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Vision & CamerasIntermediate · Our suggestion

ImageGenCam

A DIY Pi Zero 2 W camera with image generation.

Full build guide

ImageGenCam
Image hot-linked from the project's GitHub repository.

By OpenAI

View original on GitHub View original on youcanjustbuildthings.openai.chatgpt.site
Posted
GitHub stars
488 (GitHub)

What you need

Difficulty
Intermediate · Our suggestion
License
Apache-2.0 (source)

Parts

  • Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with headers (board)
  • Pimoroni Display HAT Mini (PIM589), Spy Camera for Raspberry Pi Zero (Adafruit 3508 or equivalent), PiSugar 3, 16 GB microSD card and reader, 3D-printed camera case (STL and STEP in the repo), Mac with Codex Desktop
AI model or service
ChatGPT Images 2.0 (OpenAI account), Codex Desktop guides the build

Overview

ImageGenCam is OpenAI's digital camera you build yourself with Codex. It pairs a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with a Pimoroni Display HAT Mini, a spy camera and a PiSugar 3 in a 3D-printed case. Pick a prompt, take a photo, and ChatGPT Images 2.0 transforms it; built-in prompts include Pathetic Scribble, Turn to Cheese, Goblin Mode and Anime Portrait. A companion web app on your phone downloads photos and updates prompts. Codex Desktop on a Mac guides the build. Apache-2.0.

How it works

Open Codex Desktop and type “Help me make ImageGenCam https://github.com/openai/imagegencam”; Codex reads the repo and walks you through the build. When you press the shutter the viewfinder freezes for a moment, then generation runs in the background so you can keep shooting, and the album icon sparkles when an image is ready. A Magic Button is left for you to program with Codex. The phone app must be on the same Wi-Fi as the camera; the README recommends switching the camera to your phone's hotspot to use it away from home.

Why it's interesting

ImageGenCam is a digital camera you build yourself with Codex: a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, a Pimoroni Display HAT Mini, a spy camera and a PiSugar 3 in a 3D-printed shell. It works a lot like a very small, very weird point-and-shoot: pick a prompt, snap a photo, and ChatGPT Images 2.0 transforms the image, while generation keeps running in the background so you can keep shooting. Built-in prompts include Pathetic Scribble, Turn to Cheese, Goblin Mode and Anime Portrait, and the companion web app on your phone opens the prompt editor. It is designed as a weekend build, though people already familiar with Codex, Raspberry Pi and 3D printing may get it running in under an hour. You start by typing one line into Codex Desktop on a Mac, and Codex reads the repo and walks you through the build. The Magic Button is left for you to program, and the README recommends PETG for the folding case, an online printing service if you have no printer, and your phone's mobile hotspot for use away from home.

Source: github.com/openai/imagegencam/blob/3475b97a2b631d7735d97f34d58dea47deb17942/README.md

Hardware

  • Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with headers
  • Pimoroni Display HAT Mini (PIM589)
  • Spy Camera for Raspberry Pi Zero (Adafruit 3508 or equivalent)
  • PiSugar 3
  • 16 GB microSD card and reader
  • 3D-printed camera case (STL and STEP in the repo)
  • Mac with Codex Desktop

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