Camera + Image processing for iRobot Create ?

[John Lee]

Hello, I am researching whether I should get a camera to allow the iRobot to visually observe and analyse its surrounding. This would remove the need of me using color sensors to detect different colors etc, and IR to avoid obstacles.

Question :

Is there a visual camera that can be connected to the iRobot where its easy to program and process images ? Is there some sort of camera with the hardware doing all the work of image processing ? Maybe a camera where some guys here or other forums created a source code for easier analysis and use ?

Basically, I want to identify different lit LEDs and obstacles, what camera can I use ?

Regards,
J

[vic7767]

J, you might do a google search for the RobosapienV2 and read some of the comments about the color detection abilities that robot has. Also check for some of the info posted about the Neato LIDAR (LDS) capabilities.

[John Lee]

Thank you for your reply.

1. Looks like a very interesting robot, but I am aiming to attach the camera on an iRobot Create.
2. Great laser distance sensor but the price is 300 dollars !

Isn't there a camera that can be used on the iRobot ?? maybe other people have used it and created a code for its functions ?

[vic7767]

You may be able to find a refurb Neato for less than $300 and use the LDS out of it. Same thing for the RobosapienV2, you can remove the camera from it and use it in the Create with the correct hardware/software.

[John Lee]

Oh okay I got your point.

But if I got the camera off the other robot, I will need to write the whole code for the camera to work with the create .. its very time consuming. I have a time limit in my current project and cannot spend lots of time on that. I was looking for something a bit more ready, for example a camera that is commonly used by irobot hackers ??

[vic7767]

I'm not aware of any developed hardware/software package that utilizes a camera and interfaces with any iRobot robot.

[mfortuna]

Roborealm seems to have image processing capability but it is running on a PC, not on the robot itself.

[vic7767]

The Roborealm software sells for $89 and Trossen offers the software and different digital cameras that may just meet your needs here: http://www.trossenrobotics.com/p/robore ... cense.aspx

[John Lee]

Thanks for the replies guys, and yes roborealm sounds like a good alternative to what I currently have.

Unfortunately there are two issues that prevent me from using this :

1. I have a limited budget and going for such sensor will force me to go over the budget, for I need multiple cameras for more than 3 irobots to be used.

2. It will be too coding intensive, since I also have a limited time, I will not be able to properly port the program's code to work with the iRobot's command module in time.

I have seen some youtube videos where they use webcams or cheap cameras to transmit video to a PC, but no code to use. I just dont have the extra time to integrate a camera to work with the iRobot by programming the code all by myself, I wish I had more time to do so.

[Jozer99]

I don't think the Roomba's built in CPU is anywhere near powerful enough to process images, plus even in the Create, the CPU is not reprogrammable, it just takes/sends data about the sensors and motors. You would need to attach a separate computer to drive the camera, there are two paths you can go.

There are cameras designed especially for low power robotics that have CPUs built in to do simple color recognition. These cameras are relatively expensive. If you can attach a relatively powerful CPU to the Roomba (say a Netbook or perhaps something like a Raspberry Pi), you can use a USB webcam and run software image processing. There are a variety of software packages from free to expensive that do all sorts of robotics image regonition.

[djos]

One option could be adding the new android on USB stick computer for $74 + a cheap USB webcam:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/05/ ... umb-drive/

The small computer has an AllWinner A10 single-core 1.5GHz ARM CPU, a Mali 400 GPU, and 512MB of RAM. An HDMI port on the exterior allows users to plug the computer into a television. It outputs at 1080p and is said to be capable of playing high-definition video.

The device also has a full-sized USB port with host support for input devices, a conventional micro-USB port, a microSD slot, and an internal 802.11 b/g WiFi antenna. The computer can boot from a microSD card and is capable of running Android 4.0 and other ARM-compatible Linux platforms.