Can you count the letter "p" in:
i've posted this in alt.comp.preiphs.webcam and it was suggested i ask the question here...
can describe it is this: you know those 'claw' games/acrcade where you control a claw and the claw drops down and tries to grab a stuffed bunny rabbit?
i'll then put a pan/tilt/zoom cam where the claw would be for extra versitility.
any links or ideas are greatly appreciated!
I don't know of a source for an 8' x 2' XY translation table, but I do like the lynxmotion (www.lynxmotion.com) pan/tilt mechanism. Do you plan to build your own translation table or do you want an off-the-shelf unit?
I would like to hear about what your working on - it sounds like it might be very cool.
I am currently working on a robotic web camera, so I have been doing some work on web server CGI control of motors, servos, etc.
heya, thx for the reply!
the pan/tilt/zoom i'll just let the camera take care of. i'm using a 'veo observer' which lets you pan/tilt/zoom. if the project takes off, i'll probably upgrade to a nicer quality camera (of course costs money), but there are several on the market that have the pan/tilt/zoom built in.
i'm also considering just getting a higher end webcamera and then doing a second controller for pan/tilt so i can relay the video signal from my cable modem to my web server in texas which is behind a 15 gigabit link (ev1) and then relay that video to several users simultaneously. if i use a camera like a veo observer, i don't think i can capture/relay the video (at least it would be difficult) as the thing installs an activeX component to control it. this way, software can be written to queue the 'controller users' but anyone can 'watch along' w/ the video feed.
and i'll send you the link/user/pass to see the veo in action. they had one up on their website, but i cannot seem to find it atm... their site is: www.veo.com and i'm using the 'observer' webcam.
i took a look at that link you posted, thx!
thx again for the reply! i'll search around using 'translation table' tomorrow. if this post makes something click in your head, i'd love to hear about it!
If modest resolution is OK, the model sailboat guys use a servo-mounted drum to trim their sails. A loop of line goes thru a pulley and deadends on the drum. The servo is either purpose-built or modified from stock to get three or more complete turns of the drum. The drum size determines how long a run you can pull. A three-inch drum and ten turns gives you 3.14 x 3" x 10 94" of throw.
Search on "sail winch" for more info.
I believe Mcdonnell-Douglass experimented with a three dimensional version of this for the space station.
wow, that's a concept i had not considered at all!
i'd imagine 0-gravity would aid in a design like that... thoughts?
Sorry Itook so long to reply, I just got back from a long overdue vacation...
I don't think operating this in a gravity environment would significantly hinder it. In order to keep the head stable the wire ropes would have to be under some serious tension anyway. Gravity would of course add an extra force on the robot 'head', but as long as the head were not too heavy, the additional force wouldn't be excessive.
Since this is presumably for a fish tank, and this is the robotics newsgroup - let me propose another approach ... What if you were to use one of these wireless cameras (check out Ebay) and send video from inside the fish tank. I tried submerging one of these cameras (completely with battery in a ziplock bag) and it transmitted fine (200mW transmitter) - though this was a freshwater tank - not sure how much the signal would be attenuated in a marine tank. If you would like to stretch your hobby skills further, you could wrap a little remote controlled submarine around this camera - imagine a small ~1inch diameter tube, ~3 inches long, transparent plexiglass submarine which would be unobtrusive enough to spy on your fish and look cool doing it. With infrared illuminating LEDs you could even spy in darkness.....and of course you could pilot this sub remotely across the Internet.
first and foremost, i want to use a fairly high end 'webcam' that can do some nice zooming. i'm thinking one of the panasonics that are kind apricey that do 20x zoom and the lenses can deal w/ marine lighting (metal halides) better than a 'cheapo' if ya know what i mean?
secondly, this is a reef tank turning ~7000GPH in a 240G tank. my tangs have a hard enough time holding still to pick at a piece of algae on the rocks! can you imagine a mini submarine in there? ha ha ha!

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In the text, there are fifty-nine "p"s.
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