I've been watching from the wings and have found so much excellent information thus far, so thanks for that
I am in the middle of a project to design a pipe crawler ROV. I have the majority of the code in place for the motors etc, but I'm really struggling with the long distance aspect.
I would like to control my ROV from 1km away and thought fibre optic would be the way forward.
I did consider that Robtillart, but there is quite a considerable amount of information I need to transfer; the control of 3x motors, audio/video (although this might be sent down a seperate adjoined cable) and several sensors.
I've read a few things on here about LED's not having the abilty to switch on and off quickly enough.
I am keen on the efficiency of the fibre optic set up and also the potential to go up to 5km. It's really the equipment needed to connect/convert the signal that I'm battling with.
If I were more clued up on the terminology then I'd know what to search for
Thanks evildave, I did think it was far too straightforward!
Do you know if there is a way to avoid the ethernet connection completely? The most direct way to go from arduino to fibre?
The size of the ROV is only 65mm at its widest point. Not much bigger than the motors that sit inside it, so the box in the link above won't fit :-/
Is there a method to boost a signal down a copper cable up to 1km. I have an 8 core cable to play with, one for power, one earth and at present 6 spare.
Objectives When you finish this module, you will be able to: • Identify the basic components of a fiber optic communication system • Discuss light propagation in an optical fiber • Identify the various types of optical fibers • Determine the dispersion characteristics for the various types of optical fibersDescribe the various connector types • Calculate decibel and dBm power • Calculate the power budget for a fiber optic system • Calculate the bandwidth of a fiber optic system • Describe the operation and applications of the various types of fiber optic couplers • Describe the operation and applications of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) • Describe the operation and applications of laser diodes (LDs) • Describe the operation and applications of distributed-feedback (DFB) lasers • Discuss the differences between LEDs and laser diodes with respect to performance characteristics • Discuss the differences between the various types of optical detectors with respect to performance characteristics • Describe how pulse code modulation (PCM) is used in analog-to-digital conversion • Describe the operation North American Digital Hierarchy • Describe the difference between internal and external modulation • Discuss the principles of time-division multiplexing (TDM) • Discuss the principles of wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) • Discuss the principles of dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) • Discuss the significance of the International Telecom Union grid (ITU grid) • Discuss the use of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA) for signal regeneration • Describe the operation and applications of fiber Bragg gratings • Describe the operation and application of fiber optic circulators • Describe the operation of a typical fiber optic communication system and the components that make it up
Not that you need to know it all but understanding the limits of some system will help...
Hi Robtillart, thanks for the course suggestion! I think in an ideal world that's exactly what I really would be looking at doing, I just haven't got the time. I think that's why I am using arduino's rather than creating my own boards. I will certainly look into it though!
... I spotted this piece of kit! Riva, I think this and the shield is exactly what I am after. Incidentally I am using the Uno, the shield you suggested drops straight onto it. I will do some digging to check out range capability but hopefully this will make up a large part of my solution!
Riva:
You don't say what model Arduino your expecting/going to use but maybe using this shield with one of these (or the 3.3V version) will do the job.
The fibre cable is very expensive though and I think you may be better off considering a different method for control/telemetry.
Once I have got all info together I will compile a parts list and necessary code for reference. Really appreciate your support, thanks!
Once the prototype is complete I'll get a video on youtube so you can see what this is working towards, thanks again!
I see this thread hasn't been used for a while but I was looking for fibre most info and came across thishttp://www.robotshop.com/uk/carte-click-uart-fibre-optique-5v.html might suit your project if you haven't found anything.
