Ideas, Ideas, Ideas!

Masterchafed

Got a new one, and I am loving this one. So, I was sitting here thinking, and tell me what you think of this idea, mounting my small web cam on a servo motor, and using the Basic stamp to control the servo, but, thats not all, how about putting a motion sensor on the front of the cam. The program would make it so that the motion sensor move towards the direction that the motion came from (possible or does it just track motion and not direction) so that the cam follows me, that way, when I am talking to someone with my cam, even if i move my head, the cam will follow to keep me centered in the shot. Possible?

Bean

I don't know of any motion sensors that tell you which direction the motion came from. They only tell you if they see motion or not.

I've seen things like this before where the person wears an infrared transmitter (in a lapel or hat or something) and the camera has sensors that can track where the IR is coming from (IR sensors with tubes to make them directional).

It would be a cool project.

Bean.

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Cheap used 4-digit LED display with driver IC·www.hc4led.com

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"USA Today has come out with a new survey - apparently, three out of every four people make up 75% of the population." - David Letterman

allanlane5

Except a CCD based web-cam would also pick up the IR-light. Otherwise it's a very good idea.

I'm not sure ultra-sound would keep you 'centered', exactly, but the 'beam' is probably narrow enough to keep you in-frame.

latigerlilly

This is a completed project just as you desribed, minus the cam. It is very easy to add the cam to this project to make it just as you described:
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=611413

Masterchafed

Thanks for the input, I saw that project BTW, it wasn't really how I wanted to do it, I've got an idea tho, although it would make the camera bulky. I would wear this blaze orange hunting beanie and equip a CMU cam on top of my web cam and have it track blaze orange blobs (my hat) Think that would work?

allanlane5

Yes, that would definitely work.

AIman

You know, Parallax posted code for a robot that uses sonar mounted on a servo to sweep back and forth. If things are detected it focuses on the closest objects and then moves towards it.

So here's my suggestion based off what is discussed above - use IR and wear a reflective hat or something like that so that the IR can pick you up easier. Adapte·the code Parallax wrote from sonar to IR - it would be realatively simple.

Then·mount the camera directly above the IR unit·so that as your hat reflects back the light the camera and IR turn on the servo to follow you.

Bean

On the same line as AIman, use 2 pings pointed so that they are measuring on either side of you. When one of them starts measuring a closer distance (you got in it's way), move the camera in that direction until it doesn't "see" you anymore.

Bean.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Cheap used 4-digit LED display with driver IC·www.hc4led.com

Low power SD Data Logger www.sddatalogger.com
SX-Video Display Modules www.sxvm.com
Stuff I'm selling on ebay http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZhittconsultingQQhtZ-1

"USA Today has come out with a new survey - apparently, three out of every four people make up 75% of the population." - David Letterman

allanlane5

+1 to Bean -- that way, you won't have the sound of the moving 'Ping' sensor messing with your camera sound. And you can 'aim' the two pings so the 'sweet spot' where both detect you is as narrow and centered as desired. Very clever.

Masterchafed

I honestly like all of these ideas, but mine just seems a tad simpler, and i believe it will work perfectly, or should.

randyaz

Check out "roaming with ir" in chapter 7 of http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/books/edu/Roboticsv2_2.pdf