Developer Guide

Integrate and use the Voyant Carbon 30 toolkit.

This guide provides installation instructions, sample code, and API references for systems running Python or C++.

Packages

We publish two Debian packages, always available at voyant-sdk/releases/latest:

voyant-api — binaries, command-line utilities, and the Voyant Visualizer. Everything you need to connect to your sensor and stream, record, and visualize data.
voyant-api-dev — header files (installed to /usr/include/voyant_api/), static libraries, etc. for building your own C++ applications. Depends on voyant-api. Not available for Windows except through Docker.

Windows tooling that mirrors the voyant-api tools ships as a .zip at the same location — see Install on Windows.

Installation

Install steps live in the Carbon 30 Quick Start:

Ubuntu · Windows · Docker
C++ development: C++ Installation
Python bindings: Python Installation (pip install voyant-api, virtual-environment setup)

Verifying Installation

Native / Docker:

voyant_hello_world

Welcome to the Voyant Photonics, Inc. API!
You have successfully installed the voyant-api package with:
 - API version:                1.0.0 (API)
 - Interface contract version: 1.5.6

Python:

import voyant_api
print(voyant_api.__version__)                     # package version
print(voyant_api.api_version())                   # library the package was built from
print(voyant_api.interface_contract_version())    # FPGA interface contract

C++: the same versions come from voyantApiVersion() and voyantInterfaceContractVersion() — see C++ Installation.

Where to Start

Follow the path for your language, then reach for the reference:

C++: Installation → Examples → API Reference
Python: Installation → Examples → API Reference

Deploying on a small or embedded host? See Compute Requirements.

Hit an issue? See the troubleshooting guide.

Testing Without a Sensor

The voyant-api package includes voyant_simulator, which streams synthetic frames so you can exercise the API — from the C++ or Python examples, or the Voyant Visualizer — without a physical sensor. Run it on loopback:

voyant_simulator --group-addr 239.255.48.84:5678 --fpga-listen-addr 127.0.0.1:1234

Then start a client pointed at 127.0.0.1: the C++ example takes --sim, while the Python example takes --config with a JSON device config whose addresses point at loopback.

Uninstalling

# Native
sudo apt remove voyant-api voyant-api-dev

# Docker
docker rm -f voyant-sdk-container && docker rmi voyant-sdk-container

Python: pip uninstall voyant-api — see Python Installation.