PiSight

This is an adaptation of Webcam Pi intended to be used alongside some components from the Apple iSight webcam. If you're interested in building this, follow this documentation and my YouTube video!

Table of Contents

1. Required Hardware
2. Features
3. Installation
4. Setup
5. Building
6. Credits

Required Hardware

Part	Description	Buy / Download
Apple iSight	The shell for the camera	eBay
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W	Main compute module	Adafruit
Camera Module 3	CSI-2 camera module	Adafruit
microSD card (≥100 MB)	System storage	Amazon
USB-C cable	USB-OTG data & power	Amazon
USB-C female breakout board	Replaces original micro‑USB port	Amazon
Touchscreen breakout board	Shutter (IR sensor) adapter	Adafruit
Resistors (330)	Activity/logo LEDs	Amazon
Resistors (5.6k, 150)	Shutter sensor	Amazon
Adafruit Sequin LED	Optional Apple logo back‑light	Adafruit
Any soldering iron	Wire soldering needed	Amazon
Any drill with a 5/64 in bit	For swivel slot hole	Amazon
3D printed parts	Internal frame + mounting adapters	Printables

Features

PiSight keeps all the core functionality of Webcam Pi while adding hardware integration and quality‑of‑life features specific to the Apple iSight enclosure.

Added / Changed vs Webcam Pi

• Apple iSight enclosure compatibility
• Lets you retain the original iSight’s tilt and axial twist
• Reused original activity LED
• Optional rear Apple logo illumination
• Integrated IR shutter / privacy sensor
  • For more info about how the sensor works check out: isight-shutter
• USB‑C breakout replaces the original connector area
• Enumerates as a UVC device named “PiSight” (instead of “Webcam Pi”) with an updated manufacturer string

Installation

1. Download the latest image from the Releases page.
2. Insert your microSD card into your host computer.
3. Flash the image:
   • Linux/macOS:

   # Replace /dev/sdX with your card device
   sudo dd if=pisight-<version>.img of=/dev/sdX

   • Windows:

   Use a tool like Balena Etcher or Raspberry Pi Imager
   

Setup

1. Insert the flashed microSD card into the Pi.
2. Assemble the camera (YouTube at the top video shows how I did it).
3. Plug an USB-C cable into the camera and the other end into your host USB port.
4. On your host machine, a new video device should appear.

Building

Prerequisites

• Linux host (WSL is fine)
• Git and buildroot dependencies

Clone

git clone --recursive https://github.com/elcalzado/pisight.git
cd pisight

Build

# This will configure Buildroot and compile the kernel, rootfs, and image
./build.sh

When complete, the final SD card image will be in:

buildroot/output/images/sdcard.img

Flash it as described in Installation.

Credits

• webcampi: The embedded linux image from which pisight is derived.
• original pisight: The project that inspired this!
• isight-shutter: Brief documentation for the Apple iSight's shutter sensor.