EmguCV is a cross-platform .NET wrapper to the OpenCV image processing library. Allowing OpenCV functions to be called from .NET compatible languages such as C#, VB, C++-CLI, IronPython etc. The wrapper can be compiled in Mono and run on Linux or Mac OS X.
About EmguCV
EmguCV opens the OpenCV (Open Source Computer Vision Library) library of programming functions mainly aimed at real time computer vision to .NET developers. OpenCV was originally developed by Intel and now supported by Willow Garage.
Current versions for x86 , x64 and ARM(only for iOS and Android) architectures are available for download at their SourceForge website, https://sourceforge.net/projects/emgucv/.
A download and installation guide is available here. This is particularly useful for newcomers as ensuring the correct references are used and that the associated OpenCV .dll files are copied to the output directory can be difficult.
EmguCV uses a dual-license business model for its software development library and offers licenses for two distinct purposes: open source, and commercial development. More information can be found here.
Cross Platform
Unlike other wrappers such as OpenCVDotNet, SharperCV or Code Project which use unsafe code, EmguCV is written entirely in C#. The benefit is that it can be compiled in Mono and therefore is able to run on any platform Mono supports, including Linux, Solaris and Mac OS X. A lot of efforts have been spent creating a pure C# implementation since the headers have to be ported, compared with managed C++ implementation where header files can simply be included. But it is well worth it if you see EmguCV running on Fedora 10! Plus it always gives you the comfort knowing that your code is cross-platform.
EmguCV can be used from several different languages, including C#, VB.NET, C++-CLI and IronPython. On this wiki, we provide examples for all those languages, which are available from the Examples section on Tutorial page. Our discussion forum is also available if you have any questions related to your favorite programming language.
Other Advantages
- Image class with Generic Color and Depth
- Automatic garbage collection
- XML Serializable Image
- XML Documentation and intellisense support
- The choice to either use the Image class or direct invoke functions from OpenCV
- Generic operations on image pixels
Architecture Overview
EmguCV has two layers of wrapper as shown below
- The basic layer (layer 1) contains function, structure and enumeration mappings which directly reflect those in OpenCV.
- The second layer (layer 2) contains classes that mix in advantages from the .NET world.
