Incredible but true, I managed to acquire images from an analog camera using an Arduino!!!! I had the inestimable help of Mike from Nootropic Design, who helped me modifying hardware and software from the video experimenter shield.
The key steps to set up programming an Arduino using MegunoLink are: Add a programmer panel to the program devices visualizer, Locate the.hex binary file containing the program to upload, Select the programmer type, device type and COM port (for serial bootloaders), Click the Program button to start programming. Monocle: View & Control IP Cameras with Alexa & Arduino. The electronics for a simple camera slider, keeping it simple so it can be used with an ATTiny85. A funny looking robot in the form of a plant, that interacts with some sensors inputs, talks, plays music.
If you are interested (I bet you are) you will get the chance of doing it yourself because I am giving all the code so that you can do that at home (at your lab or for your favorite robot!!).
Feel free to skip the sections you want to skip, but I though a little bit of background is important for the whole understanding of the project.
Camara Arduino Programa En
Introduction
This project is based on the video experimenter shield by nootropic design. The idea behind this project is to be able to capture images from an Analog Video source and send them to a computer.
- Memory limitation on the Arduino
- Dynamically changing the threshold on the board.
Limitations
- The bit depth is adjustable. BUT THERE IS A TRADEOFF... the higher the bit depth the longer it takes to take an image.
- The code provided acquires images of 3 bits depth (8 levels). Getting more levels is pretty straighforward.
- The code is provided as is, you can use it as long as you quote me on your sources/publications. You can also contact MoviMED to get my 'professional' services (not for free).
- For the time being the PC side is coded in LabVIEW (easiest option I had available). A Processing code is on the way.
Concept
The idea behind this project was to modify the assembly code provided by Nootropic Design to
- Dynamically change the threshold so that different thresholds give different images that can be reassembled back in the computer. That is because the arduino does not have memory enough to store more than one thresholded image.
- Initially the idea was to software control the threshold but the wise advise from Mike led me to use an external DAC (resistor ladder)to externally force thresholds.
- Wait for a serial character to trigger the acquisition
- Acquire that image
- Re set the threshold for another level and iterate
- Once all levels have been acquired (8 in the example) idle
- Sends a character
- Reconstructs the image
The images
Here are some images of the MoviMED crew (me, John, Jesi and Dave) so that you can see the kind of resolution and bit depth images you can achieve. See below
Camera Arduino Programme
What do you need?
- Arduino - I used the uno, it should work on the diecimila but my diecimila does not like it. My board is old (2006) though. Might try it though. It will not work on the Mega, see why.
- Video Experimenter Shield - I do not work for Nootropic Design but I recommend you buying this because it will open up lots of possibilities for your Arduino projects!!!
- 1% Resistors - Yes 1% is important. I used 95.38K resistors but any value should do. It is relevant that they are acurate for the kind of conversion needed.
- A potentiometer - The value should be in the ballpark of the resistors mentioned above.
Hardware Rig
Here is a picture of the eagle schematic of what you need to assemble on top of the video experimenter shield
You can also download this image and the eagle schematic from this link. See comments on the file behind the link below.
Arduino Code and LabVIEW counterpart
Find all the code you need to run this in the same link as before. Some comments on that though
| LabVIEW front panel of the image acquisition |
- The code is provided as is. No guarantees and I will not support it, but I can provably give you some guidelines.
- Performance - It takes about 1 second to acquire an image, so 8 level images take about 8 seconds. I can get it better by packing more info per serial packet (I am only sending a bit per byte). I will do that when I get some extra time. So far I wanted to prove the concept.
- I am planning to code the same thing in Processing. I do not program in processing but I know several other languages so I guess it is not going to take long.
- The LabVIEW code requires LabVIEW 2009 and NI Vision.
- Thanks Mike for your help!!!
Where to go from here
Personally I am going to work on the processing side of things so that this code is useful for the none labview guys too.
Adding more levels should be straight forward. But keep in mind, more levels, more time to acquire an image. If you move while acquiring you might get funny pics.
Great projects from here (I am already planning to do them, I will post the results here, let me know if you get there before I do).
- Store your images in a flash chip (from microchip for instance).
- Do image processing, such as filters, line profiles, edge detection, etc with multi level images
- Make your little pan and tild track an object based on vision.
- Get a Maple from LeafLabs to acquire a multilevel image (major project).
Thanks
-Thanks to Mike from Nootropic Design for the help on the technical side of things
-Thanks to MoviMED, I used the cameras from work to test this code out. Check out our website and consider our AF-150x for your next RIO project!!! Consider us for any Machine Vision project!!
1.ESP32 Cam code upload using Arduino Uno
Introduction
In this era of IoT, we are developing many security IoT projects which requires camera module. ESP32 camera module is a cost effective ESP32 chip based wifi camera module. In this article we will see ESP32 Cam code upload using Arduino Uno. There are many ways to upload code in ESP32 cam but this is one of the simple way we have come across.
So lets quick see how to do it!
What is ESP32 cam ?
ESP32 CAM is a small camera module built using ESP32-S chip. This module is economical and it is equipped with OV2640 camera. This module also has several GPIOs (General Purpose Input Output) which helps in interfacing other peripherals. ESP32 cam also equipped with a microSD card slot which is useful to store images and videos.
ESP32 Cam Specifications :
- Small form factor with 802.11b/g/n SoC Module
- Supports Wi-Fi and BlueTooth
- Low power 32-bit CPU
- Up to 160MHz clock speed
- Built-in 520 KB SRAM, external 4MPSRAM
- Supports UART/SPI/I2C/PWM/ADC/DAC
- Support OV2640 and OV7670 cameras
- Built-in with Flash lamp
- Support WiFI upload for images
- Support micro SD card
- Supports multiple sleep modes
Parts List
Only 3 parts are needed which are listed below
- ESP32 Cam module x 1 BEST BUY
- Arduino Uno (Arduino Nano will also work) x 1 BEST BUY
- Jumper cables BEST BUY
- Arduino IDE software
Pin-out Diagram
You can follow the pin diagram while connecting the ESP32 with Arduino Uno.
Connection Diagram
The connection diagram is simple. Follow the diagram below.
Before uploading the code connect GPIO0 to GND. Once the code is uploaded remove this jumper and press the RST button on ESP32 cam.
| Arduino Uno | ESP32 Cam |
| 5V | 5V |
| GND | GND |
| Tx | Tx |
| Rx | Rx |
Arduino IDE Setup
In order to upload the code in ESP32 cam we have to install ESP32 board first. If you are new, then you can check out the below link on how to upload code in ESP32.
Here we will be using the default code with some changes.
Go to File -> Example -> ESP32 -> Camera -> CameraWebServer
Code
We are uploading the default sketch but we have added few lines of code to eliminate brownout detector was triggered esp32 error. This is a common error which occurs during the startup of the code and fails to run.
Just copy paste the below code.
Uploading the code using Arduino IDE
Before uploading the code, go to Tools and make below configurations
- Select Board : “ESP32 Wrover Module”
- Flash Mode : QIO
- Flash Frequency : 40MHZ
- Partition Scheme : Huge App (3mb No OTA/1MB SPIFFS)
- Upload speed : 115200
- Programmer : AVR ISP
You can connect the ESP32 cam with Arduino as per the given diagram. make sure you have connected GPIO0 with GND and click on upload button. Once uploading is finished remove the jumper from GPIO0.
Testing
After connecting and uploading the code you ESP32 cam is ready to test. The above code will start the esp32 camera server and you can start streaming videos and take photos.
Open the serial monitor and reset the ESP32. You can see the IP address on which the cam web server has started.
Enter the same IP Address in your browser and press enter
The web server page will now open with some settings
Scroll down and click on Start Stream
The ESP32 cam will start streaming video.
Full Video Tutorial
Conclusion
This is a low cost camera module which can be used in IoT projects. ESP32 Cam code upload using Arduino Uno is simple way to upload the code in ESP32 cam. You can also use FTDI 232 serial to USB converter.