Really neat camera module

[JonHylands]

Hey guys,

I've been looking for a small, lightweight digital camera module for a long time that you can interface easily to something like a gumstix. I finally found one that meets my specific needs:

   - small (entire board is 20mm x 28mm)
   - low power (60 mA at 3.3 volts)
   - simple interface (TTL serial at up to 115Kbaud*)
   - sends picture data in a well-known format (JPEG)

The C328-7640 module is actually capable of going up to 921Kbaud, although the documentation doesn't mention that.

http://www.electronics123.com/s.nl/it.A/id.2027/.f?sc=8&category=241

The fact that it costs under $50 is a huge win, and it is incredibly configurable with respect to what you get back (image size, bit depth, format, etc).

I'm going to get one of these, interface it to my gumstix, and use it on the head of my Bioloid raptor.

- Jon

[Admin]

hmmm "with 0.75~6 fps"

dont forget to post source code when your done 

serious though, im currently writing the next tutorial which is on computer vision, so its got me reinspired lately . . .

[JonHylands]

Well, 6 fps at 115K, but since the module is actually capably of doing 921K, you can get a significantly higher frame rate than that.

These guys are using it:

http://www.surveyor.com/SRV.html

And they have posted their full source code.

http://www.surveyor.com/srvdownload/srv-112906.zip

- Jon

[JesseWelling]

This is very similar to the CMU cam but with out all that stuff I don't need 
Way good find. But the 8bpp means 8 bits per pixel or 8 bits per packet? I was a little confused.
It appears to be able to do raw output...which not as good for communication but better for processing.

So what do you guys think for field of view?
I'm thinking use the huge 118 deg for target acquisition and smaller for actually aiming the airsoft gun

[JonHylands]

8 bpp means 8 bits per pixel. The packets have a lot more than 8 bits in them :-)

The only issue with the lensed version is they don't have an IR filter, which makes for a not-even-close to true color image. That may not be a problem for you, depending on what you're doing.

- Jon

[JesseWelling]

Yea....I'm trying to catch up to your brother in Robo Magellan....but I as long as
you do your testing on the cone you could work around that.

[JonHylands]

Yea....I'm trying to catch up to your brother in Robo Magellan....but I as long as
you do your testing on the cone you could work around that.

Are you talking about my brother Dave? Do you know him?

- Jon

[JesseWelling]

Yea I know Dave through the gumstix mailing list and i've seen his robo magellan movies...never met though
I'm way behind him in experience but Robo Magellan is what I'm shooting for with my gumstix.

That is just a stepping stone though. I'm actualy working on making a mobile sentry that uses airsoft.
One of the things I want to do with this is make a multi agent system similar to the way a tank operates.
E.G. Driver, Gunner, and Comander. Right now I'm working with an rc18t but I'm going to move to a biger
platform (probably something like this http://www.trossenrobotics.com/store/p/3171-Modified-E-Maxx-RC-Truck-Kit.aspx)
once I get the Driver working. Not sure if each agent is going to be situated on it's own gumstix yet though
kinda depends on how fast gumstix get over the next few years.

[Admin]

interesting . . .

videos of robots running into rocks and trees:
http://www.tedlarson.com/robots/robothon2004/index.htm

the rules:
http://www.robothon.org/robothon/challenge.php

looks kinda hard . . .

[JonHylands]

Videos of 2005 & 2006 are on my brother Dave's website:

http://www.davehylands.com/Robotics/Robo-Magellan/

Some robots did a lot better those years...

- Jon