Fix Your Orbbec Persee 2 Ubuntu: Viewer, Install & Green Screen

Welcome to the Linux Journey with Orbbec Persee 2!

Hey guys, if you've landed here, chances are you're an ambitious developer, just like many of us, looking to unleash the full potential of your Orbbec Persee 2 camera by ditching Android for a robust Ubuntu Linux environment. It's super exciting to think about running all those custom Python-based applications and leveraging the power of Linux on such a cool piece of hardware. However, as you've probably discovered firsthand, this journey isn't always a smooth sail. You're likely facing some tricky issues, from the OrbbecViewer refusing to cooperate and critical install.sh scripts throwing errors, to frustrating green screens and blinking displays that make you want to pull your hair out. Trust me, you're not alone! Many folks encounter these exact roadblocks when trying to get their Persee 2 to play nice with a custom Ubuntu installation, especially when moving away from the factory Android setup. The good news? You've come to the right place. We're going to dive deep into these common problems, unraveling the mysteries behind them, and providing you with actionable, step-by-step solutions to get your Orbbec Persee 2 humming along beautifully with Ubuntu. Our goal is to transform your current headache into a triumphant success story, allowing you to focus on what you do best: building awesome applications. So, let's roll up our sleeves and tackle these challenges head-on, because a fully functional Persee 2 running Ubuntu is totally within reach!

Unpacking the OrbbecViewer Error: "file too short"

Alright, let's kick things off by digging into that ./OrbbecViewer: error while loading shared libraries: /home/orbbec/Desktop/Orbbec Application/OrbbecViewer/libOrbbecSDK.so.1.8: file too short error. This message, while seemingly cryptic, is actually shouting a pretty clear problem at us, guys: a crucial shared library, specifically libOrbbecSDK.so.1.8, which is part of the Orbbec SDK, is either corrupted, incomplete, or simply not valid in its current state. Think of shared libraries as essential building blocks for your applications; if one of these blocks is broken or missing pieces, the application (in this case, OrbbecViewer) simply can't start. When a file is reported as "file too short," it often means that the download didn't complete properly, the file transfer was interrupted, or perhaps it was copied incorrectly onto your Orbbec Persee 2's Ubuntu filesystem. This particular library is absolutely vital for the OrbbecViewer because it contains the core functions that allow the application to communicate with and control the Persee 2 camera itself. Without a proper, fully intact libOrbbecSDK.so, your viewer is basically blind and deaf to the camera. It's a foundational component, and any issues with it will inevitably halt your progress. The fact that the OrbbecViewer works perfectly on Android confirms that the camera hardware itself is fine, which points directly to a software or environmental issue within your Ubuntu setup. This makes debugging a bit easier, as we can rule out hardware failure and focus squarely on the software stack. Understanding this error is the first critical step in getting your Orbbec Persee 2's camera preview up and running on Linux. It's not just a minor glitch; it's a fundamental roadblock that needs our full attention, and we're gonna sort it out together. So, let's get ready to verify, re-download, and properly integrate these essential library files to get that viewer working like a charm. This often means manually ensuring the library is present, correctly permissions, and fully intact, which is a departure from a simple apt install for many Linux users.

Troubleshooting libOrbbecSDK.so Issues

To fix the file too short error for libOrbbecSDK.so.1.8, we've got a few solid troubleshooting steps. First off, you need to verify the integrity of that file. If you have the original download, check its size and compare it to the one on your Persee 2. Sometimes, a simple ls -lh /home/orbbec/Desktop/Orbbec Application/OrbbecViewer/libOrbbecSDK.so.1.8 will reveal a suspiciously small file size, confirming our suspicion. The most straightforward solution is often to re-download the Orbbec SDK for Linux, making absolutely sure you're getting the correct version compatible with your Orbbec Persee 2 and Ubuntu architecture (usually ARM64 for Persee 2). Once downloaded, transfer it cleanly to your Persee 2, preferably using scp or a reliable USB drive. Avoid simply copying partial files. When you extract the SDK, make sure the libOrbbecSDK.so file is in the correct location where your OrbbecViewer expects it to be, or where your system's dynamic linker can find it. Often, this means placing it in /usr/local/lib or /usr/lib, and then updating the linker cache with sudo ldconfig. If it's meant to be local to the application, ensure it's in the same directory as the OrbbecViewer executable. Another common pitfall is incorrect permissions; ensure the library file has execute permissions for the user running the viewer (e.g., chmod +x libOrbbecSDK.so.1.8). Sometimes, developers will create symbolic links to point to the correct library version, so if the OrbbecViewer is looking for a slightly different name (e.g., libOrbbecSDK.so instead of libOrbbecSDK.so.1.8), you might need to create a symlink like ln -s libOrbbecSDK.so.1.8 libOrbbecSDK.so. Always refer to the official Orbbec SDK documentation for the most accurate installation paths and prerequisites. If a specific Persee 2 Ubuntu SDK isn't directly available, you might need to use a general ARM64 Linux SDK and manually ensure all dependencies are met. This file too short error is a classic dependency issue, and a thorough approach to re-acquiring and correctly placing the SDK is your best bet for getting that OrbbecViewer up and running smoothly.

Decoding the install.sh Script Failures

Next up on our troubleshooting list, let's talk about those pesky install.sh script failures. You mentioned getting errors like cd: can't cd to /home/orbbec/Desktop/Orbbec and cp: target '/etc/udev/rules.d/99-obsensor-libusb.rules' is not a diretory usb rules file install at /etc/udev/rules.d/99-obsensor-libusb.rules exit. These messages are pretty clear indicators that the installation script expects certain directories to exist or be structured in a particular way, and your Orbbec Persee 2's Ubuntu setup isn't quite matching those expectations. The cd: can't cd error simply means the script is trying to navigate to a directory that doesn't exist. This often happens if you've moved the SDK or the installation files, or if the script assumes a specific extraction path that you didn't follow. It's like trying to find a specific book in a library, but the shelf it's supposed to be on was never built! For the cp: target '/etc/udev/rules.d/99-obsensor-libusb.rules' is not a directory error, this is even more critical. udev rules are super important in Linux, especially for devices like cameras, because they define how the system recognizes and interacts with hardware when it's plugged in or initialized. These rules specify permissions, device nodes, and other crucial settings. The error here indicates that the install.sh script is trying to copy a udev rule file into a directory that it thinks is a file, or simply doesn't exist, which is '/etc/udev/rules.d/'. The rules.d part should be a directory where these rule files reside. If the script is saying it's