SPI Camera for Raspberry Pi Pico

1.Introduction

As an alternative to Arduino, Raspberry Pi Pico lacks processing power, memory, and a CSI interface, which makes it impossible for Pico to work with the official or any MIPI CSI-2 camera modules. Thankfully, Pico has a wide range of flexible I/O options includes SPI, which enables the Arducam SPI camera to work with Pico.

Now, the Arducam team has solved the compatibility of our SPI camera with Raspberry Pi Pico. Getting started here!

2MP OV2640 SPI Camera Module	5MP OV5640 SPI Camera Module
Buy Now	Buy Now

2.Application

loT cameras
Robot cameras
Wildlife cameras
Other battery-powered products
Can be used in MCU, Raspberry Pi, ARM, DSP, FPGA platforms

3.Features

2MP image sensor OV2640 (B0067) / 5MP image sensor OV5642 (B0068)
M12 mount or CS-mount lens holder with changeable lens options
IR sensitive with proper lens combination
12C interface for the sensor configuration
SPI interface for camera commands and data stream
All IO ports are 5V/3.3V tolerant
Support JPEG compression mode, single and multiple shoot mode, one-time capture multiple read operation, burst read operation, low power mode and etc.
Well mated with standard Raspberry Pi Pico boards
Provide open-source code library for Arduino, STM32, Chip kit, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black
The small form of factor

4.Pin Definition

Pin No.	Pin Name	Type	Description
1	CS	Input	SPI slave chip select input
2	MOSI	Input	SPI master output slave input
3	MISO	Output	SPI master input slave output
4	SCLK	Input	SPI serial clock
5	GND	Ground	Power ground
6	+5V	POWER	5V Power supply
7	SDA	Bi-directional	Two-Wire Serial Interface Data I/O
8	SCL	Input	Two-Wire Serial Interface Clock

5.Key Specification

	B0067	B0068
Image Sensor	OV2640	OV5642
Active array size	1600×1200	2592×1944
Shutter	rolling shutter	rolling shutter
Lens	1/4 inch	1/4 inch
SPI speed	8MHz	8MHz
Frame buffer	8MB	8MB
Temperature	-10°C~+55°C	-10°C~+55°C
Power consumption	Normal: 5V/70mA Low power Mode: 5V/20mA	Normal: 5V/390mA Low power mode: 5V/20mA

6.Typical Wiring

Connect SPI Camera to Pico

Camera	CS	MOSI	MISO	SCK	GND	VCC	SDA	SCL
Pico	GP5	GP3	GP4	GP2	GND	3V3	GP8	GP9

7.Quick Start

7.1 Download the example package

git clone https://github.com/ArduCAM/PICO_SPI_CAM.git

7.2 How to access SPI Camera using C

Cameras supported:

OV2640 2MP_Plus JPEG format
OV5642 5MP_Plus JPEG format

Demos provided:

7.2.1 Compile the driver library

Note: Refer to the official manual for the development environment:

Choose the demo to be compiled. (default is Arducam_MINI_2MP_Plus_Videostreaing)

cd  PICO_SPI_CAM/C
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make

7.2.2 Run the .uf2 file

Copy the PICO_SPI_CAM/C/build/Examples/Arducam_MINI_2MP_Plus_Videostreaing/Arducam_mini_2mp_plus_videostreaming.uf2 file to Pico to run the test.

Open HostApp.exe under PICO_SPI_CAM/HostApp file path, configure the port number, and click Image to view the image.

7.3 How to access Camera using Python

7.3.1 Download and install Thonny

https://thonny.org/

7.3.2 Configure the environment

Refer to the official manual for the development environment.

7.2.3 Run Thonny

Copy all the files except boot.py under PI-CO_SPI_CAM/Python/ file path to Pico

Thonny->Run->Select interpreter->Circuit Python(generic)->OK

Device manage->Ports(COM & LPT)

Configure port number of Circuit Python(generic)

Copy all the boot.py file under PICO_SPI_CAM/Python/ file path to Pico.

Reboot Pico and then check the new port number under Ports(COM & LPT), it’s used to USB communication.

Thonny->Open file->Circuit Python device->Arducam_Mini_2MP_Plus_VideoStreaming.py

Thonny->Run

"[48] ,Camera Type is OV2640,SPI interface OK" means camera initialization is complete.

*Note:* [48] is the I2c device address of the OV2640 camera.

Open HostApp.exe under PICO_SPI_CAM/HostApp file path, select the port number used for USB communication, and click Image to view the image.

8.What’s Next

If you want to know more about our SPI cameras, refer to the SPI Camera Software Application Note.