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.