Hi there guys, i'm currently working on a project, where i would need to mount a camera on a obstacle avoiding robot which i have made earlier. Problem is, i have little to no knowledge on what cameras should i use for such a project.
The robot is intended for Search-and-Rescue, where it will navigate by itself into areas that are not easily accessible by normal means. For example, searching for life after the collapse of a building.
What i need for the camera to do is to have it mounted on my robot, and have the images projected onto my PC. The problem is, i have no idea what i should be looking for, and how i should go about getting my hands on this camera.
Would need advice on the type of cameras that could be used in such a case. A simple camera that is able to project live, the video it has captured onto my PC.
Secondly, i am also tasked to include a auto charging function for the robot. It would have a solar panel attached to it, and when the battery life of the robot were to reach a critical level, the robot will drop what it is doing and start to navigate itself out to find a light source to charge it's battery.
In this case, i do have a solar panel ready, but the types of sensor and how i should go about making this possible is really far beyond my knowledge.
I have no prior knowledge to robotics, and my programming skills are limited.
I am currently using a 11.1V, 1500mAh rechargeable battery pack.
As for now, with the obstacle avoiding robot alone, it has a current draw of 0.66A.
First for your camera issue:-
The use of camera is very complicated. There would be two options available for you to have camera installed on your robot.
Goto http://www.arducam.com/
And find the new hardware required in addition to your arduino. Connect it properly. Finally to get it displayed on your PC, have a wifi module.
A more simple way would be find an IP camera that suits your requirement and attach it directly on your robot. If you want to view live feed on your PC, just use the driver application that comes along with it.
(I would recommend you the 2nd option for obvious reasons.)
For the second Battery charger issue:-
Try to save the path which the robot followed. Also save the locations at which sun-light is present. If you are using remote, then try to save time for which the forward/ reverse/ turn button was pressed. Have a LDR to detect where the sunlight is present. Thus when critical battery would be present, the bot will go to last known location where sun-light was present.
Hey there! Thanks for the reply! Option 2 is definitely the option for me, i have been thinking of using something along that line, but am just confuse as to which brand of camera or series to use for my robot. Resolutions aren't as important, as long as my PC is able to receive the image from the camera live.
As for the second options, there are still questions running through my head which i have no way to put into words for now. I'll try to take your advice of having my robot saving the path which it had moved and adding LDR for light sensing purposes.
I'll post any further developments i have on my robot when i get the parts ready.
