- 1 year ago
Python3: emulate local webcam device with OpenCV on win10
To emulate a local webcam device using OpenCV in Python on Windows 10, you can use the pyvirtualcam
library. pyvirtualcam
allows you to create a virtual camera device that can be recognized by applications as a regular webcam.
Here's an example of how you can use pyvirtualcam
and OpenCV to emulate a webcam device:
Install the
pyvirtualcam
library using pip:pip install pyvirtualcam
Create a Python script, for example
virtual_webcam.py
, and import the necessary libraries:pythonimport cv2
import pyvirtualcam
import numpy as np
Create a function to read frames from a video file or generate frames programmatically. In this example, we'll generate a rotating pattern:
pythondef generate_frames():
frame_size = (640, 480)
frame_count = 0
while True:
# Generate a rotating pattern
angle = (frame_count % 360) * np.pi / 180.0
image = np.zeros(frame_size, dtype=np.uint8)
image[:] = 255
cv2.putText(image, 'Virtual Webcam', (100, 200), cv2.FONT_HERSHEY_SIMPLEX, 1, (0, 0, 0), 2)
cv2.putText(image, 'Frame Count: {}'.format(frame_count), (100, 300), cv2.FONT_HERSHEY_SIMPLEX, 1, (0, 0, 0), 2)
cv2.putText(image, 'Angle: {:.2f}'.format(angle), (100, 400), cv2.FONT_HERSHEY_SIMPLEX, 1, (0, 0, 0), 2)
# Yield the frame
yield image
frame_count += 1
Initialize the virtual camera and start the video stream:
pythondef main():
with pyvirtualcam.Camera(width=640, height=480, fps=30) as cam:
print(f'Using virtual camera: {cam.device}')
cam.start()
# Generate frames and send them to the virtual camera
for frame in generate_frames():
cam.send(frame)
# Wait for the frame to be displayed
cam.sleep_until_next_frame()
if __name__ == '__main__':
main()
Run the script, and it will create a virtual webcam device that applications can use.
The pyvirtualcam
library works by creating a virtual camera device and providing an interface for sending frames to the device. In the example above, we generate frames using OpenCV and send them to the virtual camera using the cam.send()
function.
Now, when you open any application that uses a webcam, you should see the output from the virtual webcam you created using OpenCV and pyvirtualcam
.