First off, I'd like to say hello to the Arduino community here as I am a new member of the forums and entirely new to Arduino itself. Just a quick little background information on me: I'm a 17 year old media enthusiast (crazy about photography and cinematography) I take specialized classes in my high school for visual arts and I'm currently the number one student by far. I get requests all the time for group projects to work with people. I even get paid offers. I just recently got pulled into covering an entire wedding without even marketing myself. News spreads fast around the New Jersey area so I'm pretty known when it comes to videos and pictures across high schools. I shoot on a D800 (I also have a D300s for backup) with a variety of lenses. And I'm planning on investing in a RED Scarlet.
Ok now to my project idea. What I am trying to accomplish is a robotic unit that can be mounted on most prosumer to consumer tripods that controls the movement of a camera mounted to it precisely and fluidly as it tracks its subject. The idea is to have a system in which the user can film themselves without manually moving the camera, eliminating the need of a second person to act as a cameraman. This would be extremely useful for the large amount of individuals getting into/are already involved with small to large scaled productions. Basically, the user would wear a low profile transmitter that is paired with the robotic unit to track themselves or others. Currently there is only one product like that on the market that retails for around $400. It's called the SoloShot 2https://soloshot.com/. It provides horizontal and tilt tracking quite smoothly but has some limitations that would not make it the ideal solution for a more advanced audience with fully rigged out cameras. The reason I'm posting this here is because I think I can somehow utilize Arduino for my programming needs (I'm not a programmer nor do I have any experience in this field so if Arduino is not the solution for this, suggestions are more than welcome). I will now go on to listing what my ideal robotic unit would consist of:
-Small to medium form factor (About the size of two full body DSLRs max)
-Weight limit of 10-15lbs (Compared to that of 5lbs from the SoloShot 2)
-Faster moving servos retaining smooth and fluid shots, preferably silent. (Suggestions welcome)
-Either a 3D printed enclosure or a CNC milled enclosure (1-2 Welds/joints max)
-Should be able to track the transmitter worn on the subject from 5-2500ft.
-Should be able to switch between 12 transmitters.
-Transmitter should be waterproof and shockproof.
-Robotic unit should also be waterproof and shockproof
-Should have a matte black with gold trim color scheme, making for a low but noticeable profile.
-Should be under $1,000 (If it can't be under $1,000 then I plan on creating 2-3 different versions depends on the targeted uses)
-Should have an easy to use interface (preferably touchscreen)
-Should be able to track 360° of horizontal motion and around 200° of vertical motion.
-A substantial battery life would be highly preferred, somewhere around 8 hours.
-A quick release plate of some sort to make attachments to tripods/bases easy and fast.
-There should be a feature allowing the user to record and save up to 12 camera movements that can be played back.
-Manual override for the user to remotely control the unit.
-An Android/iOS application to control everything if desired on the unit and monitor movement.
-Transmitter should be a very small form factor, similar to that of a USB if possible (Smaller is better)
-The transmitter should utilize the best method of tracking technology to ensure that the robotic unit is always on par with it.
-Robotic unit should have some type of USB port for firmware updates.
And that's basically it. Once again if this is possible with Arduino, that'd be perfect. If it isn't however, suggestions as to how I would accomplish such a thing would be highly appreciated as well. Feel free to ask any questions. If you guys need a reference as to what I'm trying to build, here's a link to the SoloShot 2- YouTube
If you're wondering, I am aware of the fact that SoloShot will be my only competitor at the moment. Basically my project will solve all the prosumer needs the SoloShot 2 doesn't offer. And if all goes well, I'm aiming to have this product launched at CES. So yes, this is intended to be a large scaled production which means that if all goes well, I do intend on referring to Kickstarter for funding this project. Thanks!
I wonder if it's GPS with RTK or just regular GPS with an IR beacon. I suppose either would work; the camera could extrapolate position pretty easily when the beacon was out of view.
I'm just wondering what stops someone from running up and grabbing your camera while you're 2000 feet out surfing in the water. It looks cool, but that's the first thing that came to my mind...
Just like my alarm clock idea.... Maybe you could attach a super capacitor to it and if the camera moves while its in "lock down" mode, it overloads the capacitor.
I know the Arduino can do it, because it's not much different than the robotic arm project.
So what have you done so far, other than taken soloshot specs and doubled them for your requirements?
Have you figured out how will you do the tracking? What technology to use?
The size and shape of the antenna on the stationary device may be a good start at figuring it out, should you want to reverse engineer.
Pharaoh:
I'll most likely have a group member monitor our setup. Plus our stuff is mostly hefty anyways so it shouldn't be a problem for prying eyes.
But if you have to have a group member monitor the camera while it's recording, so that it doesn't get thrown into someone's trunk, then why not just have that person operate the video camera. Then there is no need for all of this.
Shpaget:
So what have you done so far, other than taken soloshot specs and doubled them for your requirements?
Have you figured out how will you do the tracking? What technology to use?
The size and shape of the antenna on the stationary device may be a good start at figuring it out, should you want to reverse engineer.
I think he should buy one of these SoloShots and check it out. Heck, for all you know, it might actually be powered by an Arduino!
Well this an entirely new field for me so I haven't done anything in terms of decide on how tracking will work but I have been researching different solutions. Trying to get a general list of stuff I should consider. I've had the idea for about two years now but I finally jumped on it since I saw one company bring it to life.
You should probably buy the Starter Kit first. So that you know what the Arduino is and what it can do. You're really not going to be able to design it, unless you have some idea of the technical side.
It's not going to be as easy as getting all the random parts and slapping them together.
Once you know how to use the Arduino and design your own electronics, then you can move on to more advanced projects like this.
The thing that seems daunting about Arduino is learning the coding. I'm not familiar with any coding language at all. I'm more familiar with composting and editing programs LOL.
I'm not sure what you mean by composting programs, but the coding seems to be the easiest thing. The coding is simple to do, it's getting all the right parts and connecting them correctly so they don't blow up that is challenging to me.