Camera & Lighting Interface

Visual Basic .NETView on Github

CVTI (Camera & Visual Touch Interface) is an enterprise-grade Facility Automation & IoT Orchestration Platform designed for high-reliability environments. It functions as a centralized Edge Controller, unifying the management of PTZ surveillance systems, DMX lighting protocols, and mechanical infrastructure (hatches) into a secure, touch-optimized interface. Built on the .NET Framework for deep Windows OS integration, it ensures operational continuity through robust error handling, self-healing network connectivity, and strict access control policies.

CVTI: Integrated Facility Automation & IoT Orchestration Platform

Overview

A scalable, on-premise control architecture designed to unify disparate facility management systems into a single, high-availability touch interface. This project demonstrates the implementation of an Edge Controller pattern, orchestrating IP-based surveillance hardware, DMX lighting protocols, and infrastructure power management within a secure, kiosk-mode environment.

Business Value

• Operational Efficiency: Reduces Mean Time To Recovery (MTTR) for stage setup by centralizing control of lighting and visual monitoring systems.
• High Availability: Ensures continuous operation through automated error handling, network self-healing mechanisms, and watchdog timers for resource cleanup.
• Security Compliance: Implements Zero Trust principles at the application layer with PIN-based authentication, session timeouts, and restricted OS access.

Architectural Highlights

IoT Device Orchestration

• RESTful Device Control: Implements a robust client architecture to manage PTZ (Pan-Tilt-Zoom) IP cameras, abstracting vendor-specific APIs into a unified control interface.
• Real-Time State Management: Features precise control for focus, zoom, and preset recall, ensuring consistent visual monitoring standards.

Resilient Infrastructure Integration

• Self-Healing Network Connections: Custom implementation of network resource mounting with exponential backoff and retry logic to handle transient network partitions, ensuring reliable access to backend storage.
• Process Lifecycle Management: Orchestrates external lighting control software with automated startup, shutdown, and configuration injection, ensuring consistent application state across reboots.

Security & Governance

• Kiosk Mode Implementation: Locks down the host operating system to prevent unauthorized access, utilizing low-level hooks to manage window states and input focus.
• Access Control: Requires authentication for critical infrastructure operations (e.g., server reboots, configuration changes), preventing accidental or malicious disruptions during live production.

Technical Stack

• Platform: .NET Framework (Windows Forms) for deep OS integration and hardware access.
• Protocols: HTTP/REST (Camera Control), SMB/CIFS (Network Storage), DMX512 (via Abstraction Layer).
• Pattern: Event-Driven UI with dedicated error handling layers.

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This project serves as a foundational reference for building robust, industrial-grade control interfaces where reliability and direct hardware integration are paramount.