My course has primarily focused on robotics projects using the EZ-B controller and a camera for real-time interfacing. With recent developments, I am planning to create an additional video that incorporates Synthiam's support for other types of controllers. Although I've successfully flashed an alternative controller, it lacked compatibility with camera integration and Wi-Fi capabilities. The absence of an onboard computer limits the use of a USB camera, posing a significant challenge.
This dependency on specific components like the EZ-B, IO Tiny, and cameras can be problematic. For my course project, Mecha Morphix, which involves controlling five servos, the Arduino Mega seems excessive. I am in search of a suitable controller, compatible with Synthiam ARC, that includes both Wi-Fi and camera support to effectively replace the EZ-B.
I noticed that the ESP32 with a camera is listed among the supported controllers for ARC. Has anyone experimented with using the ESP32 in conjunction with a camera for such applications? Any insights or experiences would be appreciated.
Thanks @Will and @DJ for all this work and information.
One of the suprisings bits of info I see so far is that only 8 ports on this board are good for servo use.
I do like the idea of using two or more boards. Ya, put the camera on it's own board!
Also, in my robot (ya, it's all about me.
) I have to have 6 uart ports and 6 servos. Then on top of that I need 9 or more ADC ports. Currently I don't have a camera. However as @fxrtst mentioned, a camera can be hooked directly to the computer (on board my robot) and connected to ARC directly (I think. I haven't actually done it). Added to the complexity of my creation, I have four 12v AC to DC power supplies running my robot , each capable of pulling from 20 to 80 amps (respectively). So I need to be careful how I wire up all the motor controllers, sound system and lights or I get ground loops. So in short, I need more then 1 controller board connected to ARC.
Anyway, I love this thread and all the work that was put into it. Thanks again! cool
@Nink, the camera firmware is built using the open-source library for the board. Unfortenately the Synthiam ARC firmware has no impact on the performance because it uses the libraries created for the hardware. Synthiam ARC EZB firmware merely extracts the image from the ESP32 library and sends it to ARC over the Wi-Fi-connected socket. The EZB firmware will work with any library supported by the ESP32. The firmware will work with all esp32's because it uses the existing library api calls; it's universal - that's how Arduino works. I'm pretty sure all my tests with various esp32 cam's always got 20-30 fps. Are you using the latest esp32 libraries etc? This probably needs a thread of it's own.
@dave, I mentioned in your thread that you'd want to look into an Arduino Mega or something similar with many ports and several uarts. The ESP32 isn't for your needs due to its small size and low pin count. Although I think the Leonardo or Pro Micro have UART's and more pins - that would be useful. But there's no audio or video.
@DJ, yes I remember your helpful guidance about the Maga. Thanks again!
Some side by side specs:
The EZ-B IoTiny by EZ-Robot is a compact, Wi-Fi-enabled robot controller designed for small, IoT-enabled projects, featuring a 100MHz ARM Cortex-M4 processor. It includes 8 digital I/O (supporting servos and UART), 2 analog-to-digital converters (ADC), I2C, a speaker, and video support, all designed for tight spaces. Key Technical Specifications: Processor: 100MHz ARM 32-bit Cortex-M4 MCU Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n (2.4GHz) with Soft Access Point (AP) & Client modes Memory: 128K bytes RAM Digital I/O Ports: 8 x Digital/Servo/UART (TX only) ports Analog Ports: 2 x 12-bit ADC ports Communication: 1 x I2C port, 1 x UART (TX only)
EZB 4/2 The EZ-B v4/2 Wi-Fi Robot Controller is a compact ((2.1"\times 2.2")) high-performance robot brain featuring dual ARM Cortex processors (running at 220MHz) for, real-time audio/video streaming, and advanced Wi-Fi connectivity. It supports 24 digital/servo ports (expandable to 73), 8 analog inputs, and includes a built-in speaker and camera port. Key technical specifications of the EZ-B v4/2 include: Processing: Dual 32-bit ARM Cortex processors (running at 220MHz) for, robust performance.Connectivity: Wi-Fi (ad-hoc/infrastructure), supporting IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, WPA/WPA2 encryption. I/O Ports: 24 x 5-volt tolerant digital ports (servos, PWM), 8 x 5-volt tolerant analog (ADC) ports, and 3 x IC ports.
And Finally the: The Freenove ESP32-S3 WROOM board is a high-performance development board featuring a dual-core 240 MHz ESP32-S3-WROOM processor, 8 MB or 16 MB Flash, 8 MB PSRAM, and built-in 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5 (LE). It includes a camera interface (often with OV2640), USB-to-UART converter, and supports MicroPython/C programming, optimized for camera and AI applications. Technical Specifications (Freenove ESP32-S3 Series)
Processor: Tensilica Dual-Core 32-bit LX7 microprocessor (up to 240 MHz). Memory: 8 MB or 16 MB Flash and 8 MB PSRAM. Wireless: 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n) and Bluetooth 5 (LE). Camera: Supports OV2640 camera module. USB: USB Type-C for power and programming (built-in USB-to-UART converter). GPIOs: 44-45 programmable GPIOs, supporting ADC, DAC, I2C, SPI, UART, and PWM.
It really looks like the camera is eating recourses on the board. Prolly best to just use webcam or new tiny wi fi cameras, Who remembers THIS camera? I still have mine minus housing!
Just got this break out board today and assembled it with the ESP32 (note: I like the active LEDs on each GIO port.)
...also can get more D-xx ports with this break out board from adafruit (or similar).
https://synthiam.com/Firmware/EZ-ESP32-with-Adafruit-PCA9685-O3HKWLPWOIO
Maybe implementation on the Freenove board to open up more ports?
Do you need 5 servos? The ESP32Cam (or Freenove) supports 5 servos and a camera.