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@ageitgey
Last active April 17, 2024 17:40
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Install dlib and face_recognition on a Raspberry Pi

Instructions tested with a Raspberry Pi 2 with an 8GB memory card. Probably also works fine on a Raspberry Pi 3.

Steps

Download the latest Raspbian Jessie Light image. Earlier versions of Raspbian won't work.

Write it to a memory card using Etcher, put the memory card in the RPi and boot it up.

Log in. Default username / password is pi / raspberry.

Set up Wifi (if you are using Wifi) according to the Raspberry Pi instructions.

Run sudo raspi-config and configure the basics:

  • Set up your keyboard layout (It defaults to a British keyboard layout)
  • Change default user password
  • Enable the Raspberry Pi camera (if you have one attached)
  • Configure gpu memory split under 'Advanced'. Set it up '16'.
  • Save changes and reboot.

Install required libraries with these commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo apt-get install build-essential \
    cmake \
    gfortran \
    git \
    wget \
    curl \
    graphicsmagick \
    libgraphicsmagick1-dev \
    libatlas-dev \
    libavcodec-dev \
    libavformat-dev \
    libboost-all-dev \
    libgtk2.0-dev \
    libjpeg-dev \
    liblapack-dev \
    libswscale-dev \
    pkg-config \
    python3-dev \
    python3-numpy \
    python3-pip \
    zip
sudo apt-get clean

Install the picamera python library with array support (if you are using a camera):

sudo apt-get install python3-picamera
sudo pip3 install --upgrade picamera[array]

Temporarily enable a larger swap file size (so the dlib compile won't fail due to limited memory):

sudo nano /etc/dphys-swapfile

< change CONF_SWAPSIZE=100 to CONF_SWAPSIZE=1024 and save / exit nano >

sudo /etc/init.d/dphys-swapfile restart

Download and install dlib v19.6:

mkdir -p dlib
git clone -b 'v19.6' --single-branch https://github.com/davisking/dlib.git dlib/
cd ./dlib
sudo python3 setup.py install --compiler-flags "-mfpu=neon"

Install face_recognition:

sudo pip3 install face_recognition

Revert the swap file size change now that dlib is installed:

sudo nano /etc/dphys-swapfile

< change CONF_SWAPSIZE=1024 to CONF_SWAPSIZE=100 and save / exit nano >

sudo /etc/init.d/dphys-swapfile restart

Download the face recognition code examples:

git clone --single-branch https://github.com/ageitgey/face_recognition.git
cd ./face_recognition/examples
python3 facerec_on_raspberry_pi.py

Totally Optional: If you want a desktop GUI, install PIXEL:

sudo apt-get install --no-install-recommends xserver-xorg xinit raspberrypi-ui-mods
@ovidiumoise
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Hello, is it still relevant in 2024?
I have Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 4G or Raspberry Pi 5 8GB with latest OS (Bookworm).
I tried at least 3 or 4 other alternatives and I'm sick of issues and errors. Did it anyone made it lately?
I will try today on Raspberry Pi4 Model B 4G.

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