Setting up a camera pi

Step 1: Install Ubuntu

Install Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS (64-bit) on to a new (or erased) SD card. If the SD card has not new and has not been erased, you will need to erase it first, e.g. with the Disk Utility application on Mac. After that, follow the official instructions to install Ubuntu, making sure to select the correct version.

Step 2: Transfer cloud-init files

After installing Ubuntu, you will need to copy all the files in ${HUNTSMAN-POCS}/resources/rpi (make sure you have the latest version from the develop branch) onto the top directory on the SD card. Modify the instance-specific data at the top of the user-data file for your specific pi.

Step 3: Boot the pi

Put the SD card into the pi and power it on. cloud-init will run automatically - it takes around half an hour and does not require supervision. Once it finishes, you will automatically be logged in as the huntsman user. It is normal for the pi to reboot itself once or twice during this process.

Note: the pi must have an ethernet connection during boot.

Step 4: Finalise installation

To finalise the installation, you will need to do two things:

• Append the public key of the control computer to the /home/huntsman/.ssh/authorized_keys directory on the pi. If unsure, these instructions may help.
• Export the PANOPTES_CONFIG_HOST environment variable in /home/huntsman/.bashrc.

Step 5: Start the camera service

The simplest way to start the camera service is to reboot the pi. The latest docker images will be pulled automatically after reboot. If all has gone well, the camera service will start automatically in the camera-service window of the huntsman byobu session.