Your ZeroCam for Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W has quite a range of capabilities:

  1. Live Video Streaming: As you’ve set up for your rear-view bike camera.
  2. Photography: It can take still photos with the libcamera-still command.
  3. Video Recording: You can record videos to the SD card with the libcamera-vid -o video.h264 command.
  4. Time-lapse Photography: Create time-lapse sequences by taking photos at set intervals.
  5. Computer Vision Applications: With OpenCV, you could implement:
    • Motion detection
    • Object recognition
    • QR code/barcode scanning
  6. Security Camera: Set it up to record when motion is detected.
  7. Streaming Server: Stream video to other devices on your network.
  8. Video Conferencing: Use it as a webcam for video calls.
  9. Image Processing: Apply filters, effects, or analyze images in real-time.
  10. Nature Photography: Set up wildlife monitoring with motion triggers.
  11. Dashcam/Security: Record while riding or monitor your bike when parked.
  12. Image Classification: With machine learning libraries like TensorFlow Lite, you could classify objects seen by the camera.

Hardware Setup

  1. Power off your Pi Zero 2 W
  2. Connect the ZeroCam:
    • Pull up the black plastic tab on the camera connector
    • Insert the ZeroCam ribbon cable with blue/silver contacts facing toward USB ports
    • Push down the black tab to secure

Basic Software Setup

  1. Flash Raspberry Pi OS to a microSD card using Raspberry Pi Imager:
    • Enable SSH
    • Configure WiFi
    • Set username/password
  2. Boot the Pi and connect via SSH: bashCopyssh pi@raspberrypi.local
  3. Update the system: bashCopysudo apt update sudo apt upgrade -y
  4. Install required packages: bashCopysudo apt install -y python3-opencv python3-picamera2

Camera Script Setup (Simplified Approach)

After troubleshooting Python issues with event loops and preview windows, the most reliable solution is to use the built-in libcamera-vid command directly:

  1. Create a bash script: bashCopynano bike_camera.sh
  2. Paste this content: bashCopy#!/bin/bash # Simple script to run the bike camera # Kill any existing camera processes sudo killall -q libcamera-vid libcamera-hello python3 # Wait a moment for processes to close sleep 1 # Run the camera fullscreen with vflip and hflip for upside-down mounting libcamera-vid --timeout 0 --fullscreen --vflip --hflip
  3. Make the script executable: bashCopychmod +x bike_camera.sh
  4. Test the script: bashCopy./bike_camera.sh

Autostart Service Setup

  1. Create the service file: bashCopysudo nano /etc/systemd/system/bike-camera.service
  2. Add this content: Copy[Unit] Description=Bike Rear-View Camera After=multi-user.target [Service] Type=simple User=pi WorkingDirectory=/home/pi ExecStart=/home/pi/bike_camera.sh Restart=always RestartSec=10 [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
  3. Enable and start the service: bashCopysudo systemctl daemon-reload sudo systemctl enable bike-camera.service sudo systemctl start bike-camera.service
  4. Test that it starts on boot: bashCopysudo reboot

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues:

  1. “Pipeline handler in use by another process” error: bashCopysudo systemctl stop bike-camera.service sudo pkill -f python3 sudo pkill -f libcamera
  2. “An event loop is already running” error: This indicates a conflict with the display manager or another process using the display. The bash script approach avoids this by killing any existing processes first.
  3. Camera image positioning issues: The --fullscreen parameter ensures the camera fills the entire screen. If there are still positioning issues, you can add other parameters like --width 1920 --height 1080 to match your display.

Bike Installation

  1. Mount the camera under your bike seat facing backward (upside down)
  2. Position the display on your handlebars at a comfortable viewing angle
  3. Secure the Raspberry Pi in a weatherproof case on your bike frame
  4. Use a power bank (10,000+ mAh recommended) to power the system
  5. Secure all cables with zip ties to prevent them from getting caught

The system will automatically start displaying the rear view when powered on, giving you visibility of what’s behind you while riding.

Additional Notes

  • The --vflip --hflip parameters in the script handle flipping the image for mounting the camera upside down
  • If you want to customize further, libcamera-vid offers many parameters like brightness and contrast adjustment
  • For best visibility, position your display away from direct sunlight
  • Consider adding a small shade around your display if riding in bright conditions