ActivMedia PTZ Robotic

The robotic color cameras of ActivMedia Robotics Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) are fully integrated accessories for ActivMedia mobile robots. The PTZ camera systems include the Sony EVI-D30 or the Cannon VC-C4 with custom signal and power cables, mounting hardware, and software for integration on the robot and control through client applications, including ACTS, ARIA, and Saphira.

You can easily add the system to your existing ActivMedia robot. The PTZ camera supplies standard NTSC video, so it can be used for a variety of applications, from simple video surveillance to state-of-the-art vision sensing. The PTZ Robotic Camera software includes C- and a C++-language libraries for use with all distributed ActivMedia Robotics software and your own client applications, and come with source code for custom modifications.

Components
If you ordered the PTZ Robotic Camera with your ActivMedia robot, some items may already be attached:
• Version S: Sony EVI D-30 (NTSC) OR
• Version C: Canon VC-C4 (NTSC)
• Remote Control Handset
• VISCA Control Cable
• Power Cable
• RCA Video Cable
• Mounting Screws
• Camera Manuals

Accessories
The PTZ Robotic Camera extends and attaches the capabilities of a variety of video and vision systems and applications. For instance, your ActivMedia Robotics PTZ Robotic Camera is approved for use with ActivMedia Color Tracking System (ACTS) software. And either capture and digitize the PTZ camera’s video signal with an onboard framegrabber in your robot’s computer (PTZ Custom Vision), or send it off board with an audio/video (A/V) wireless transmitter to a receiver and framegrabber in a basestation computer for real-time video surveillance (PTZ Surveillance System) as well as for your own vision research. The PTZ Robotic Camera needs some assembly, even if you had ordered it with a new ActivMedia robot.
If your PTZ Robotic Camera assembled with your new ActivMedia robot, the signal, power, and VISCA serial-control cables should be attached and hanging loosely from the robot. They need only to be plugged in. Skip to Mounting the Camera. However, if you bought your PTZ Robotic Camera separately from your robot, you will need to perform a more complicated installation, specifically to attach the signal and power cables inside your robot.

Power, Signal and Control Cable Installation of PTZ Robotic

Power Cable
Base on the model trend and time to time changing, one end of the camera’s 12VDC power cable plugs into the 12-position latch-lock header on the “legacy” motor-power board, or into the 4-position minifit AUX1 (RADIO) or AUX2 switched power connector on the Pioneer 2-Plus or Pioneer 3 motor-power board. Feed the other end of the cable through the console near the camera, such as through the console port of the DX or AT. Power to the camera is switched through the respective AUX1 (RADIO) or AUX2 pushbutton on the robot’s User-Control side panel for the Pioneer 3 and 2-Plus robots. Another switch on the camera itself may also control power.

Serial Control Cable
Normally, software control of the PTZ Robotic Camera happens through an auxiliary serial port on your ActivMedia robot’s microcontroller, as attached via the VISCA serial cable.1 Accordingly, plug the 10-position IDC socket on one end of the VISCA control cable into its mating AUX serial port on the back edge of your C166-based Pioneer 2/PeopleBot’s microcontroller.

For all of the latest (H8S-based) ActivMedia robots, including the Pioneer 2-DX8, -AT8, Plus-series, and all Pioneer 3 and Performance PeopleBots, plug the 5-position minifit end of the VISCA signal cable into the AUX1 serial port on your robot’s H8S microcontroller. You could install the camera control into the AUX2 serial port too, but that’s not the default configuration and you may need to note that difference in your software (ARIA, too).

Feed the VISCA connector end of the camera’s serial control cable out next to the power cable. You may install an A/V transmitter and monitor live video from the camera onto C166-based Pioneer 2 robots that have a special video side panel where. Feed the end of RCA of that side-panel’s cabling from next to your onboard PC’s framegrabber and out next to the loose camera power and serial cables. Insert the connector into the framegrabber.