sr305 developer review
I'm debating whether or not to return the RealSense sr305 that I hastily just purchased. I am a Python developer and thought this would be a fun side project however I quickly fell down the rabbit hole of open source hell just trying to get the thing installed.
After spending an inordinate amount of time reading the poorly written github instructions, I had to down load 3 SDK's. The one for the camera itself, C++ build tools, Windows Build Tools, and the librealsense SDK from github.
I mean c'mon. and on top of that I had 2 learn two package managers vcpkg and CMake. All of the RealSense products appear to be geared toward Microsoft Developers?
The cost of this product is affordable, however the time commitment for configuring and learning as well as the hardrive space to house all of it's SDK's, and no current 3D software that supports it make it a deal breaker.
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I completely understand your frustrations. If you are coming to RealSense as a new user then there can be a lot to take in. You may have a more fun experience if you break the learning process down into steps. The instructions below assume that you are a Windows user. If you are on Linux, I apologise for my assumption and will try to provide Linux guidance.
1. Put Visual Studio and Python aside at first. Install the RealSense SDK onto Windows from the Releases page using the pre-built exe installer so you do not have to compile the SDK yourself.
https://github.com/IntelRealSense/librealsense/releases/
2. The installer will place launch icons for the RealSense Viewer and the Depth Quality Tool. Plug the SR305 into the USB port, run these programs and have a play with them.
You can also find pre-buit Windows executables of sample programs in the SDK folder at:
C: > Program Files (x86) > Intel RealSense SDK 2.0 > Tools
3. When you are ready to start developing Python applications, you can use PyPi to install the Pyrealsense2 Python support wrapper for the SDK using the instruction pip install pyrealsense2
https://github.com/IntelRealSense/librealsense/tree/master/wrappers/python#installation
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Thanks MartyG. That's some good advice. In my excitement to see what this thing is capable of I was plowing through all of the requirements. I mean there are quite a few, but you've pulled me out of "opensource hell" and brought me back to "devland". haha. I'll take my time with the instructions and see how that goes.
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Glad I could be of help! There is so much that can be done with depth cameras that it is easy to be overloaded with choices. Some unstressed testing is great for forming ideas that interest you for where to investigate next. Good luck, and please feel free to return to this forum any time you have questions.
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