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image sensors

Lee MarshallLee Marshall Posts: 106
edited 2007-10-17 13:56 in Propeller 1
one good use for the prop i saw right from the start was with AI.
specifically neural net simulation/computer vision.
i wanna try something that involves a camera, however, i cant find any image sensors anywhere that are ok to work with.
im looking for:
low res - VGA/QVGA sort of thing
system on chip - a microcontroller built into it so i dont have to connect like 1000 x/y wires.
serial interface - mechanically less to go wrong, less to wire up, simplicity to interface.
low pin count - nothing surface mount, id like to keep it below 40 pins

the closest i have come to something like this is the REALLY low res cameras in optical mice, which are designed to be for a mouse-on-a-chip with ps/2 interface, and pins for connecting the mouse buttons.
the only cameras i can find are the ones with the composite video output.


have any of you people encountered such a device??
maybe something that can be extracted from something i already have.

Lee.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand
-Confucius

Post Edited (Mr Crowley) : 10/16/2007 11:05:05 PM GMT

Comments

  • deSilvadeSilva Posts: 2,967
    edited 2007-10-16 23:16
    Look for MCA 30; low cost cell phone add-on camera with seriell output (preview quality), still sold at ebay, and hacked into all details. Threads are here and in other forums..
  • Graham StablerGraham Stabler Posts: 2,507
    edited 2007-10-16 23:18
    Phil has his propcam in the works and there was some talk about converting a certain cameraphone attachment a while ago. Some ominvision and Micro arrays are suitable but they are surface mount.

    Finding the array is the easy bit.

    Graham
  • IAN STROMEIAN STROME Posts: 49
    edited 2007-10-17 00:10
    Lee,
    How about Texas Instruments TC255P?
    CCD in an 8 pin DIP 324 x 243 pixels.

    Ian

    :- Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel,
    Order more tunnel.
  • Lee MarshallLee Marshall Posts: 106
    edited 2007-10-17 13:09
    thats a great idea, physically, its perfect, but it seems to output an analog signal.
    is this what all ccds are like??
    i am really looking for something in the CMOS image sensor variety.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand
    -Confucius
  • Graham StablerGraham Stabler Posts: 2,507
    edited 2007-10-17 13:50
    I have a feeling it outputs pulses with lengths proportional to light input but I could be wrong, I was just flicking through last night. It looks like it is becomming obsolete which is more of a worry.

    Some sensors have in built ADC and will output via some protocol the data for each pixel. Others will output a set of pulses, the height of which determines the light incident on the pixel, you then need to use a ADC to convert this to digital, not a problem really but a few more components, depending on the sensor you may also need to provide various clocks. Sometimes you may also want to add a sample and hold so extend the pulses so that your ADC has time to read them.

    Graham
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,162
    edited 2007-10-17 13:56
    I bought an MCA25 off ebay for ~$5 after reading through this thread:

    http://forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=25&m=212118&g=217633#m217633

    because there were links to hacked interfacing details using serial communications.

    But, I haven't had time to play with it yet...
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