smart-phone as WiFi camera to navigate Boe-Bot remotely (with photos)
Alex-VII
Posts: 8
HTC smart-phone (PocketPC TRIN100, produced in 2005) was turned into the WiFi camera with the help of the software "WebcameraPlus" ( www.ateksoft.com ). I had to buy this software for USD 12 as I could not figure out how to turn smart-phone into WiFi camera myself, no matter how hard I tried to search for it.
So now this HTC smart-phone can capture video and transmit it via WiFi with WPA2-PSK encryption to the WiFi router and I get the video stream on PC.
I navigate Boe-Bot with the Easy Bluetooth Module via Debug window (code is here: http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=6&m=351119 ). This code allows more precise navigation than via GUI. Precision is even more important than speed to move a robot, say, in a warehouse remotely.
To improve the quality of video I use a LED bicycle forward lamp. It lasts many hours as LED lamp does not use much energy. With this lamp I can navigate even in the dark room (see attached screen-shots).
The Boe-Bot can be well navigated with such a camera.
However bluetooth range is not sufficient enough to navigate into remote rooms, especially if a concrete wall is on the way of the bluetooth signal. This problem of short range will be solved soon with the planned WiFi Module. Otherwise this is rather robust system.
So old smart-phones can be used as WiFi navigation cameras in robotics. The quality of video is about the same as on dedicated WiFi cameras. However I do not understand why producers of these smart-phones do not include the functionality of WiFi camera. A smart-phone does have web camera and WiFi. Why not to combine them into one more function?
For further development I need a high resolution WiFi photo camera (not video camera!) to make still photos of products in remote warehouses. So that I can make high resolution photo and download it via WiFi. If you know of such a camera, please, let me know.
Post Edited (Alex-VII) : 6/10/2010 8:38:17 PM GMT
So now this HTC smart-phone can capture video and transmit it via WiFi with WPA2-PSK encryption to the WiFi router and I get the video stream on PC.
I navigate Boe-Bot with the Easy Bluetooth Module via Debug window (code is here: http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=6&m=351119 ). This code allows more precise navigation than via GUI. Precision is even more important than speed to move a robot, say, in a warehouse remotely.
To improve the quality of video I use a LED bicycle forward lamp. It lasts many hours as LED lamp does not use much energy. With this lamp I can navigate even in the dark room (see attached screen-shots).
The Boe-Bot can be well navigated with such a camera.
However bluetooth range is not sufficient enough to navigate into remote rooms, especially if a concrete wall is on the way of the bluetooth signal. This problem of short range will be solved soon with the planned WiFi Module. Otherwise this is rather robust system.
So old smart-phones can be used as WiFi navigation cameras in robotics. The quality of video is about the same as on dedicated WiFi cameras. However I do not understand why producers of these smart-phones do not include the functionality of WiFi camera. A smart-phone does have web camera and WiFi. Why not to combine them into one more function?
For further development I need a high resolution WiFi photo camera (not video camera!) to make still photos of products in remote warehouses. So that I can make high resolution photo and download it via WiFi. If you know of such a camera, please, let me know.
Post Edited (Alex-VII) : 6/10/2010 8:38:17 PM GMT
1428 x 1876 - 999K
1328 x 1624 - 818K
1632 x 1912 - 1M
1368 x 1796 - 952K
990 x 645 - 108K
Comments
A newer smart-phone would provide a better quality of video, but for navigation this quality is enough. What I need now is a possibility to make high quality, high resolution still photos and download them via WiFi, i.e. WiFi photo camera with a good lens.
Post Edited (Alex-VII) : 6/10/2010 2:05:04 PM GMT