Web Cam

Question

Hello,

i have a question:

Its possible to connect a diffrent Webcam to the EZB4 Controller?

I mean the 640x480 with 20 fps is really weak.

For Raspberry i can buy HD Cam for 40 with 720p / 60fps or 1080p / 30fps.

Its a little bit diffrent ;- )

Has somebody tested my idea of a diffrent Cam?

Boris

thetechguru · Answer

You can't connect a different camera to the EZ-B itself, but any camera that your computer can see will work with ARC, so if you will have an embedded computer or can find a better wireless camera, it will work. EZ-Robot has announced that they will be releasing a higher res camera, but no specs or release date yet. Alan

rentaprinta · Answer

Thanx for the fast answer! So its up to DJ! Can we plan with a better Webcam from ezrobot this year or its better to think about a wifi cam? Boris

thetechguru · Answer

I am sure it will be this year. The question is will it be a month or 3 months. Alan

rentaprinta · Answer

Hi, yup! This is the question! If one month or less i would order some! If 3 month i will check a diffrent solution! Boris

DJ Sures · Answer

I think you're missing the point of the ezrobot camera's design - it's written clearly on the product page. It's optimized for computer vision - not hd recording like a toy. It is impossible to compare a usb webcam to the ezrobot camera because they were each designed for different things. Keep in mind that the ezrobot camera was designed for computer vision and NOT hd video recording. The new higher res camera should not be used for computer vision - unless your computer is absolutely ridiculously fast cpu. There is a reason the ezrobot camera was designed for the current frame rate - this is due to a few reasons which should be made clear, Boris. Your computer cannot process vision recognition at frame rates higher than 20 fps at a higher resolution. Additionally, the ezb is doing many things - including video. Any webcam that you get different than the ezrobot webcam is not moving servos, playing audio, etc. The new camera will not connect to the ezb. The limitations of wifi connectivity are already close to their limits, which is why the new camera needs its own wifi connection. The new camera will experience a similar delay as all other wifi streaming cameras due to the higher resolution, and therefor should not be used for vision recognition. The new camera will include a huge disclaimer that it should not be used for vision processing. The new camera is a low priority for me in development as there are thousands of existing cameras to choose from. If you wish to use any vision recognition features, continue to use the current camera - which is optimized for vision recognition in both frame rate, resolution, no delay and sharpness & picture quality. If you want a higher resolution with no lag/delay, purchase a usb camera and mount a computer inside your robot - because any wifi camera at a higher resolution will include a few second delay, as you will experience in other wifi cameras. The current camera suggested resolution for computer vision in ARC is 320x240. This is because unlike all other robot software (as if there really is anything else ha), ARC is doing hundreds of other things. So you need to leave processing ability for the hundred of other things that's going on - otherwise you would be complaining about latency and processing issues and not resolution issues. At 320x240, the computer must process 76,800 bytes per frame of information for each tracking type enabled - each with their own equations in ever byte. That's a grand total of 1,536,000 bytes per second at 20 fps! Now this is where it gets interesting, because when you slightly raise the resolution to a mere 640x480, your computer is now processing 307,200 bytes per frame and 6,144,000 bytes per second at 20 fps! See that number? It went from 1.5 million bytes per second to 6.1 million bytes by merely doubling the resolution - as you can see, number of bytes doesn't just double - it gets even bigger than that quickly, I'll show you... lets get to the lowest quality required for HD (720) which would be 1024x768 - that's 786,432 bytes per frame, and 15,728,640 bytes per second at 20 fps! Can you imagine? 15 megabytes per second of data to process? Ha - you think the raspberry pi will keep up with that? Good luck getting 2 or 4 fps on your i7, let alone 20. The new camera will really really really not be recommended for machine processing. So, if you think the ezrobot camera specs are weak, you must think and question WHY it was designed that way - now you know.

Dave Schulpius · Answer

Wow, Thanks DJ. This is awesome and good to know info. I did't realize all that. There has been talk recently of a new camera that will be for sale coming out of your workshop. Is this the HD Wifi camera you were just talking about or is it a newer version of the EZ Robot connected camera? I have the camera that shipped along with the EZB when you first started sending out the V4 (with the 3D printed cases). In face I may have one it the very first EZB. I guess my question is; Is there a better, faster EZ Robot camera that attaches to my EZB available or on the way? I'll want the best and fastest object tracking I can get. Thanks.

rentaprinta · Answer

Hi DJ, ok i got my lessons! I understand, i was asking me this question, because i almoust compare technical data and the resolution of 640x480 i know from the middle of the 90ties ;-) But i understand the problem of calculation. So i will use your camera, because i like this possibility of WLAN to the EZB4 Controller. I have this Idea not to put a PC inside the Roboter, i will let him be connected with WIFI! So i can outsource a lot of stuff from the body of the InMoov. And with Batteries only for the Servos and the Controller the InMoov will be cablefree! Another Question: I will use now 4 x EZB4 Contoller (like i rode in this forum) 1x for the Head 1x for the Torso 1x left Arm and Hand 1x right Arm and Hand Ok i connect 1 x EZ Cam with the Controller in the Head Can i connect 1x Cam to the Controller in the Torso for the backview? For expample on day if the InMoov can walk, on his backsite will be a adapter for charging and the InMoov must the the adapter on the Wall - like a nasa rendezvous ;-) This will be one idea.... for another webcam Or why i need more than one Camera? Which feature can have another Webcam? Somebody uses 2 Webcams in the Head - so each in one eye? DJ what do you say to more then one camera in the InMoov. Boris

CochranRobotics · Answer

I have 4 HD cameras in my inmoov but I also have a pc that is in the inmoov and these are attached with USB. I run one of these cameras at a time depending on what the robot is doing. I also have 5 EZ-B controllers. One of the main reasons for this is to allow 5 EZ-Robot cameras. These are to detect movement around the robot. One will be in each shoulder, one in the back of the neck, one in belly and one in the base. These wont be used for recording or anything really other than to know if there is something around the robot. For example, if I hear a sound out of the right side of the head, I will turn on the right shoulder camera and see if there is a face there. If so, I will turn the robot that direction and turn on the eye camera to start tracking the face. I dont want to turn to the right just because there is a sound that is louder on that side of the head. The camera lets me know if it is likely someone talking or some other sound without spending much battery power to see. USB cameras and an onboard computer is about the only way that I can see that you would be able to use an HD camera with a robot for much of anything quickly.

DJ Sures · Answer

yes you can have more than one camera. A maximum of 255 cameras can be added to ARC. One camera per ezb. There is a camera extension cable in the store if you wish to extend the camera cable length.
Dave, there is indeed a newer version of our existing camera being released quietly. The only difference is the form factor is a single PCB vs two - which means it's smaller. It also has an rgb led for status rather than a blue led. The resolution and specs are the same. Oh, and it has a wider field of view lense.
the HD camera is a whole new product sku. It will be for viewing only - to not cause problems with vision processing due to cpu limitations. The hd camera will have its own wifi connection.

rentaprinta · Answer

Ok DJ, i need another 3 Cams..... sorry can you give me a nice offer ;- )

rentaprinta

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