SpaceNavigator controlling Robots (Pan Tilt Camera Movement)

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alexus
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SpaceNavigator controlling Robots (Pan Tilt Camera Movement)

Post by alexus »

SpaceNavigator controlling Robots (Pan Tilt Camera Movement)
Ok guys we have moved out from Developers forum to the public one as the project was finished in 2 day. Wow that was quick one. So to those who don
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jwick
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Post by jwick »

Very cool.

Wow. Those are some big servos--big brothers to everything I have used.

I think a PTZ camera to keep an eye on my car when I've parked it in NYC is a great idea :D
alexus
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Post by alexus »

dont even start me on the car security, some one hit my hood with the pipe or something and that so bid reduction incar value :(

But for cars i'm doing special car PC project where I have 24x7 video feed on the car (internally stored on the DVR in the trunk + remotly uploded to the server) true 360 degree viweing area, cameras are on even when engine is off (unlike infinity and any other cars w/ camaras) other coool things such as viweing cameras and who is driving the car from the website and car location finder through the cell phone. Very iusefull when you are trying to find free parking in nyc and then forgeting there have you parked :-)

Well the only thing is that SpaceNavigator didnt make it in to that project, I thought to use it to controll all my electronic navigation but I found that its not ergonomic and unfriendly in the car because I can not SPIN the cap around, I only can turn it what 50 degress or less (Im talking about Y-Axis) So I would have to OEM something similar that spins around Y-Axis and has everything else similar to SpaceNavigator

Oh yes I like licence plate OCR recognition function too, now i know all the licence lates of cars near me ;-)
Long Range Communications, Inc
If you think it is impossible to be done, please don’t bother those who are already doing it…
alexus
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Post by alexus »

jwick, what servos did you use? Mine are standard size high torque RC servos... i dont know anything about other once
Long Range Communications, Inc
If you think it is impossible to be done, please don’t bother those who are already doing it…
jwick
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Post by jwick »

I'm out of the country this week so I can't check. I ran them from a PIC. They are ~1/4 that size. Definitely not high torque.
alexus
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Post by alexus »

I want overseas trip too :)
Ok when you back let me know, i'll see if I can afford myself to by those too.
Long Range Communications, Inc
If you think it is impossible to be done, please don’t bother those who are already doing it…
alexus
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Post by alexus »

Hey Admins, what happaned to the first part of my post that had photos and links?
Long Range Communications, Inc
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ngomes
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Post by ngomes »

Hi alexus,
Hey Admins, what happaned to the first part of my post that had photos and links?
We can confirm that your post (ID# 11027) was cropped. We working with our hosting company to see what's happening. I think it is significant that the post was cropped just before the apostrophe in "don't".

This is not the level of service we expect from the Forum and we're disappointed.

We are sorry for the inconvenience and we hope to have this resolved soon.

Until the post is restored, here's a full quote:
Original post 11027 by alexus wrote:SpaceNavigator controlling Robots (Pan Tilt Camera Movement)
Ok guys we have moved out from Developers forum to the public one as the project was finished in 2 day. Wow that was quick one. So to those who don’t know yet we created a setup where you can use your SpaceNavigator to control robot servos, in our case that’s a pan tilt robot arm. So space navigator send signal to our windows application then we send signals to USB control board and here we go the motors start moving.

Original topic can be found here:
viewtopic.php?t=1951

VIDEO HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntH2OtDdKXY
Watch it to the end there is small battle with my robot at the end. That servo was powerfull enough to brake the plastic on my SpaceNavigator :(
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Technically we can control everything, in original setup we wanted to control helicopter, but then no body bought one for us so we have this simpler model with pan tilt thingie. If some one whants we can add sensors, lights controls everything u can imagine :-) I’, thinking about putting a board up that would control RC combustion engine torque. Any other ideas and donations are welcome :-)

So any way to those who like watching videos I have rendered a video and its available on You Tube


For all other DIY ppl I have some fotos below showing the process. Also is some one is interested I’m doing to car automation project where lots of electronic are placed in the car so we make it like an aircraft, not just amps but real custom electronics with license plate recognition, full powering control, true 3D camera view 24x7, you can even watch your car from home PC. Well enough pitching… lets get to photos:

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DAY 2 Change Log:
-We have improoved the software so it runs smoother and support motion in both X, Y coordinates
-project was nicely mounted $5 wooden pannel so it doent shake any more
-camera was replaced with much more expancive one to improove video quolity
-we added network DVR to record camera feed

Things to do:
-fix servo #2, it got iverheated
-reverse axis on servo #1 before it froes my brain out (i pull left camera goes right) gotta change that
-add stopping points in software
-add smoothing alghorithm to make motion of the camera more smooth..

- get back to the Car PC project and stop playing with toys
alexus
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Post by alexus »

oh terible forum flow, i guess if it cuts of apostrophe then the forum is vluranable to hacks, you better fix that asap

thanks for the workaround with the quote ;-)
Long Range Communications, Inc
If you think it is impossible to be done, please don’t bother those who are already doing it…
Dwabble
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Post by Dwabble »

ha, I like how someone so overly fascinated with spying on things is called so similar to the 'alexa' company, very appropriate.
alexus
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Post by alexus »

Dwabble, I have no Idea what are you trying to say here?
Spying on whom? What company?
Long Range Communications, Inc
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Dwabble
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Post by Dwabble »

alexus wrote:Dwabble, I have no Idea what are you trying to say here?
Spying on whom? What company?
"I have 24x7 video feed on the car (internally stored on the DVR in the trunk + remotly uploded to the server) true 360 degree viweing area, cameras are on even when engine is off (unlike infinity and any other cars w/ camaras) other coool things such as viweing cameras and who is driving the car from the website and car location finder through the cell phone. "

Sounds like a fascination with the spying concept to me
And the quip was referring to alexa, which is a famous company collecting webstatistics.
alexus
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Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2008 9:42 am
Location: New York, NY
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Post by alexus »

well technically it is not spying since I'm just protecting my car from any unlowful actions. What is the point of car alarm if the car is parked 3 blocks away and you have no visual on what is going on? with remote cameras you can actually see if there is some bad things going on next to your car.
Long Range Communications, Inc
If you think it is impossible to be done, please don’t bother those who are already doing it…
Dwabble
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Post by Dwabble »

I'm not even sure that's legal to be honest, there are privacy laws and you could park the car somewhere and stalk people for instance, and although that's not your intent the next person might have a different mindset.
alexus
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Post by alexus »

well EU law doesnt allow me to record and or point cameras to the windows of the private residences oterwise i can record everything.

US law says I can do any action to protect my personal propery. That included but not limited to video and audio tapes. There fore I can record evreything what happans inside my car. Next the pablic street is commonly accessible are there fore i can record evrtyng whta hapans on the street or what is visible from the street. Now the question if it is legal to presnt tapes in court. If I have recording within the car, that is private property there fore the sign mast be sisplayed in order for recordings be legitime. As to the recording outside the car as the street is pablic no need for constructive and or actual notice is needed as very one has equal right on using and observoing the steets

It doenst matter whgat intend is ts all bout propery tights and common areas.
Long Range Communications, Inc
If you think it is impossible to be done, please don’t bother those who are already doing it…
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