3.3.1: Make your own web based smart camera in JS – Part 1

Creating a web-based smart camera can be a fun and rewarding project. In this tutorial series, we will guide you through the process of building your own web-based smart camera using JavaScript.

Prerequisites

Before getting started, make sure you have a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. You will also need a basic understanding of how to work with the HTML5 canvas element. If you need to brush up on any of these skills, there are plenty of online tutorials available.

Setting up the HTML

To get started, create a new HTML file and add the following code:

In this HTML code, we have included a video element that will be used to display the camera feed. We have also added some basic CSS to ensure that the video element fills the entire width of the page.

Setting up the JavaScript

Next, we need to write the JavaScript code that will access the user’s camera and display the feed in the video element. Add the following code inside the <script> tags in the HTML file:


const video = document.getElementById('videoElement');

navigator.mediaDevices.getUserMedia({ video: true })
.then((stream) => {
video.srcObject = stream;
})
.catch((error) => {
console.log('Error accessing the camera:', error);
});


This JavaScript code uses the getUserMedia() method to access the user’s camera and then sets the video element’s srcObject property to the camera stream. If there is an error accessing the camera, an error message will be logged to the console.

Conclusion

With the HTML and JavaScript code in place, we have successfully set up the basic structure for our web-based smart camera. In the next part of this tutorial series, we will continue building out the functionality of the camera, including adding image recognition and other smart features.

Stay tuned for Part 2!