Emgu CV is a cross platform .Net wrapper to the Intel OpenCV image processing library. Allowing OpenCV functions to be called from .NET compatible languages such as C#, VB, VC++, IronPython etc. The wrapper can be compiled in Mono and run on Linux / Mac OS X.
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A Comparison of OpenCV Wrappers
| Name | Emgu CV | OpenCVDotNet | SharperCV | Code Project |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cross Platform (Mono) |  | X | X | X |
| OpenCV 1.1 | | X | X | X |
| Machine Learning | | X | X | |
| Exception Handling | | X | X | X |
| Debugger Visualizer | | | X | X |
| Actively Maintained 1 | | X | X | |
| License | GPL or Commercial License with a small fee | Non-commercial GPL | Non-commercial Academic use | Non-commercial |
1 "Actively Maintained" refers to update within one year.
Advantage of Emgu CV
Cross Platform
Unlike other wrappers such as OpenCVDotNet, SharperCV or Code Project which use unsafe code, Emgu CV 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 has been spend to have 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 Emgu CV running on Fedora 10! Plus it always gives you the comfort knowing that your code is cross-platform.
Cross Language and comes with example code
Emgu CV can be used from several different languages, including C#, VB.NET, C++ 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 favourite 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
Emgu CV 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 advantanges from the .NET world.