Robotic Bluetooth Camera Mount and Remote

Goals

Motorized Pan/Tilt Camera Mount
Automate the creation of panoramas using the motorized mount
Bluetooth control from a Smartphone
A Multipurpose electronic controller allowing for time lapses, long exposures, repeated panorama shooting, and other possibilities
Allow for control and automation of other Pan/Tilt servo controlled heads
Possibly sell the product as a kit

Members

Mikel Duke (project leader)

Progress

Mount

Revision 1

Laser Cut 1/4” MDF
3” Lazy Susan Bearings
Nut and Bolt Assembly
Clearance issues during assembly
Vertical and Horizontal rails for Parallax Correction
Metric Ruler Slide rails to mark spacing

Revision 2

Added hinges to enable the mount to fold to a smaller size for transport
Adjusted placement of parts for better fit
Widened Adjustment rails for stability
Removed need for spacer boards allowing for less parts to be cut
Added holes for battery mount

Revision 3

Added access holes to Lazy Susan bearings for easier assembly
Adjusted size of the mounting plates to help hold the servo gears in place
Added radial guides on moving parts
Changed servo placement for better cable routing, no more coming unplugged when rotating

Revision 4

New Full build of the mount
Redesigned to use larger servos from Servo City
Gear ratio adjusted to account for the limited 3.5x rotation rather than continuous
Larger overall
Looser fit on to the servos
Laser Cutter was out of focus and dirty, so the lines were not as clean as they should be and gears may need to be recut

Electronics

Update 1

After testing the GY-85 IMU for orientation, it does not seem to be reliable or precise enough for this project. After researching a switch to stepper motors, the power requirements seem a little to high for the portability that is needed.

After more research and consideration, a pair of more powerful servos with a 1080 degree range has been purchased. Due to the extra power and range, continuous rotation should not be necessary. The camera mount gears will need to be re-sized to get the correct amount of rotation range given the limits of the new servos. Price-wise, it seems to be on par with changing to steppers if only slightly more, given the cost of 2 steppers, drivers, and bigger batteries.

Next Steps

Improve the orientation system
Create PCB design for controller board
Create housings for the electronics
Define kit contents, instructions, SKU
Develop support website
Improve Bluetooth App

Resources

Parts

Builds 1-3

The mount is currently built out of laser cut 1/4” MDF. Acrylic is a possibility for future builds once the design is finalized, it will not be used for prototyping due to the higher price.

The electronics consist of 2 servos controlled by an Arduino Nano with a Serial Bluetooth interface. Orientation is currently done using a GY-85 IMU commonly used on quad copters.

Camera triggering is done with two 2n2222 transistors connected to a 2.5mm stereo audio cable to a Digital SLR’s remote port.

Build 4

The original continuous rotation servos have been replaced with a pair of HS-785HB 3.5x rotation 183oz-in servos.

Photos

Revision2
Revision 2 back
Canon Digital Rebel XT Mounted

Similar Products

Migrated from the legacy DMS wiki: original page