C++ on Windows

Warning — Experimental platform: Windows support for the SmartSpectra C++ SDK is experimental. If you have any issues running SmartSpectra, contact Presage support for assistance.

Supported Platforms

Platform	Status	Notes
Windows 10 / 11 (x64)	Experimental	ZIP distribution available

For platforms not listed above, contact support@presagetech.com if you have a specific need.

Installation

Prerequisites

Install Visual Studio Build Tools 2022 or later with the Desktop development with C++ workload.

During installation, select the Desktop development with C++ workload and make sure C++ CMake tools for Windows is selected. The workload installs the MSVC compiler, Windows SDK, CMake, and the developer command prompt needed for the quickstart below.

You also need an API key from physiology.presagetech.com.

Add the SDK

Download smartspectra-sdk-<version>-windows-x64.zip from GitHub Releases and extract it to a permanent location, for example C:\SmartSpectra.

Keep the extracted layout intact — CMake config files, runtime DLLs, and bundled resources must stay in the locations expected by the package.

Permissions

No SDK-specific OS permission setup is required on Windows.

Example: CMake Project

This walkthrough sets up a minimal CMake project that reads from a camera and prints vitals to the console.

1. Open the developer command prompt

Open the Windows Start menu and search for x64 Developer Command Prompt. Choose the x64 developer command prompt installed by Visual Studio Build Tools.

For a default Build Tools installation, that shortcut launches:

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k ""C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\BuildTools\Common7\Tools\VsDevCmd.bat" -arch=x64 -host_arch=x64"

If you installed Build Tools somewhere else, update the VsDevCmd.bat path to match that installation.

2. Create the project files

Create a folder, for example C:\Projects\HelloVitals, and add these two files inside it.

CMakeLists.txt:

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.22.1)
project(HelloVitals CXX)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)

set(SMARTSPECTRA_SDK_DIR "$ENV{SMARTSPECTRA_SDK_PATH}")
if (SMARTSPECTRA_SDK_DIR STREQUAL "")
    message(FATAL_ERROR "SMARTSPECTRA_SDK_PATH is not set.")
endif ()

list(APPEND CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH "${SMARTSPECTRA_SDK_DIR}")
find_package(SmartSpectra CONFIG REQUIRED)

add_executable(hello_vitals hello_vitals.cpp)
target_link_libraries(hello_vitals SmartSpectra::SDK)

# Stage the Windows runtime files next to the executable.
add_custom_command(TARGET hello_vitals POST_BUILD
    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy_if_different
            "${SMARTSPECTRA_SDK_DIR}/bin/smartspectra.dll"
            "${SMARTSPECTRA_SDK_DIR}/bin/smartspectra_capi.dll"
            "${SMARTSPECTRA_SDK_DIR}/bin/opencv_world4100.dll"
            "$<TARGET_FILE_DIR:hello_vitals>"
    COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo
            "resource_root_dir=${SMARTSPECTRA_SDK_DIR}/share/smartspectra"
            > "$<TARGET_FILE_DIR:hello_vitals>/physiology_edge_manifest.txt"
    VERBATIM)

hello_vitals.cpp:

#include <smartspectra/smartspectra.h>
#include <smartspectra/smartspectra_config.h>
#include <smartspectra/messages/metrics.h>
#include <glog/logging.h>
#include <chrono>
#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <thread>

namespace spectra = presage::smartspectra;

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
    google::InitGoogleLogging(argv[0]);
    google::SetStderrLogging(google::INFO);

    std::string api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY";

    spectra::SmartSpectraConfig config;
    config.api_key = api_key;
    config.requested_metrics = spectra::SmartSpectraConfig::BreathingMetrics();
    config.AddMetrics(spectra::SmartSpectraConfig::CardioMetrics());

    spectra::SmartSpectra spectra(config);
    spectra.SetOnMetrics([](const presage::smartspectra::Metrics& metrics, int64_t) {
        if (metrics.has_cardio()) {
            LOG(INFO) << "Cardio metrics: " << metrics.cardio().ShortDebugString();
        }
        if (metrics.has_breathing()) {
            LOG(INFO) << "Breathing metrics: " << metrics.breathing().ShortDebugString();
        }
    });
    spectra.SetOnError([](const spectra::SmartSpectraError& error) {
        LOG(ERROR) << "Error [" << static_cast<int>(error.code)
                   << "]: " << error.message;
    });

    const auto source_error =
        spectra.UseCamera().SetResolution(1280, 720).SetFps(30).Build();
    if (!source_error.ok()) {
        LOG(ERROR) << "Failed to create camera source: " << source_error.message;
        return 1;
    }

    if (const auto err = spectra.Start(); !err.ok()) {
        LOG(ERROR) << "Failed to start: " << err.message;
        return 1;
    }

    std::cout << "Processing... Press Ctrl+C to stop.\n";
    std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::seconds(5));
    if (const auto err = spectra.Stop(); !err.ok()) {
        std::cerr << "Stop failed: " << err.message << "\n";
    }
    return 0;
}

3. Build

Navigate to your project folder with the two files, for example:

cd /d C:\Projects\HelloVitals

Configure and build with CMake. Update C:\SmartSpectra if you extracted the SDK somewhere else.

set "SMARTSPECTRA_SDK_PATH=C:\SmartSpectra" && cmake -S . -B build -G "NMake Makefiles" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release && cmake --build build

4. Run

Replace "YOUR_API_KEY" in hello_vitals.cpp with your key from physiology.presagetech.com and rebuild.

Run the executable from the same developer command prompt:

.\build\hello_vitals.exe

The SDK DLLs are copied next to hello_vitals.exe by the post-build step in CMakeLists.txt, so no PATH setup is required.

You should see breathing and cardio metrics printed to the console within a few seconds of the camera starting.

Additional Details

Metric selection

Adjust the metric bundles in hello_vitals.cpp before building:

config.requested_metrics = spectra::SmartSpectraConfig::BreathingMetrics();
config.AddMetrics(spectra::SmartSpectraConfig::CardioMetrics());

Available bundles: BreathingMetrics(), CardioMetrics(), FaceMetrics().

ZIP layout reference

include/
  smartspectra/                    # C++ SDK headers and protobuf metric headers
  smartspectra/interface/          # Bundled third-party headers
  smartspectra_capi.h              # C ABI shim for FFI consumers
lib/
  smartspectra.lib                             # C++ SDK import library (MSVC)
  smartspectra_capi.lib                        # C ABI shim import library
  SmartSpectra_MessageProtos_*.lib             # Message proto static libs
  cmake/SmartSpectra/SmartSpectraConfig.cmake  # CMake package
bin/
  smartspectra.dll            # C++ SDK runtime DLL — must ship with your app
  smartspectra_capi.dll       # C ABI shim runtime DLL — required for FFI consumers
  physiology_edge_manifest.txt
  opencv_world4100.dll        # OpenCV runtime dependency — must ship with your app
share/smartspectra/           # Bundled graph and model resources

When you ship your app to other machines, copy smartspectra.dll, opencv_world4100.dll, and the contents of share/smartspectra/ next to the executable (or onto the PATH).

Next Steps

Configure which metrics to compute
Run headless without video output
Migration Guide for upgrading from older SDK versions

Troubleshooting

If the app starts but can't find DLLs, verify that smartspectra.dll, opencv_world*.dll, and other SDK DLLs from the extracted ZIP are present next to the executable or on the Windows DLL search path.

If you are upgrading an older C++ integration, see the C++ Migration Guide.

For support: contact support@presagetech.com or submit a GitHub issue.

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