Using OpenCV in Swift iOS

OpenCV is a framework written in C++. Apple's reference tell us that

You cannot import C++ code directly into Swift. Instead, create an Objective-C or C wrapper for C++ code.

so you cannot directly import and use OpenCV in a swift project, but this is actually not bad at all because you (need) continue to use the C++ syntax of the framework which is pretty well documented all over the net.

So how do you proceed?

1. Create a new Objective-C++ class (.h, .mm) for calling C++ OpenCV

OpenCVWrapper.h

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>#import <Foundation/Foundation.h>@interface OpenCVWrapper : NSObject    + (UIImage *)processImageWithOpenCV:(UIImage*)inputImage;@end

OpenCVWrapper.mm (use the File -> New... Wizard for Objective-C and rename the .m file to .mm)

#include "OpenCVWrapper.h"#import "UIImage+OpenCV.h" // See below to create this#include <opencv2/opencv.hpp>using namespace cv;using namespace std;@implementation OpenCVWrapper : NSObject    + (UIImage *)processImageWithOpenCV:(UIImage*)inputImage {        Mat mat = [inputImage CVMat];                // do your processing here        ...                return [UIImage imageWithCVMat:mat];    }@end

As an alternative to creating new classes such as the example OpenCVWrapper.h/mm you can use Objective-C categories to extend existing Objective-C classes with OpenCV functionality. For instance UIImage+OpenCV category:

UIImage+OpenCV.h

#import <UIKit/UIKit.h>#import <opencv2/opencv.hpp>@interface UIImage (OpenCV)    //cv::Mat to UIImage+ (UIImage *)imageWithCVMat:(const cv::Mat&)cvMat;- (id)initWithCVMat:(const cv::Mat&)cvMat;    //UIImage to cv::Mat- (cv::Mat)CVMat;- (cv::Mat)CVMat3;  // no alpha channel- (cv::Mat)CVGrayscaleMat;@end

UIImage+OpenCV.mm

See https://github.com/foundry/OpenCVSwiftStitch/blob/master/SwiftStitch/UIImage%2BOpenCV.mm

2. Update the Bridging-Header to make all Objective-C++ classes you created available to Swift by importing our newly created wrappers (#import "OpenCVWrapper.h")

3. Use your wrapper in your Swift files:

   let image = UIImage(named: "image.jpeg")let processedImage = OpenCVWrapper.processImageWithOpenCV(image)

All Objective-C++ classes included in the bridge header are available directly from Swift.

I have a demo on github:

https://github.com/foundry/OpenCVSwiftStitch

It shows how to use the OpenCV stitcher from a Swift-based project. There is not a lot to the openCV side, it's really just a demo of how to put the various pieces together.

As Swift won't talk C++ directly, it uses a thin Objective-C++ wrapper to mediate between the iOS side and the openCV side.

Made in answer to these questions:
Can I mix Swift with C++? Like the Objective - C .mm files
libraries to CAPTURE panorama in iOS 6