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Getting Started with the Bumblebee X

Preparing for Installation

Recommended system configuration:

  • OS—Ubuntu Linux 22.04 (64-bit)
  • CPU—Intel i7 or greater
  • RAM—8 GB dual channel
  • Software—ROS 2 Humble (Ubuntu Linux 22.04)

Do you have all the parts you need?

To install your camera you need the following components:

  • Ethernet power injector
  • IP-rated M12 Ethernet cable (from camera to power injector)
  • Standard RJ45 Ethernet cable (from power injector to host adapter)
  • Ethernet host adapter with 1G or 5G (preferred) Full Duplex support
  • IP-rated GPIO cable with Hirose 12-pin connector
  • Pattern projector (optional)

We sell a number of the additional parts required for installation. To purchase, visit the Accessories page.

Bumblebee X Resources

The Bumblebee X product page has many resources, including:

  • Spinnaker® SDK software, including drivers (login required)
  • Firmware updates and release notes (login required)
  • Dimensional drawings and CAD models
  • Documentation

Installing your Software (Linux)

1. Install the Spinnaker® SDK Software

Note: The Bumblebee X camera requires Spinnaker version 4.1 or later.

a. Go to the Spinnaker download page. (If you are not already logged in, you are prompted to login.)

b. Select Spinnaker version 4.1 for Linux (Ubuntu 22.04).

c. Install the Ubuntu dependencies:

$ sudo apt-get install libavcodec58 libavformat58 \
libswscale5 libswresample3 libavutil56 libusb-1.0-0 \
libpcre2-16-0 libdouble-conversion3 libxcb-xinput0 \
libxcb-xinerama0 qtbase5-dev qtchooser qt5-qmake \
qtbase5-dev-tools

d. Install Spinnaker deb files:

$ sudo sh install_spinnaker.sh

See the Spinnaker README file for additional information.

Installing your Host Adapter (Linux)

1. Install your Host Adapter

Ensure the card is installed per the manufacturer's instructions. 

2. Maximize Network Settings

To maximize the successful usage of the camera it is important to optimize some network settings.

Note: Administrator privileges are required.

A network tuning script provided with the Spinnaker SDK optimizes certain network settings using the standard tool: ethtool. Note that depending on your network interface and architecture, not all parameters set by the script are supported. The gev_ nettweak tuning script is located in:
/opt/spinnaker/bin/

a. Install ethtool:

$ sudo apt install ethtool

b. To show name of your host adapter:

$ ip addr show

c. Adjust <your host adapter>:

$ sudo ./gev_nettweak <your host adapter>

The gev_nettweak script adjusts the following parameters:

Parameter Function
MTU Maximizes the Maximal Transmission Unit (MTU) size on the host adapter. This is the maximum packet size for image data.
net.ipv4.udp_rmem_min Adjusts the receive memory allocation size in the network stack.
net.core.netdev_max_backlog Adjusts the network packet backlog queue size.
net.unix.max_dgram_qlen Adjusts the network queue length and computes the amount of memory for UDP  packets.
net.core.rmem_default
net.core.rmem_max		 Adjusts the default and maximum memory for receiving network packets.
rx_jumbo Adjusts the setting of the network device drivers to optimize the rx_ring and the rx jumbo packet queue for maximum throughput and to disable the rx pause operation. This  improves reception of image data packets from the cameras.

3. Disable Reverse Path Filtering (RPF)

To ensure the camera enumerates properly, RPF needs to be disabled.

To disable RPF:

a. Run the following:

$ sudo gedit /etc/sysctl.d/10-networksecurity.conf

b. In the file, comment out the lines:

# Turn on Source Address Verification in all interfaces to
# in order to prevent some spoofing attacks.
## net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter=1
## net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter=1

c. Restart the computer.

4. Set 5GigE Link Speed

To use the full potential of 5GigE, we recommend setting the auto-negotiation speed and duplex of your host adapter to 5GBASE-T.

a. Verify your supported link modes:

$ sudo ethtool <your host adapter>

b. If supported, temporarily set the auto-negotiation speed and duplex to 5GBASE-T and full duplex:

$ sudo ethtool -s <your host adapter>
advertise 0x1000000000000

Or,

c. To permanently set it, navigate to /etc/rc.local and edit that file with a text editor to copy in:

sudo ethtool -s <your host adapter>
advertise 0x1000000000000

Installing your Bumblebee X Camera

1. Mount the Camera 

a. Calculate the distance required for your model's stereo field of view.

b. If using a pattern projector, mount the projector to the camera.

c. Mount the camera using the mounting holes on the top, bottom, or back of the case.

2. Connect the Camera

a. Connect the host adapter to the Ethernet power injector using an RJ45 Ethernet cable.

b. Connect the camera to the injector using an IP-rated M12 Ethernet cable.

3. Connect the GPIO

a. Connect the IP-rated GPIO cable, or;

b. Ensure the plug is secure in the GPIO connector on the back of the
camera.

4. Confirm Successful Installation

a. Launch SpinView to connect to the camera for streaming.

b. Refer to the README file for using the camera in ROS and SDK examples.

c. Test and adjust the mounting position as necessary.

More Information

Expore our resources or contact us with the following:

Email General Sales Questions
Support Ticket Technical Support
Support Forum Teledyne FLIR Community
Product Page Bumblebee X for articles, documents, firmware, CAD models