Cheap, easy and powerful video system. Does such a thing exist?

Ravenkallen · 2010-07-01 01:45

It seems like one of the biggest things plaguing robotics/ drones, is the use of a good video system. The current system i have cost me $70 and only gets me a range of 100 feet. Of course there are a few obstructions, but that is just no good for a long range robot. I have rigged up a robot control method using a sound impact sensor and a cell phone to provide control of the·micro controller/ robot·from anywhere in the world, but this will do me no good if the wireless camera can only go a hundred feet of less. I have heard about usb wireless cameras, but finding a good one is nearly impossible. I guess my big question is, What kind of video system do you guys use? And is it on the inexpensive side?· THANKS FOR YOUR TIME

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Propeller + Picaxe = Romeo & Juliet

John Abshier · 2010-07-01 02:31

Cheap, easy, powerful. Pick any 2.

John Abshier

Mike Green · 2010-07-01 05:42

As John implied, it's hard to communicate wirelessly over long distances when there's a lot of data. Video requires a lot of bits. Do the math ... A coarse image maybe has 320 x 240 pixels (QVGA) or about 77K pixels. If you use 4 bits per pixel for 16 level grey-scale, that's 300K bits per image with no color and a minimum amount of grey-scale. If you do 15 images per second, that's 4.5 megaBaud. You can do image compression to either reduce this data rate or to get a larger number of pixels or to get color images or more images per second. The more image compression you want, the more complex the process is and the more expensive (and power hungry) the equipment is. At a minimum, consider a small embedded Linux computer like a Gumstix or equivalent. With that, you will need a GSM cell phone module with 3G or better data rates.

Spiral_72 · 2010-07-01 15:56

My guess would be use the internet. Ebay had single board Pentium 200? computers last week for $50. You could use that and a cell wireless modem to the internet..... then pull that off the net to your desktop. Long range wireless video would require a big battery and at some point would likely exceed some Fcc rules.

2.4Ghz RC transmitters have a range of up to about 2miles. I have no idea what the data rate is, but they sell 2.4Ghz transmitter modules compatible with JR radios. It plugs in piggy-back with a controller (eg. JR-9303) It's a long shot, but it "Might" work. If so you'd have a range of 2 miles for 4hrs off a 1500mA pack. The data rate is mighty fast for RC stuff, but video??? I dunno. If I remember right there are only about ten pins off the device and two of those are power...

Good luck

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"puff"...... Smile, there went another one.

Ravenkallen · 2010-07-02 01:29

Okay, Haha. Lets go with cheap and easy....

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Propeller + Picaxe = Romeo & Juliet

M. K. Borri · 2010-07-04 02:16

Actually you can have all 3. We did that which you are talking about using a G1 phone (which can now be had for $90) both on wifi and data plans, we demoed it at the propeller expo. The Prop does all the navigational heavy lifting while the phone acts as a radio and NMEA instrument for position and heading.

We also did that with a G2 and a flying wing plane.

We also put schematics and firmware up for download [noparse];)[/noparse] Also videos.

http://robots-everywhere.com/re_wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

(can the firmware go on the obex or is it too specific?)

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http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=650217

meow, i have my own topic now? (sorta)

Post Edited (M. K. Borri) : 7/4/2010 2:36:50 AM GMT

P!-Ro · 2010-07-06 05:53

If anyone knows about video it would definitely be M.K. (what did you say your first name was again?)

BTW, do you happen to have the code for the computer side of your robots readily available?

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90 * 2 = Pi

M. K. Borri · 2010-07-06 13:10

Yes, but we're not publishing it yet because there's barely any comments, etc. if you want it as-is (it will work, its just ugly to look at) email me (spiritplumber at gmail) and you'll get a copy.

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http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=650217

meow, i have my own topic now? (sorta)

Ravenkallen · 2010-07-07 03:35

So, M.K Borri. This phone thing you speak off, is it very easy to implement?

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Propeller + Picaxe = Romeo & Juliet

M. K. Borri · 2010-07-07 07:11

Yes, fairly easy [noparse]:)[/noparse] you use the phone as a modem, basically.

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http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=650217

meow, i have my own topic now? (sorta)

M. K. Borri · 2010-07-08 17:39

Anyway [noparse]:)[/noparse] please do message me if you want the phone-side source code! Or wait a couple weeks while I clean it up.

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http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=650217

meow, i have my own topic now? (sorta)

John R. · 2010-07-09 18:08

There is also a wide range of "IP" or Netowrk cameras. These basically haved a built in web server that streams video. They range in cost from < $100 to over $2,000. Depending on where you are, using WiFi can get you the video. Some cameras have this built in, others would require a bridge.

The cost range depends on features, including lens quality, fixed or zoom lens, fixed mounting or built in pan/zoom, and other options. These things can be a slick solution, ***-u-me-ing you have a way to get enough bandwidth to/from your robot. Some even have serial ports built in to allow using the IP stream to also communicate with the microprocessor.

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John R.
Click here to see my Nomad Build Log

M. K. Borri · 2010-07-10 07:31

Some have bluetooth, in which case a bluetooth to serial module (CuteDigi, RN-42) is your friend. They're getting cheap, too.

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http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=650217

meow, i have my own topic now? (sorta)

Cheap, easy and powerful video system. Does such a thing exist?

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