Trouble With My Camera

Question

I have 2 problems with my camera. 1. Orientation. I reassembled my eyes and I need to rotate the image 90 degrees. That is not an option in the drop down. I guess 270 deg and flip X is the same but when I try any of the options it breaks the video into 16 separate images on the screen Before;  After;  2. Look at that picture quality. It is horrible. I have tried focusing it and adjusting the controls but the results are iffy at best. Do I have a broken camera or is this the quality you guys see? This is a $60 camera Here is the same from the $13 Microsoft lifecam I have in the other eye.

Dunning-Kruger · Answer

Your camera is not broken... I have the same problem with my camera in my inmoov's eye... It is software related... I think the last update of ARC may have broken it... My laptop with the previous version of ARC seems to work fine...

Perry_S · Answer

Thanks Richard. If I delete he camera control and add it back in it will function once then breaks again. So software it is. How about that image quality?

Dunning-Kruger · Answer

It shows the same as yours in your pictures...

DJ Sures · Answer

The ezrobot camera is NOT a camera for taking high quality videos or photos. The camera is specifically designed for computer vision and has algorithms embedded in software of the camera to ensure consistent light and color balancing for computer vision... which means reduced dynamic range. Again, ezrobot is not GoPro - it's robot software for computer vision. The camera control manual has more information on image resolution as well for computer vision processing. If you decide to use a USB high res camera for entertainment style photo/video, we cannot guarantee reliable computer vision features. Access the camera control manual by pressing the ? Question mark on the camera control. I'm short, what your human eyes see as pleasant colors and dynamic lighting range is the complete opposite of what computer vision uses. No need to question the product - there's facts behind everything As for the rotation - that's the first time I've heard of it and definitely an apparent bug! Stay tuned for it to be resolved in the next update.r

Perry_S · Answer

I wasn't questioning the product DJ. You know that is not my style. I am not looking for high video quality specifically. Special algorithms aside the EZB camera can not pick up my face for recognition or training while the USB camera can. Which is why I inquired if I have a broken camera. It could be, I took it out of the plastic case. I can not reproduce what you can do in the video. Do you have really bright lighting when you are filming those vids? Maybe that is my problem. I think this is a bug as I could get the control to work previously. I was sure I fried the camera by touching the electronics ungrounded or something.

DJ Sures · Answer

What videos are you comparing to? The camera can also have the focus adjusted - if it's a newer version from the last year. Some people even forget to take the protective plastic off the lens! Haha Face recognition might be due to either the resolution that's selected combined with the settings. Face recognition can be a little tempermental - it's an ongoing challenge with robotics, that's for sure!

DJ Sures · Answer

Oh, I should add that the lighting in the room is considerably dark for the ezrobot camera. Due to the algorithm having a limited dynamic range, the lighting is very important. That means consistent lighting - we discuss it in a robot program episode - I think the episode about object tracking or multicolor tracking. Either way, a brighter lit room is important. The reason for the limited dynamic range and histogram algorithm is to avoid background objects from being brightened to conflict with foreground. This is to remove false positives. So my first suggestion is to get your room robot camera friendly. Spotlights are definitely not a good idea, so don't run to the hardware store haha. However, a few lamps with brighter bulbs under the shade will help. Best to have the lights behind the camera - not behind the spectator. Maybe we'll do a robot program episode on lighting setups. This topic rarely arises, but it's an interesting one.

Proteus · Answer

I was thinking about this for some time and i was using a LED torch for the ezb camera. But it is quit nasty when that light points at your eyes. I will make some testing using a infrared light torch for the camera. Its invisible and easy to make. Will see how object recognition will be possible.

Perry_S · Answer

Latest software release fixed the video mosaic problem I was having. Still working on getting face recognition to work. I will try to up the lighting. That is probably it.

Perry_S

Upgrade to ARC Pro