Power Consumption When the Screen Is Not Displayed and Undocumented Extension Specifications<\/h2>\n
As the design progressed, hardware and software challenges that needed to be addressed became apparent.<\/p>\n
Power Consumption Occurring Even When the Screen Is Closed<\/h3>\n
Using a USB tester to measure the power consumption of the Raspberry Pi 3 yielded the following results:<\/p>\n
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- When ustreamer-csi is stopped: Approx. 1.5W<\/li>\n
- When ustreamer-csi is running (browser not connected): Approx. 2.3 to 2.4W<\/li>\n
- While viewing the video stream (connected to port 8081): Approx. 2.9 to 3.0W<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Even without the stream window open in a browser, simply having the service enabled continuously consumed about 0.8 to 0.9W of power due to supplying power to the CMOS sensor and standby processing by the ISP (Image Signal Processor). Controlling the process itself to stop is essential to suppress heat generation and power loss.<\/p>\n
Balancing Undocumented Extension Specifications with Maintainability<\/h3>\n
PiKVM’s official documentation does not detail development procedures for adding custom applications as extensions to the top screen. Taking the easy approach of directly modifying the frontend (main.js or index.html) carries the risk of files being overwritten and initialized during core updates.<\/p>\n
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\n #<\/td>\n Status<\/td>\n Power Consumption (Measured)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 1<\/td>\n ustreamer-csi stopped (OFF)<\/td>\n 1.5 to 1.6W<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 2<\/td>\n ustreamer-csi running (ON)<\/td>\n 2.3 to 2.4 W<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n 3<\/td>\n Stream screen displayed<\/td>\n 2.9 to 3.0 W<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n ![\"Added](\"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/70b3665d63351bb0dd04f63bc0a5200d.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nClicking the tile on the top screen opens the \/extras\/camera-manager\/ management panel. Pressing “Power ON” immediately changes the status lamp to green (Active), and the video stream (port 8081) can be checked from “Open Camera Stream”. After checking, pressing “Power OFF” stops the service, reducing power consumption down to the 1.5W baseline.<\/p>\n
![\"Default](\"https:\/\/donguri3.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/0bdad0dada22af2b03a6a549ba2208be.png\")
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