WiFi controlled tilt and swivel camera mount - not security

[LongQ]

Google is taking me into all sort of interesting but obscure places and a line of near misses - so I thought you lot might do better!

Anyone know of a camera mount, preferably with battery operation, that can be controlled wirelessly using WiFi?

It's not for surveillance or any form of security activity so the ones that tend to be combined with cameras won't fit the task unless they are easily modified. Also the security type cameras tend to be very small and light and so the units could be too small themselves. I am looking for something that would take a tiny to small medium sized digital compact unit. I don't want it to control the camera - just which way the camera is pointing.

Any suggestions? Specific sites as possible starting points would do fine!

Thx.

[greenv8s]

Does it have to be WiFi, or would something like this do?

[fergusd]

I recently made a computer controlled pan and tilt head for a friend, 180degrees pan and 180degrees tilt, I suspect it could be made to work with a small digital compact without any problem.

Some external electronics control a couple of servo motors, the intelligence (and in this case also the WIFI integration) is done in a small form factor linux machine . . . connected via an RS232 link . . .

In this case, however, the linux machine also performs multi channel video capture and streaming . . . web serving, etc, etc . . . and provides power for the motors/external electronics . . .

Although I have seen a couple of other pan and tilt heads on the web I have not seen anything that matches your spec, or the spec of the thing I built (why I built it).

I was going for functionality rather than beauty however, but it works very well, full sweep in either axis (or both) in approx 1 second.

If you're totally stuck . . . you can ask . . .

Oh and you'll have to define what you mean by WIFI controllable . . . I assume you mean over http or some other sensible IP protocol (my current solution uses a web browser to control the pan/tilt) but this is easily changed . . .

Cost would be determined by your requirements . . . ;-)

Fd

Edited to say - what size of battery and how long a runtime ?

>> Edited by fergusd on Thursday 9th February 02:17

[LongQ]

greenv8s said:

Does it have to be WiFi, or would something like this do?

Almost very close as one of the units listed offers wireless operation but seems to include the camera.

Others offer appear to offer an any camera mount (video) but not wireless.

I tried a download of more data but was asked for a password. I thinnk ot will wait until tomorrow, given the time now!

Many thanks - a very useful find.

[LongQ]

fergusd said:

I recently made a computer controlled pan and tilt head for a friend, 180degrees pan and 180degrees tilt, I suspect it could be made to work with a small digital compact without any problem. <snip> Oh and you'll have to define what you mean by WIFI controllable . . . I assume you mean over http or some other sensible IP protocol (my current solution uses a web browser to control the pan/tilt) but this is easily changed . . . Cost would be determined by your requirements . . . ;-) Fd Edited to say - what size of battery and how long a runtime ?

Now that sounds interesting - very interesting - but perhaps in the longer term. I was hoping to find something off the shelf that I could use to test a concept to present to someone as an idea for extending the potential of a new venture. (Although it may also have other uses in more traditional areas.)

If the idea works it would also mean it has wider commercial potential in similar areas which in turn might suggest creating a bespoke device, unless the chaps from the far east get in there first.

As for the questions;

It would need wireless control - nothing complex - and to be 'run' from a remote PC - probably a notebook. I was think of a fairly simple interface. Left, Right, Up, Down with reasonably fast response to inputs. Web browser would probably be fine. Keep things as simple as possible.

Battery would ideally last for around 2 hours minimum in battery only mode. Longer would be better of course! That would need to be in a small unit so a small battery. Probably most of the charge used by the wireless comms rather than tilting and shifting!

I could envisage a slightly more robust unit which could require say 4 hours of operational availability but I would guess that typical use (as I have it in mind at least) would probably allow a mains supply to be adopted more often than not for all, or certainly most, of that time.

But first I need to convince myself (and a couple of others) that the idea, as it currently exists in my head, might be viable. At a pinch I may be able to do that without needing a dedicated mount to be operational. Or they may tell me that the results would be of litle interest, in which case I would need to think whether there could be alternative potential uses.

Thanks for the input ferg. If I manage to progress it with the people I am thinking of in the next couple of days I will let you know.

In the meantime a test with a dedicated wireless device would still be desirable if anyone has a source they can point me to.

[Ian_H]

I was at a rally last weekend and a guy (www.sky-camera.co.uk/index.html ) turned up with this sort of setup
www.focalpoint2000.co.uk/aerialphotography/hiview50.shtml
I didn't take too much notice of it but he did seem to be controlling it via a laptop, don't know whether this is the sort of application you are looking at but thought I would mention it anyway

[LongQ]

Very interesting and very different - but not quite what I had in mind. Although it does offer a few more ideas!

Only had a quick glance so I may have missed something but I would guess that at that extension the weight of the camera becomes a bit important and so a limiting factor for now although the info on the site suggests that they do have the capacity to take a fairly large unit - probably on the vehicle mounted system I would guess.

The link to camera seems to be by cable - which would be logical in the circumstances. No reason it would have to be that way.

The head is, I assume, battery powered but controlled through the cable rather than wireless. Nice head but too big for what I had in mind when I made the post.

So thanks Ian, very interesting even though not quite what I was thinking of. On the other hand if they have any plans to reduce the size of the pan and tilt head ... and give it a wireless option ...