Project

# Title Team Members TA Documents Sponsor
75 Camera Gimbal System
 Girish Chinnadurai Manivel
Harrison Liao
 Ugur Akcal design_document1.pdf
final_paper1.pdf
other1.pdf
presentation1.pdf
proposal1.pdf
video1.mp4
# Camera Gimbal System

Team Members:
Girish Manivel (ggc2),
Harrison Liao (hzliao2)

# Problem

A major problem in video processing is footage that is shaky. If you take the forward direction as +y, right direction as +x, and up direction as +z; Shaky video footage is a result of the camera rotating around the +y and +x axes at minute steps. For example, if you take out your hand with your palm facing forward and pretend that it is a camera. Wave your hand as if you are waving hello. Moving your hand left and right is the camera rotating around the y axis also known as roll. If you move your hand up and down, bending at the wrist, it is the camera rotating about the x axis also known as pitch.

# Solution

Camera stabilization, countering the shift in pitch and roll, is the key to solving this issue. To do this, we want to make a camera gimbal. This will allow for stability in camera footage given an initial starting orientation of the camera. Once a button is pressed, the camera gimbal will take in an initial orientation from a gyroscope sensor. This reading will go to an encoder to the microcontroller. Two servo motors, controlled by the microcontroller, will be used to maintain the initial orientation by opposing the shift in pitch and roll, keeping the camera stable.

# Solution Components

## Power Subsystem

The purpose of this subsystem is to supply power to all other subsystems and to turn the device on and off.

Components:
2x AA battery EN91,
Dual AA battery holder 12BH322B-GR,
+5 Volt Regulator LM7805ACT-ND


## Control Subsystem

The purpose of this system is to actuate our motors in order to mimic a gyroscopic gimbal. We will use a microcontroller which interprets data from a gyroscopic sensor to set control inputs to motors.

Components:
Arduino Nano Microcontroller B003YVL34O,
2x Servo Motor HS-311,
Push Button MPB-43

## Sensor Subsystem

To understand the purpose of this subsystem, we need to first understand the mechanics of the device. We will have a user controlled handle where at the control end of the handle will house our Pitch movement, and directly above that another motor will control the Roll movement. The gyroscope will be attached at the base of these motors so that the far end of the handle will be the modular platform.

Components:
Gyroscope Sparkfun SEN-11977

# Criterion For Success

## Camera is stabilized from rotating around the +x axis (PITCH)

This can be tested by isolating one of the servo motors and seeing how they oscillate/turn as the gyroscope is moving around.

## Camera is stabilized from rotating around the +y axis (ROLL)

This can be tested by isolating one of the servo motors and seeing how they oscillate/turn as the gyroscope is moving around.

## User Interface (buttons) work (one button)

First button press: ON, and read gyroscope sensor.
Second button press: save gyroscope sensor reading as ‘accepted’ and Gimbal Mode on.
Third button press: Power off.

S.I.P. (Smart Irrigation Project)

Jackson Lenz, James McMahon

S.I.P. (Smart Irrigation Project)

Featured Project

Jackson Lenz

James McMahon

Our project is to be a reliable, robust, and intelligent irrigation controller for use in areas where reliable weather prediction, water supply, and power supply are not found.

Upon completion of the project, our device will be able to determine the moisture level of the soil, the water level in a water tank, and the temperature, humidity, insolation, and barometric pressure of the environment. It will perform some processing on the observed environmental factors to determine if rain can be expected soon, Comparing this knowledge to the dampness of the soil and the amount of water in reserves will either trigger a command to begin irrigation or maintain a command to not irrigate the fields. This device will allow farmers to make much more efficient use of precious water and also avoid dehydrating crops to death.

In developing nations, power is also of concern because it is not as readily available as power here in the United States. For that reason, our device will incorporate several amp-hours of energy storage in the form of rechargeable, maintenance-free, lead acid batteries. These batteries will charge while power is available from the grid and discharge when power is no longer available. This will allow for uninterrupted control of irrigation. When power is available from the grid, our device will be powered by the grid. At other times, the batteries will supply the required power.

The project is titled S.I.P. because it will reduce water wasted and will be very power efficient (by extremely conservative estimates, able to run for 70 hours without input from the grid), thus sipping on both power and water.

We welcome all questions and comments regarding our project in its current form.

Thank you all very much for you time and consideration!