[Project] Motion sensor controlled Tilt and Pan Camera (wireless)

ACEX · #1 07-02-2009

Project: Aim: Create a Motion controlled camera.
By this I mean want to link up the Vuzix iWear VR920 image below ( I also have the SDK for this):

and want to attach it to a simple pan and tilt camera mount. I will build this using two servos.

I want to be able to view the image of the camera on the screen in the glasses and want the camera to move as I move my head.

There is a catch however.
I plan on installing this on a RC plane which means this setup has to be both light and small. With preferably a range of up to 500meters.

My real problem is I fail to see how I can connect the motion sensor to the Video camera mount. The audio and video transferint is no problem already solved.

I'm sorry if this is extremely easy to do but I'm new to this and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys

I was also considering using a webcam however again the connection seems to be the problem.

nagmier · #2 07-02-2009

Check out this link for the head tracking, thats the hard part, the pan and tilt servo control is cake.

YouTube - Head Tracking for Desktop VR Displays using the WiiRemote

Noodle · #3 07-02-2009

The solution I see is a gyroscope attached to your head wirelessly sending the values to another microcontroller onboard the RC plane, which just plays with the servos. Alternatively, if you have enough channels left on your controller, you could, and I'm not sure how to, but you could hack the controller to send the pulses from the gyro without having an onboard microcontroller. I'm sure this message is incredibly vague but oh well.

Adrenalynn · #4 07-03-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noodle

The solution I see is a gyroscope attached to your head wirelessly sending the values to another microcontroller onboard the RC plane, which just plays with the servos. Alternatively, if you have enough channels left on your controller, you could, and I'm not sure how to, but you could hack the controller to send the pulses from the gyro without having an onboard microcontroller. I'm sure this message is incredibly vague but oh well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nagmier

Check out this link for the head tracking, thats the hard part, the pan and tilt servo control is cake.

[Cough] The best answer will be formed _after_ reading the specs, not before.

No, the hardest part is NOT building the head tracker. No, you don't need any gyros.

Integrated 3 DOF head-tracker lets users look around inside of virtual worlds as if they are actually there [From the specsheet on his HMD]

The hard part is tossing the USB wirelessly...

nagmier · #5 07-03-2009

Oh snap! Lynn strikes again me and my hastyness (and I'm a j. lee fanboy lol)

Noodle · #6 07-03-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adrenalynn

[Cough] The best answer will be formed _after_ reading the specs, not before.

No, the hardest part is NOT building the head tracker. No, you don't need any gyros.

Integrated 3 DOF head-tracker lets users look around inside of virtual worlds as if they are actually there [From the specsheet on his HMD]

The hard part is tossing the USB wirelessly...

Sorry, when was USB mentioned? If you're talking about a webcam, don't bother. 2.4ghz Wireless Pinhole should do the trick I'd think.

ScuD · #7 07-03-2009

It's the Visor that's usb - it has a built-in 3D motion tracker. That's what Lynn meant, how to get the data from the motion tracker, which is output through usb, to the plane.

Camera and audio is already covered as said by the thread starter.

Noodle · #8 07-03-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScuD

It's the Visor that's usb - it has a built-in 3D motion tracker. That's what Lynn meant, how to get the data from the motion tracker, which is output through usb, to the plane.

Camera and audio is already covered as said by the thread starter.

Ohk didn't see that it has a built in 3D tracker. Does it give an output at all of the data?

Adrenalynn · #9 07-03-2009

>> Does it give an output at all of the data?

Yes. USB. LeSigh.

To the OP - sorry you've had so much trouble - I thought your question was pretty clearly expressed.

You could go Wireless USB transceivers - depends upon the size/lift of the plane. They tend not to be super light, although the remote side does tend towards being smaller.

Adrenalynn · #10 07-03-2009

Ok - now that I give it some thought:

You read the HMD (Head Mounted Display) head tracker over USB using a laptop/netbook.

This gives you X,Y[,Z,W] coordinate data.

You get an XBee Starter Kit and use the XBee Explorer to send the coordinate data to the plane, where it is then received by the XBee Regulated [also contained within the kit] and is then decoded by an Arduino Pro Mini, and reencoded into PWM servo control.

This has the advantage of very likely being able to run (on the plane side) from your BEC, since they're both 5v regulated from a >6v source, and both reasonably low-amperage. The transmitter side would run from USB power provided by the laptop/netbook.

Welcome to the forum! We got there eventually.