Using USB Camera With ARC

Short answer: Yes - ARC supports USB cameras. The Camera Device robot skill will use any camera that Windows recognizes (UVC / Windows drivers), or you can point it to IP/JPEG streams or an EZ-B camera stream.

Below are quick steps, troubleshooting tips, and example JavaScript you can run in ARC.

1. Basic steps to use a USB camera in ARC

• Make sure the USB camera is physically connected to the same PC running ARC (USB cameras must be connected to the machine where ARC runs).
• Verify Windows sees the camera:
  • Open the Windows Camera app or Device Manager Cameras (or Imaging devices). If it works in the Camera app, Windows drivers are OK.
• In ARC:
  • Project Add robot skill Camera Camera Device (or open an existing Camera Device skill).
  • If the camera is stopped, select the USB camera from the Video Device dropdown. (Click Refresh if it doesn’t appear.)
  • Choose an appropriate resolution (if the image is blank, try a lower resolution).
  • Press Start/Stop to begin the video feed.

Camera Device docs: https://synthiam.com/Support/Skills/Camera/Camera-Device?id=16120 ARC downloads (latest ARC): https://synthiam.com/Products/ARC

2. Drivers / software

• Most USB webcams are UVC-compliant and use Windows’ builtin drivers (no extra driver required).
• If the camera is proprietary (RealSense, some industrial cameras, etc.), install the manufacturer’s Windows drivers/sdk from the vendor website.
• If the device isn’t visible in Windows, install the vendor driver first, then re-check ARC.
• For IP cameras or an EZ-B camera, you can use a URL (JPEG snapshot or stream) or EZB://IP:PORT syntax (e.g., EZB://192.168.1.5:24).

3. Quick troubleshooting checklist

• Camera works in Windows Camera app? If no fix driver/vendor software.
• Camera listed in ARC Video Device dropdown when stopped? If no re-plug, try different USB port (prefer a direct port, avoid passive hubs).
• Try different resolution if image is blank.
• If ARC can start the camera but it disconnects: check power supply / USB bandwidth / servo brownouts (power issues can cause camera drops).
• Windows privacy: Settings Privacy (Camera & Microphone) - make sure apps are allowed to use the camera. See camera/audio troubleshooting: https://synthiam.com/Support/troubleshooting/camera-audio-microphone-issues
• If using a remote PC configuration (ARC running on a different machine than the camera): USB cams must be attached to the machine running ARC. Use network streams for remote cameras (HTTP snapshot URL / MJPEG).

Helpful synthiam pages:

• Camera Device skill: https://synthiam.com/Support/Skills/Camera/Camera-Device?id=16120
• EZ-B v4 hardware/firmware: https://synthiam.com/Support/Hardware/EZ-B-v4
• Camera/audio troubleshooting: https://synthiam.com/Support/troubleshooting/camera-audio-microphone-issues

4. Useful sample JavaScript for ARC

// Start the Camera using device index 0 (first camera in the list)
ControlCommand("Camera", "CameraStart", 0);

// Check if camera is active (returns true/false)
var active = ControlCommandWait("Camera", "IsCameraActive");
print("Camera active? " + active);

// Take a snapshot to the Camera media folder (auto filename)
ControlCommand("Camera", "CameraSnapshot");

// Start camera from a URL (IP camera or HTTP snapshot)
ControlCommand("Camera", "CameraStart", "https://192.168.1.10:8080";);

// Start camera from an EZ-B camera stream
ControlCommand("Camera", "CameraStart", "EZB://192.168.1.5:24");

Notes:

• Use numeric device indices (0, 1, ...) when selecting by index.
• For URL or EZB syntax, pass a string.

5. Follow-up questions so I can help further

• What OS / version of Windows are you using?
• What is the camera model?
• Are you running ARC on the same PC that the USB camera is plugged into?
• Does the camera work in the Windows Camera app or Device Manager?

If you share the camera model and whether it appears in Windows, I’ll give specific driver links and stepbystep troubleshooting for your setup.