My son is 19. Brilliant AND beaming; however he is also medically fragile and confined to a wheelchair. He has purchased a camera. He can connect VIA his phone to View, Zoom, and Shoot. But he cannot hold the camera itself. I need to make him a power controller for moving the camera left-right & up-down.
I need a small 2 axis thumb joystick (like an Xbox controller has). It ultimately has to drive the camera for aiming. I need something “Touch sensitive” that will allow for a small, slow adjustment at times. Luke’s (my son) camera has a powerful zoom. Rapid or excessive travel on long shots will move objects out of the camera’s field of vision.
I can make the camera mount or gimbal. However I am TOTALLY lost with the electronics. What parts I need? What controllers connect to the gear boxes or servo’s?
A guy like me needs simple answers and simple solutions. Thank you.
Sounds like you need a motorized pan/tilt. How much does the camera weigh (or what model is it?).
If it’s a GoPro, or relatively lightweight, you’re in luck when it comes to gimbal systems.
If it’s more of a standard camera, video camera or DSLR, we have options, but they don’t have damping against vibration.
It’s a standard camera, Canon but not sure of the model. The BIG concern is making a small versatile controller.
We need one touch sensitive 2 axis thumb joystick. I hope to mount that to his phone. The intention is he can pan the camera with his one hand (thumb) and zoom shoot with his other.
The camera will be mounted on his wheelchair so dampening should not be a concern. However we do need something that is “tender” or has fine tuning. The camera has a 50X’s optical zoom. Consequently when it is on full zoom (shooting a picture 500 yards away) even one degree can throw the subject out of frame.
I have been tinkering and searching for a long time. I have also visited numerous establishments. Nothing has developed (if you will pardon the pun). However I have found suitable and similar components on YouTube. I know it can be done, I just lack the electronic know-how.
What are your suggestions?
We really do need to know the weight of the camera. If it has a 50x optical zoom, then it’s likely larger than a pocket camera?
Example: robotshop.com/en/open-loop-p … oller.html
This setup allows for fine control via the knobs, and is made for a DSLR and can accommodate a somewhat larger lens (displaced center of mass).
Based on a PM, your camera weights ~450g. RB-Ins-12 is a simple joystick controller without “fine” control. Unfortunately almost no joystick controllers provide fine control. You can consider a wireless controller which is programmable so you can make the output exponential (meaning fine control near the center, and as you move the joystick away, the motion becomes faster). Note that if you want to use an RC servo based pan/tilt, the joystick would likely control the absolute as opposed to relative position, making it hard to control.
Your best option for an RC system is to use a microcontroller, connect two joysticks and program it to react as you would like.
robotshop.com/en/servocity-s … =RB-Sct-06
with: 2x robotshop.com/en/hitec-hs645 … motor.html
If you’re prepared to do some programming, we can suggest some options.
PM received and replying here. If you have someone prepared to do a little programming, then you can use the RC servo based pan/tilt unit from the previous reply, and connect that to an Arduino based microcontroller. The microcontroller can take whatever input you like, including a two axis joystick, potentiometers and more. HOWEVER, it’s important to note that RC servo motor technology, especially under load, won’t create the smoothest of motion, since you are requesting that the servo move to a specific angle (practical accuracy of around 1 degree under load).
robotshop.com/en/arduino-uno … oller.html
robotshop.com/en/io-expansio … no-v6.html
robotshop.com/en/gravity-2-a … odule.html
robotshop.com/en/osepp-poten … odule.html
For more accurate control, the original unit, despite being more expensive, seems more along the lines of what you might need / want.
Thank you sooooo much for your help 
Camera weight will not become a problem. I can manufacturer a fully balanced pan/tilt so the camera pivots with no load or weight. Stress should not poss a snag from what I can see.
Please forgive my lack of technical savvy but not sure why I require a OSEPP Potentiometer Module. If this is to adjust or feather the speed of Luke’s camera motion than we are into 2 separate controllers. One for movement, one for speed (Sadly Luke’s physical limitations require just one button)
I appreciate your patience as you continue to walk me through this
Respectfully, Winton
The idea behind a potentiometer would be to allow for “fine tuning”. However, given that you’re going with a programmed solution, you can really do anything you want with even a joystick (program a range around the center which allows for very low speed, while an area towards the limits which allows for “macro” movement for example). You can even opt for a joystick with a button which changes modes from slow to fast.
Awesome!
so if I understand correct, purchase these 3 products PLUS 2 servo’s (to move the camera) and I have all the electronic components required. My friend will program these parts and I can physically build the tilt/pan
robotshop.com/en/arduino-uno … oller.html
robotshop.com/en/io-expansio … no-v6.html
robotshop.com/en/gravity-2-a … odule.html
correct?
Winton
One last aspect will be power (batteries or wall adapter), but those are the core. You might need one or two servo extension cables.
robotshop.com/en/sea-03-serv … le-24.html
How would you like to power the system?
Batteries; Good question!
my son’s wheelchair is 24 volt (actually closer to 28 volt maximum charge, two l2 volt lead acid batteries but each cell has a maximum output of 2 point 2 volts). They sell adapters for his chair so you can run cell phones and ipod’s. I believe those are 5 volt systems. Would that work? I would LOVE to simply plug it into his chair! What are your thoughts? What are my options?
Opt for a small, standard voltage regulator to drop the voltage for the servos down to 6V:
robotshop.com/en/dimension-e … lator.html
robotshop.com/en/dimension-v … board.html
The Arduino needs 12V, which you can plug into the 12V battery:
robotshop.com/en/terminal-barrel-jack.html
Be sure to get all of the wiring correct before turning it on - miswiring it can blow everything.
Hello Coleman:
My name is Jamie. I’m hopping on Winton’s computer here, at his request. You see, I’m the guy who volunteered to help with the programming of this little beast. And so I have a few questions for you.
But first of all, let me say that I am impressed with your thorough follow-up on all the questions. Winton and I have had a number of discussions about this project and your knowledge and willingness to share it is greatly appreciated.
I think we might be getting close to being able to fire this puppy up and try to make it go. But I have a few questions.
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there is a power jack for 12V supply to the Arduino board. I assume, as in most situations, the inner pin is the positive terminal and the shell is the negative terminal, correct?
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are there any pinout diagrams? I’ve searched online for “DFRobot DF RDuino I?O Expansion V6.0” but I mostly only see drawings for v5.0 and v7.xx whatever. I found only one page that had something with the picture of the v6.0 board. It told me a lot. It looks like a bunch of analog inputs on the one side of the board (designated by red, black and blue bases under the pin arrays). It looks like a bunch of digital inputs on the other side of the board - looks like 14 altogether (designated by red, black and green bases under the pins)? Or is that 8 at the corner and the ones more inboard are for something else? Could they possibly be outputs?
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any documentation to show what to do for the various switch settings on the board?
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the one photograph that I saw for the v6.0 board showed “servo power” on the two screw terminals on the one corner of the board. Is that an input for supply power to the servos? I am anticipating it is not an output to the servos as there would have to be more than a 2-wire connection for a servo, correct? And, assuming that is the case, where do I connect the servos? I see the servos shipped with cables with black, red and yellow wires; I was hoping there would have been connectors on the board with black, red and yellow bases under the pins to designate analog outputs. But I don’t see that. It is why I was wondering if the connectors more inboard might be outputs but not marked with yellow.
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To verify, I need 12V for the Arduino board and 6V for the analog I/o expansion board. Do I need a third voltage supply for the servos or anything?
Let’s start with that for me. I should be able to work through this. As a point of reference, I have an electronic certificate from a LOOOOOONNNNNG time ago from college, an electrician’s license and I program PLCs for a living. So I am following general concepts here. I mostly need help with documentation and working through issues of understanding due to dealing with differences in “economies of scale,” so to speak. This micro-stuff is a different animal than the servos and servo controllers I’m used to dealing with. So I appreciate your particular expertise here.
Thanks. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Jamie
If we could, please, start with this and
It’s “standard” center positive.
The idea behind the IO is to be able to connect servos and sensors directly - without having to use a breadboard or additional wires. blue are the analog pins, red are 5V and black are ground. There is also an XBee header and connectors for external power.
Wiki: dfrobot.com/wiki/index.php/ … Arduino(V5_(SKU:_DFR0088)
See above.
Yes there is - refer to the link above.
The Arduno itself can be powered either via USB or from 9-12V (barrel). This voltage is too high for the servos, therefore we suggest a separate power supply of 6V.