Introduction

The following instructions explain how I managed to use my Logitech C270 usb webcam within a docker container for video streaming. I used:

• VirtualBox for the driver,
• docker-machine to spin up docker hosts, and
• docker for containers

#Install the Virtualbox Extension Pack via https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

create the VM from the custom boot2docker iso:

docker-machine create -d virtualbox --virtualbox-boot2docker-url https://github.com/Alexoner/boot2docker/releases/download/v17.06.0-ce-usb-rc5/boot2docker.iso "VM name"

stop the VM:

docker-machine stop "VM name"

activate the USB controller:

vboxmanage modifyvm "VM name" --usbxhci on

start the VM:

docker-machine start "VM name"

check if the webcam is listed by virtualbox:

VBoxManage list webcams

attach the webcam, identified by its alias, to the VM "VM name"

VBoxManage controlvm "VM name" webcam attach .1

check that the webcam is attached:

VBoxManage controlvm "VM name" webcam list

ssh into the VM and check if /dev/video0 exists:

docker-machine "VM name" ssh
ll /dev/video0
exit

activate the environment of the VM via docker-machine, make sure it is active:

docker-machine env "VM name" | Invoke-Expression
docker-machine active

make sure the docker-compose file contains a line that maps the /dev/video0 on the VM to /de/video0 in the docker container:

devices: 
    - /dev/video0:/dev/video0

spin up the docker containers:

docker-compose -f xxx up -d --build

check if the video stream works.

useful links:

• https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=83397
• http://gw.tnode.com/docker/docker-machine-with-usb-support-on-windows-macos/
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/41023827/accessing-usb-webcam-hosted-on-os-x-from-a-docker-container?rq=1
• https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#webcam-passthrough
• https://medium.com/@QuantuMobile/remote-video-streaming-with-face-detection-d52ce2d71419