Products / Devices & developers

Hoq Vision

Turn a Linux box with USB cameras or barcode guns into a shared scanner.

Open Hoq VisionBeta15 featuresvision.hoq.app

What it does

You install the Vision client on a Linux box with one command. It finds its own USB cameras, USB barcode guns and serial scanners, then shows a six-digit code on its screen. You type the code into the Vision console and the box is yours.

An app that needs scans takes a lease on the box. A session lease lasts 120 seconds and renews with each heartbeat, so a scanner frees itself when the app goes away. A permanent lease is for a scanner that lives at one station and ends only when you release it.

Every scan is written to the log before it is pushed live to the lease holder, and a scan that arrives with no lease is still recorded. If the network drops, the box queues scans on disk and sends them when the link returns, even after a restart.

Vision does not decide what a code means. Your app does, so a second app can use the same scanners without any change to Vision.

In numbers

120 ssession lease, renewed by each heartbeat

15 minbefore an unused pairing code expires

57 fps1080p capture and decode with no dropped frames on an Intel N100 mini-PC

1.7 msto decode a QR code in a frame on that box

Specifications

Install	One command: curl -fsSL https://vision.hoq.app/install \| sudo sh. The box enrolls itself; no secret is typed on it.
Pairing	A six-digit code that expires after 15 minutes and allows 5 tries. The box collects its credential once.
Inputs	USB cameras, USB barcode guns that type like a keyboard, and USB-serial scanners. Each scan records which input it came from.
Camera codes	Cameras read QR codes. A barcode gun passes on whatever it reads.
Leases	Session leases last 120 seconds and renew on heartbeat. Permanent leases last until released.
Offline	Scans queue in a bounded on-disk SQLite spool and replay when the link returns, including after a restart.
Self-healing	The client runs under a systemd watchdog with a 60-second timeout and is restarted if it stops responding.
Box health	Each heartbeat reports disk, CPU temperature, load, memory, uptime, pending security updates and whether a reboot is needed.
Access keys	Apps use API keys with the vision:use scope. Boxes use vision:device. Wildcard keys are refused.

Features

15 features, all shipped. Listed from the product's code and documentation; each row shows the day it was last checked.

Appliances 5
One-line install	Installs the client as an unprivileged user with root-owned code.
Hardware discovery	Lists cameras with their modes and manual exposure and focus, barcode guns and serial ports.
Late hardware	A gun plugged in after pairing appears without pairing again.
Aim readout	Shows pixels per code module and the belt speed that implies, to help you place a camera.
Watchdog	systemd restarts the client if it stops responding for 60 seconds.

Scanning 4
Camera QR reading	Reads QR codes from live video across several cameras, counting a code seen by two cameras once.
Barcode guns	Takes exclusive hold of USB guns so scans do not leak into other windows.
Serial scanners	Reads USB-serial scanners when switched on per port.
Durable spool	Queues scans on disk through outages and restarts, bounded by count and size.

Apps 4
Leases	Take a box for a session or permanently; renew, release and list scans.
Live scans	Scans push to the lease holder over a socket scoped to that one lease.
Catch-up	After a reconnect, fetch every scan since the last id you saw.
Unclaimed scans kept	A scan with no live lease is still recorded.

Console 2
Claim by code	Type the six digits a box shows to make it yours.
Appliance list	See each box, its inputs, whether it is online and who holds it.

Works with

Hoq DevicesHoq Devices has a vision role, so a paired appliance can be given the scanning job.
Hoq ID and platformApps reach Vision with Hoq ID API keys scoped to vision:use.

Your data

Where it is kept	Scans, leases and box records are in Hoq Vision's database. Unsent scans wait in a SQLite file on your box.
Getting it out	GET /v1/scans returns scans as JSON. No file export is documented.
If you leave	Not documented yet.

APIs and standards

REST: /v1/appliances, /v1/leases, /v1/scans with a Bearer key (scope vision:use)
Appliance REST: /v1/device/register, /v1/device/heartbeat, /v1/scans (scope vision:device)
Live push over WebSocket, one room per lease
Standard: QR Code
Standard: USB HID
Standard: V4L2

Compared

Checked 2026-11-01	Hoq Vision	Scandit Smart Data Capture SDK	Cognex DataMan	Datalogic Matrix
Price	Not published yet	Quote only¹	Quote only²	Quote only³
What reads the codes	Your Linux box with USB cameras, USB guns or serial scanners	Software SDK on phones, tablets and handhelds⁴	Cognex fixed-mount readers⁵	Datalogic Matrix fixed imagers³
Uses existing USB barcode guns	Yes	Not supported⁶	No, Cognex hardware only⁷	No, Datalogic hardware only³
Symbologies from a camera	QR Code	About 33, 1D and 2D (count of the SDK list; no total published)⁸	1D, stacked and 2D including direct part marks⁹	1D, stacked, 2D, postal, direct part marks, Digimarc¹⁰
Fleet management	Hosted console: pair by code, leases, box health	Account dashboard for licences and scan counts¹¹	Edge Intelligence, run on site¹²	DL.CODE Windows tool; cloud Connect for handhelds¹³
Offline buffering	On-disk queue, survives restarts, replays on reconnect	Scanning works offline on the device⁴	Reader image buffer; Edge Intelligence keeps days of results¹⁴	Not published³
Integration	REST leases and scans, live WebSocket push	SDKs for iOS, Android, Web, Linux, .NET, React Native, Flutter and more¹⁵	DataMan SDK (.NET) and industrial protocols¹⁶	Fieldbus and OPC UA³