esp-rainmaker/examples/camera

ESP RainMaker Camera Examples

This directory contains ESP RainMaker camera examples that demonstrate building smart cameras using ESP chipsets with AWS Kinesis Video Streams (KVS) WebRTC SDK integration and ESP RainMaker for device management.

Key Features of the RainMaker Camera:

• Complete WebRTC stack with STUN and TURN capabilities
• KVS peer connection with media streaming
• Audio/Video capture and playback interfaces

Available Examples

1. Standalone Mode (standalone/)

Complete WebRTC implementation including both signaling and media streaming on a single device.

Use Case:

• Single device deployment
• Direct camera streaming with WebRTC
• Faster Peer connection setup

Supported Devices:

• ESP32-P4 (FHD live streaming)
• ESP32-S3 (QVGA live streaming)
• Other ESP32 variants (file-based streaming)

Learn more →

2. Split Mode (split_mode/)

Split architecture where streaming is handled by a separate MCU and Signaling is handled by the RainMaker Camera.

Use Case:

• Distributed architecture (signaling on one device, streaming on another)
• This enables manufactures to swap streaming implementation swiftly
• Power-optimized deployments

Supported Devices:

• ESP32-P4 Function Ev Board
  • ESP32-C6 (signaling side RainMaker integration)
  • ESP32-P4 (streaming side - uses KVS streaming_only example)

Learn more →

Common Component: rmaker_camera

Both examples use a shared rmaker_camera component located in components/rmaker_camera/. The component behavior is controlled via Kconfig:

• CONFIG_RMAKER_CAMERA_MODE_STANDALONE: Complete WebRTC with media streaming
• CONFIG_RMAKER_CAMERA_MODE_SPLIT_MODE: Signaling-only for split architecture

The mode is set via each example's sdkconfig.defaults files, so no manual configuration is needed.

The main difference in two modes is standalone provides the single board application with instantaneous peer connection, whereas, split mode provides a way to make the media_adapter to be put in deep sleep when not in use and hence targetting power sensitive deployments

Prerequisites

• IDF version: release/v5.5 (v5.5.x)

• Amazon Kinesis Video Streams WebRTC SDK: Clone the beta-reference-esp-port branch

  git clone -b beta-reference-esp-port git@github.com:awslabs/amazon-kinesis-video-streams-webrtc-sdk-c.git
  export KVS_SDK_PATH=/path/to/amazon-kinesis-video-streams-webrtc-sdk-c
  

• ESP RainMaker App: Latest iOS/Android apps with Camera support

  • Android: v3.9.2 or later
  • iOS: v3.5.2 or later

Getting Started

1. Choose the appropriate example based on your use case:

   • Device for complete experience → Standalone Mode
   • Distributed setup with power saving feature → Split Mode

2. Follow the detailed instructions in the respective example's README:

   • Standalone Mode README
   • Split Mode README

3. Both examples use the same RainMaker camera component, which automatically adapts based on the configured mode.

Architecture

Standalone Mode

Single Chip Solution

┌────────────────────────────────┐
│   ESP32-S3 (Single Device)     │
│                                │
│  ┌──────────────────────────┐  │
│  │   RainMaker Camera       │  │
│  │   (Standalone Mode)      │  │
│  ├──────────────────────────┤  │
│  │  • Signaling             │  │
│  │  • Media Streaming       │  │
│  │  • Audio/Video Capture   │  │
│  │  • Audio Playback        |  |
│  └──────────────────────────┘  │
└────────────────────────────────┘

Dual Chip Solution

Standalone Mode

┌────────────────────────────────┐      ┌─────────────────────────────┐
│         ESP32-P4               │ SDIO │         ESP32-C6            │
│                                │◄────►│     (Network Adapter)       │
│  ┌──────────────────────────┐  │      └─────────────────────────────┘
│  │   RainMaker Camera       │  │
│  │   (Standalone Mode)      │  │
│  ├──────────────────────────┤  │
│  │  • Signaling             │  │
│  │  • Media Streaming       │  │
│  │  • Audio/Video Capture   │  │
│  │  • Audio Playback        │  │
│  └──────────────────────────┘  │
└────────────────────────────────┘

Split Mode

┌────────────────────────────────┐      ┌─────────────────────────────┐
│         ESP32-C6               │ SDIO │         ESP32-P4            │
│      (RainMaker Camera)        │◄────►│   (Streaming Device)        │
│  ┌──────────────────────────┐  │      ├─────────────────────────────┤
│  │   Camera Split Mode      │  │      │                             │
│  ├──────────────────────────┤  │      │   • Media Streaming         │
│  │  • RainMaker Device Mgmt │  │      │   • Audio/Video Capture     │
│  │  • Signaling             │  │      │   • Audio Playback          │
│  └──────────────────────────┘  │      └─────────────────────────────┘
└────────────────────────────────┘