Microcomputers Final Project

Camera surveillance is an important aspect of Robotics.

Autonomous robots require the use of servos for camera control

This project creates a camera system that can be controlled by the Blackfin EZKIT Lite.

The first step was assuming control over the servo through the Blackfin.

The particular servo used turns according to the amount of pulses sent to it per second.

That is forward movement required more pulses per second when compared to reverse

In order to achieve pulses, a function was created that sends a high signal to the servo’s control line then delays for a specific time (according to spin direction).

It then switches the signal off for a specific time and motion is achieved

Camera with 360 degrees of movement

The base code used for this program was the Frame Capture Video Out.

Basically it allows a user to take a picture and stores it into the SDRAM

To improve the functionality, a motion enabled camera was added.

The servo itself needs 3 connections.

Power = 5 V

Ground = 0V

Signal = 5 – 0V

The expansion port at the base of the board allowed for power connections

An IO port was required for the servo control line so that signals could be sent

Flash A Port B uses its first 6 pins to light the LEDS but 2 pins are left free

The expansion port gives access to these two free pins.

One gave an output voltage of 5V

5V was ideal for the servo and was used

The next page shows the pins used

PB7 – Servo Control Connection

Flash A Port B

Connections of servo’s Power lines

The camera can rotate 360 degrees

PF9 turns the camera left

PF10 turns the camera right

PF8 takes a snapshot and displays to the screen

The first additional plan for this system is to add another servo to allow camera movement on the vertical axis in contrast to the horizontal limited.

The use of the UART connection to further allow for a remote execution of the system.

Remote control Via UART Posed a few problems

The initialization of the CORE ID’s somehow stopped the execution of the Camera Code

This project was a great starting point for future robotics projects.

The camera can be automated to do a total area scan with or without human intervention

UART Communications would have increased the usability and features of this program by a large amount.