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Help - Battle Mountain camera / electronics

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russellbridge View Drop Down
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    Posted: 04 October 2021 at 10:30pm
As most of you know by now, my 2022 Battle Mountain build is coming along - the front drivetrain is up and running in a temporary steel frame, and my carbon-fibre shell layup techniques are getting better ahead of a Nov/Dec shell build (fingers crossed). This should allow me to bring it to suitable tracks next year to test ahead of taking it out to Nevada in September. 

  

Where my talent runs out is electronics. I'm making a camera-bike but I'm struggling with the camera! I'm asking if there's anyone on here that is good with electronics, who might be able to lend me a hand?

I've got three ideas for the camera system: (any BM camera bike needs to have two completely independent systems in case one goes down)

1) Hi-def drone FPV goggles - this would need a goggle frame (Skyzone 04?) hacking up to use the goggle frame/IPD/diopter system, but with a separate left and right eye electronics solution inserted within, with each 'eye' linked up to a separate camera in a pod above the bike. 

2) 7" or 8" FPV monitor or DSLR field monitor (Lilliput A8?), hard wired to a battery pack and micro drone camera in a pod above the bike (all x 2)

3) Raspberry Pi, battery and Pi camera (all x 2). If desired, this could then have clever overlays such as power, GPS distance to finish etc etc, although I'm all for simplicity rather than complexity...

Any help much appreciated! I'll be at Hillingdon if anyone wants to chat then. Failing that I might have to join Facebook (aaaaaargh) and ask on there...


Edited by russellbridge - 04 October 2021 at 10:40pm
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AlanGoodman View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AlanGoodman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 October 2021 at 10:34pm
Kim is a bit of a genius with electrickery!!

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Kim View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kim Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 October 2021 at 12:28am
...but knows very little about cameras.

No idea what the latency on the Raspberry Pi solution would be like, but that's the sort of thing that could ruin your day.  Presumably anything intended for FPV drones should be fine in this respect.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote legs_larry Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 October 2021 at 1:02pm
I'm pretty sure someone* has already used a Raspberry Pi for some aspects of their electronic magic, but I don’t think it was for vision. If any kind of unorthodox system is considered it'd be wise to ask The Mgt that it conforms to the Roolz before spending actual cash money and drilling holes in things.

I've probably get the odd e-mail address for people who might know about this stuff buried deep in The System so will have a shufti and contact you off-line. Might some kind soul reading this post a query on Farcebok on Russ' behalf?

* I think it was the Italians but it might have been Toronto.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote AlanGoodman Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 October 2021 at 1:10pm
I’ll post a link to this on Facebook, assuming Mr Suckerberk isn’t playing with his DNS again today…

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russellbridge View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote russellbridge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 October 2021 at 1:24pm
Thanks Alan and Dave. The Dutch def had a Pi in their bike in 2019, but it may have been controlling their ‘moving cassette’ gears
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russellbridge View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote russellbridge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 October 2021 at 11:36am
I've had another idea, which is to use an Android tablet with an auto focus usb inspection camera / endoscope - some seem to have 'focus to infinity' rather than just a few inches in front of the lens).
Hopefully less to go wrong with a mass-produced product rather than soldering something together myself... I've got a 8" Fire tablet at home that I should be able to test this on easily enough.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote legs_larry Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 October 2021 at 12:30pm
Make sure it’s got some way of locking the display orientation. IIRC both Alan Grace and Karen Darke had issues with their picture of Nevada suddenly turning umop-ap!sdn, the latter while in the middle of avoiding the Toronto crew performing a mid-course recovery of a dead bike.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote russellbridge Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 October 2021 at 12:37pm
Noted :)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Twisty Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 October 2021 at 12:44pm
Somebody posted a link on facebook and I thought I'd share what little knowledge I have
I don't do that much hands on electronics stuff nowadays, but I do do general stuff with self driving vehicle safety assurance.

The important thing is for safety that you have two independant systems, and that they're hard wired. As wireless are both less reliable and also a potential common point of failiure.

<edit>Of course the fundimentals are always important. Positioning camera higher gives a better view and makes it less likely to get dirty, also important to be mounted well and not shaking all over the place</edit>

Other factors depend on where you're intending on using the vehicle. If you're using it just for races in well controlled conditions things like having high resolution so you can see potholes, or wide dynamic range/fast reaction to changing light levels are less important.
Shooting from the hip, I like the goggles idea. Because it should be less disorientating than having two screens in front of you and if you can set up your two cameras spaced horizontally then it'll give you some depth perception.

It might be tricky getting the cameras hard wired in to drone goggles though. There is perhaps a blended alternative of having two Raspberry pi systems mounted into a goggle/diopter frame (e.g. samsung gear VR) which should also be quite an economical and flexible setup.


Edited by Twisty - 07 October 2021 at 4:56pm
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