_cube in their Domain Name Server (DNS). In this case, the Web GUI can also be accessed directly using the URL http://<host-name> by replacing <host-name> with the device’s host name.

For Linux and Mac operating systems, this even works without DNS via the multicast Domain Name System (mDNS), which is automatically used if .local is appended to the host name. Thus, the URL simply becomes http://<host-name>.local.

Access to the rc_visard Web GUI

For troubleshooting, users can also directly access the Web GUI of the rc_visard device that is connected to the rc_cube. It is available at port 2342 of the rc_cube, and hence at the URL http://<host>:2342 where <host> is the IP address or host name of the rc_cube that the rc_visard is connected to.

By this means, users have access to rc_visard’s device information or log files.

Note

If a computer screen is directly connected to the rc_cube, it shows the Web GUI with a small additional menu from which the rc_visard’s Web GUI can be accessed as well.

Exploring the Web GUI

The Web GUI’s overview page gives the most important information about the device and the software components.

_images/webgui_overview_cube_en.png

Fig. 37 Overview page of the rc_cube’s Web GUI

The page’s top row permits access to the individual pages of the rc_cube’s Web GUI:

Camera
shows a live stream of the left and right rectified camera images. The frame rate can be reduced to save bandwidth when streaming to a GigE Vision® client. Furthermore, exposure can be set manually or automatically. See Parameters for more information.
Depth Image
shows a live stream of the left rectified, depth, and confidence images. The page contains various settings for depth-image computation and filtering. See Parameters for more information.
Hand-Eye-Calibration
allows the computation of the static transformation between the camera and a coordinate system known in the robot system. This can be the flange coordinate system of a robotic arm if the camera is attached to the flange. Alternatively, the camera may be mounted statically in the robot environment and calibrated to any other static frame known in the robot system. See Hand-eye calibration for more information.
Modules
gives access to the optional software components of the rc_cube (see Optional software components).
Logs
permits access to the log files on the rc_cube. The log files are typically checked if errors are suspected.
System
gives access to general settings and device information, and permits the firmware or the license file to be updated.

Note

Changed parameters are not persistent and will be lost when restarting the rc_cube unless they are saved by pressing the Save button before leaving the corresponding page.

Note

Further information on all parameters in the Web GUI can be obtained by pressing the Info button next to each parameter.

Downloading stereo camera images

The Web GUI provides an easy way to download a snapshot of the current scene as a .tar.gz file by clicking on the camera icon below the image live streams on the Camera tab. This snapshot contains:

  • the rectified left and right camera images in full resolution as .png files,
  • a camera parameter file containing the camera matrix, image dimensions, exposure time, gain value and the stereo baseline,
  • the current IMU readings as imu.csv file,
  • a nodes.json file containing information about all nodes running on the rc_cube,
  • a system_info.json file containing system information about the rc_cube.

The filenames contain the timestamps.

Downloading depth images and point clouds

The Web GUI provides an easy way to download the depth data of the current scene as a .tar.gz file by clicking on the camera icon below the image live streams on the Depth image tab. This snapshot contains:

  • the rectified left and right camera images in full resolution as .png files,
  • an image parameter file corresponding to the left image containing the camera matrix, image dimensions, exposure time, gain value and the stereo baseline,
  • the disparity, error and confidence images in the resolution corresponding to the currently chosen quality as .png files,
  • a disparity parameter file corrsponding to the disparity image containing the camera matrix, image dimensions, exposure time, gain value and the stereo baseline, and information about the disparity values (i.e. invalid values, scale, offset),
  • a point cloud in the current depth quality (resolution) as .ply file,
  • the current IMU readings as imu.csv file,
  • a nodes.json file containing information about all nodes running on the rc_cube,
  • a system_info.json file containing system information about the rc_cube.

The filenames contain the timestamps.

Note

Downloading a depth snapshot will trigger an acquisition in the same way as clicking on the “Acquire” button on the Depth Image page of the Web GUI, and, thus, might affect running applications.