Dev Log: Quick Win with OpenCV and C++ Webcam Demo

Hey everyone! Xavier here with a quick update on my latest project — a webcam display demo built in C++ using OpenCV. I recorded a walkthrough showing how I managed to get a basic webcam feed and face detection running in under half an hour. 

**What’s in the video?**  

- Starting from scratch: setting up OpenCV in Visual Studio 2022  

- Installing packages via NuGet for easy integration  

- Rapid development of a console application that opens a webcam feed  

- Adding face detection with minimal fuss, impressively fast results  

- A little humor and background about my long-time programming journey, from GFA Basic 32 to modern C++  

- Insights into leveraging AI tools to streamline development and troubleshoot  

**Why is this exciting?**  

It demonstrates how accessible computer vision development is nowadays — even for those new to C++. I was amazed that I got this up and running in just about 30 minutes, which would have been a much longer process just a few years ago. Thanks to open-source libraries and helpful AI assistance, even complex features like face detection become approachable.

**Resources & Tips:**  

- Using NuGet to install OpenCV packages in Visual Studio  

- Prompting AI for coding help and troubleshooting  

- Encouragement for newcomers to take baby steps and keep experimenting  

**Next steps?**  

I plan to explore more AI integration, like human face recognition, license plate detection, and possibly running local language models (LLMs). The goal is to keep pushing the boundaries of what can be achieved with accessible tools and a bit of persistence.

**Check out the code and demo:**  

You can download the application from my itch.io page, get the source cdoe from the my github, try it out, and tweak it for your own projects. Feel free to ask questions or share your own experiences with computer vision or AI development.

Join us at : https://cppnoobie.proboards.com/

Thanks for watching, and happy coding!