[Hackupy-discuss] Aerial camera platform

[Joachim Pedersen]

Fully documented tricopter build for less than $200 that has the
capacity to carry 2 go-pro cameras or smartphone etc...
http://www.rcexplorer.se/projects/tricopterv25/tricopterv25.html
-Joachim
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On Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 15:47, Joachim Pedersen <joachimp at gmail.com> wrote:
> FYI Did a quick brain dump copy paste to http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/OccuCopter
> Discuss!
> -Joachim
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> On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 16:24, ian <ian at sonic.net> wrote:
>>
>> I thought about steering...  rather than having a steerable robot, it could
>> just orbit continuously around the pole as it drives up and down, like a
>> screw.  Then, aiming it is just a matter of driving it up or down a foot.
>> Looking at some poles today, I was also imagining something that has two
>> modes, turn around and go straight, and has a pole-clamp that doesn't reach
>> all the way around.  Such a device would have the ability to bypass some
>> signs attached to the pole, which would be helpful.
>> Magnetic wheels could be nice for something that doesn't have to wrap around
>> at all, but not all poles are steel...  around here at least, many of them
>> are concrete.
>> Solar could be handy...  remember, we'll use these in the daytime too.  We
>> don't have the same low-weight constraint as with a UAV, so options like
>> that (or a big fat battery) are conceivable.
>> -Ian
>> On Sat, Nov 19, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Tomm <tomm.fire at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Ian,
>>>
>>> I like it!  I designed pipe crawling robots long ago, and a challenge with
>>> them is that if the weight isn't distributed quite right, they tend to
>>> wander and this makes them hard to steer.  Putting most weight towards the
>>> bottom of the crawler will help keep it aligned.  We used differential
>>> (tank-like) driving.
>>>
>>> Magnetic wheels are great, but be careful when putting the robot on the
>>> pipe.  The really strong magnetic wheels are brittle, and I saw a number of
>>> shattered wheels over the years.  Spares highly recommended.  Also, magnetic
>>> wheels will leave marks on painted surfaces - just something to keep in
>>> mind, as coating the wheels would reduce the adhesion significantly.
>>>
>>> Here's an magnetic pipe crawler that shows a good aspect ratio for a pipe
>>> crawler:
>>> http://images.yourdictionary.com/images/computer/_MAGPIE.GIF
>>>
>>> Since the robot will be on a light pole near a huge honkin' light, it
>>> might be a good idea to put a solar panel on the top of the unit.  Not only
>>> is it light shielding for the camera, but there's enough lux that you might
>>> get the rated panel output, and a 4" x 6" panel can deliver 100 mA.  That
>>> should be enough to drive a phone for several hours a day, and perhaps even
>>> most of the time.  Seems like a good idea for long-term occupations as you'd
>>> only have to install the robot once.
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_228072_-1
>>>
>>> Happy to meet in person,
>>>
>>>    Tomm
>>> (also just subscribed)
>>>
>>> On 11/19/11 12:06 PM, Ian Baker wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hey! Just subscribed. I've been thinking about this aerial camera
>>>> platform thing for a while... Helicopters, balloons, airplanes, etc.
>>>> Each machine has it's issues, along the lines of stability, cost, ease
>>>> of compromise, runtime, lack of anonymity for the person controlling
>>>> it, etc.
>>>>
>>>> What I want is a solution that's cheap, easily replicable, requires
>>>> little operator skill, holds the camera still, works in wind, runs for
>>>> a long time, is easy to aim, is easy to move to another location,
>>>> shields the camera operator from identification by police, and makes
>>>> the camera itself hard to capture. If it meets these goals, it could
>>>> be broadly scalable... Everybody could have one.
>>>>
>>>> Last night I think I figured it out: a simple robot that can climb
>>>> tapered metal poles, and carries a gimbaled camera platform. Clamp it
>>>> to a lightpost, drive it to the top, recover when
>>>> necessary/convenient.
>>>>
>>>> Not quite as hard to catch as a helicopter, but also more stealth.
>>>> Doesn't get quite as much altitude, but I don't think we need much.
>>>> Doesn't have any of the issues that balloons do. Runs all day, and I
>>>> bet it could be built for less money than the smartphone we strap to
>>>> it, from flat-pack laser-cut parts and bits of r/c car, in an
>>>> afternoon.
>>>>
>>>> My housemate and I are working on designs. Ideas, cad models, etc
>>>> welcome! :)
>>>>
>>>> -Ian
>>>>
>>>> The touch keyboard: ensouling wit since 2007.
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>>>
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