Motion capture performance and vibrations in rig
Motion capture
I tested the algorithms with the PS3 Eye camera, but unfortunately the algorithms are pretty slow, and it is still missing a lot of calculations, though i think i may try to do implement that using some kind of threading, perhaps producer consumer.
I don’t remember the data, but at first with some very basic calculations it was pretty good, like 10 ms per frame, but as soon as i plugged one of the AForge background motion detectors on it, the processing time per frame rose to what should be around 34 frames per second,which is still good, but i was hoping for a bit more.
I plan on spending some time on making another background detector, a more lightweight simplier one. But the one used right now got some really awesome code, so i guess my only option is to simplify and remove features..
I plan on trying out a more powerful laptop or even a ordinary tower, and i’m pretty excited to see how much it will improve.
Vibrations / Rig
A thing that has been on my mind for a while is vibrations…
The rifle that’s going to be mounted on top of the rig will produce some vibrations, the rig should handle it fine, but the camera and the algorithm will probably not be as forgiving. Motion is implemented as pixels in the image, changing color, so if the camera is shaking, either when firering the “dispenser” or by operating the servos, it will detect the whole frame as motion.
I should be able to (partially) solve that problem by somehow reducing the vibrations transferred from the rifle, by removeing weight and mounting using some vibration absorbing material. And in the algorithm i could make it “take a break” if every pixel changes.
But at the same time i don’t want to paralyze it when ever vibrations happen.
The last thing i can think of is mounting the camera on a seperate rig or something, But that makes calibrating the sentry a pain.
Algorithm wise, i may try to fiddle a bit with C++ since it seems QUITE a lot faster :)
I will be attending the Android course too, considering the current android market share :)
I have some trouble motivating myself sometimes, so i fear that i may just get right about nothing done if i spend too much time at home.
Oh yeah, i almost forgot.
The servo controller has a nice feature called acceleration, that should greately increase the lifespan of the plastic gears and servos. While also decreasing the vibrations and shaking when operating the servos.
Currently i have a kinda old 6 volt battery connected, but the servos i use can take as much as 7.2 volt, and i’m pretty sure that without the accelleration feature, the servos would smash the plastic gears in the first second of testing it :)
After all, combining the forces of those two bad boys would almost be enough to carry me.. (75 kg)
The 50-60 spelling mistakes are inserted on purpose, i dare you to find them (and tell me where they are)
