A Python desktop application for automated well-plate imaging, driving a 3D-printer motion stage and a scientific camera through a PySide6 GUI — from single-well calibration to timing-accurate, laser-stimulus-synced raw bursts.
Marlin (USB/serial) and Klipper (Moonraker HTTP API), plus a full hardware simulation mode for testing without a printer attached.
Player One astronomy cameras, Raspberry Pi cameras (true raw Bayer burst via Picamera2), and generic USB webcams.
Bilinear interpolation from four physical corners generates the full well map automatically, with save/load JSON profiles.
Max-rate, per-frame-timestamped sensor bursts with laser stimulus synced precisely within Pre/ON/Post phases.
Converts raw .npy bursts into per-frame PNGs, a timing-accurate VFR MKV, and a display-friendly MP4.
python -m robocam <command> for hardware testing and scripted workflows without launching the GUI.
git clone https://github.com/E-Lab-SFSU/RoboCam3.1.git
cd RoboCam3.1
bash setup.sh
bash start_robocam.sh| Status | Item |
|---|---|
| Bug (open) | Raw burst capture on the Pi camera (Picamera2 backend) needs investigation — the Player One backend path is unaffected and verified on real hardware. |
| Untested | Klipper motion backend is implemented but not yet run against real Klipper hardware — only Marlin verified end-to-end. |
| Untested | Motion Profiles tab — feed-rate/acceleration/jerk read/write is implemented for Marlin (Klipper has no gcode equivalent), but not yet validated on real hardware, only in simulate mode. |
| Pending | Z-hop during experiment travel — collision risk if the lens is close to the plate walls. |
| Planned | Temperature control widgets. |
| Planned | Extruder as pump/dispenser. |
Verified working on real hardware: Player One raw-burst capture (including laser-timed Pre/ON/Post runs), the Processing tab's batch conversion, lgpio-based laser control on Pi 5, udev USB auto-installer, and multi-camera enumeration.
RoboCam 3.1 was developed and is maintained by Leonard Chau, continuing work from RoboCam-Suite and RoboCam-Suite2.0, itself inspired by the Esquerra Lab's original FlyCam. The project now lives under the E-Lab-SFSU organization for ongoing lab use and maintenance.
RoboCam 3.1 is the imaging platform underneath StentorCam, a wider effort by the Esquerra Lab (E-Lab) at San Francisco State University with collaborators at UC Santa Cruz and Knox College, through the Center for Cellular Construction. See the full Team page for everyone involved.