OrbbecSDK_v2

Performance Tuning

1. Enhancing Performance by Switching UVC Backend (Linux Only)

For cameras connected via USB, the Orbbec SDK supports both LibUVC and V4L2 as backends, with the V4L2 backend generally offering better performance and lower resource consumption. However, the V4L2 backend may have compatibility issues with different Linux versions, which is why the Orbbec SDK defaults to using the LibUVC backend. If you encounter frame dropping or latency issues, you can try switching to the V4L2 backend.

Note: For devices other than the Gemini 330 series, the V4L2 backend requires a kernel version of at least 4.16 (Ubuntu 20.04 or higher) to function properly. Otherwise, there may be issues with obtaining correct data frame timestamps and metadata. The Gemini 330 series has no kernel version restrictions.

If you face performance issues, you can attempt to switch to the V4L2 backend by following these steps:

  1. Locate the OrbbecSDKConfig.xml file in the SDK package (usually found in the ./lib or ./bin directory, which can be located via file search), then copy it to the working directory at the same level as libOrbbecSDK.so.

  2. In the OrbbecSDKConfig.xml file, find the <LinuxUVCBackend> tag and change LibUVC to V4L2:

     <LinuxUVCBackend>V4L2</LinuxUVCBackend>

  3. After configuration, you will need to re-plug the device and restart your application.

2. Improving usbfs Buffer Sizes (Linux Only)

The usbfs kernel module is responsible for handling USB communication, and it has several parameters that can be tuned to improve performance. One of the most important parameters is the usbfs_buffer_size parameter, which determines the size of the kernel buffer used to store USB data.

Note: It is strongly recommended to increase the usbfs_buffer_size parameter when using multiple usb devices or when streaming large amounts of data, as the default value may not be sufficient to handle the data rate.

To increase the usbfs_buffer_size, follow these steps:

  1. execute the following command on terminal:

     echo 128 | sudo tee /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/usbfs_memory_mb

  2. Reboot the system.

After the system reboots, you should see the usbfs_buffer_size parameter in the output of the dmesg command. You can verify that the usbfs_buffer_size has been set correctly by running the following command:

cat /sys/module/usbcore/parameters/usbfs_memory_mb

The output should be 128.

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