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VRAC - HOMCAM Homunculus Camera

VRAC - HOMCAM Homunculus Camera. Group ID: May11-23 Client: Dr. Stephen Gilbert Advisor: Dr. Daji Qiao Members: Kyoung -ho Lim, Michael Gledhill, Michael Patterson, Ryan David, Travis Munn. Problem.

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VRAC - HOMCAM Homunculus Camera

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  1. VRAC - HOMCAMHomunculus Camera Group ID: May11-23 Client: Dr. Stephen Gilbert Advisor: Dr. DajiQiao Members: Kyoung-ho Lim, Michael Gledhill, Michael Patterson, Ryan David, Travis Munn

  2. Problem Develop a system that can capture a video stream with 360o coverage and transmit that stream wirelessly to a remote pc. Intended Uses: Military Application: Training exercises and combat scenarios Commercial Real Estate: Virtual Property tours Concept: This system consists of two main pieces. The user wears headgear with multiple cameras mounted in it. He or she also carries a pack that captures the video streams and transmits them to a remote device. The remote computing device receives the video and displays it.

  3. Market Survey • There does not exist a solution which satisfies all of the following requirements: • Simultaneous 360o video capture • Wireless transmission • Real-time video feeds • Inconspicuous design • Portable design http://www.0-360.com/ http://www.immersivemedia.com/products/capture.html

  4. Requirements & Expectations Functional requirements • 3600 Video streaming • Mobile wireless system • 4-8 hours of battery life Non-Functional requirements • Small/portable • Lightweight • Durable • Inconspicuous Expected Results We were expected to design a system that meets the functional requirements with an emphasis on fulfilling as many of the non-functional requirements as possible. A higher priority was placed on mobility and flexibility than inconspicuousness and durability. These last two requirements will largely be met by the packaging of the final product. This is the first inconspicuous 3600 video streaming system of its kind.

  5. Deliverables • Project Plan • Design Document • Physical Prototype of system • Documents describing testing of various components and reasoning behind design decisions • Results of testing the final prototype • Operational Manual

  6. Project Plan • Research and order parts • Test parts as they are received • Create a working system with only a single stream’s throughput • Add the other cameras to the system until all streams are active, ensuring manageable throughput at each phase • Create enclosure and camera mountings once we are confident that the system is functioning correctly

  7. Budget & Risk • $2500 from the VRAC • Very flexible if we could justify additional expenses • Risks • Integration problems • Lack of components that meet our needs • Network bandwidth and range not sufficient • Component problems that are beyond our control.

  8. Cost • Beagleboard-XM -------------------------------- $179.00 • Beaglejuice --------------------------------------- $89.00 • Pinhole Camera (x4) --------------------------- $320.00 • 12V Battery for cameras ------------------------- $90.00 • Battery charger ----------------------------------- $10.00 • Power splitter cables (x2) ------------------------ $10.00 • SVG3 camera to USB ---------------------------- $50.00 • Wireless N Dongle ------------------------------ $50.00 • Wireless N Router ------------------------------- $60.00 • Frame grabbers (x4) --------------------------- $1348.00 • Poster Printing ---------------------------------- $89.00 • Total --------------------------------------------- 2295.00 • Labor: (1460 hours at $20/hr) ------------------ $29,200

  9. Schedule During the first semester we worked according to schedule. However, we experienced some setbacks during the second semester that forced us to deviate slightly from our schedule. We ended up doing most of our testing and integration in parallel, but other than that our preliminary schedule was accurate.

  10. System Design The Pack Frame grabber Frame grabber Frame grabber USB 802.11 n Frame grabber

  11. Mobile Side • Sensoray 2253 FrameGrabbers: • H.264 Hardware Video Compression • In: S. Video • Out: USB 2.0 interface • Size: 1.5” x 2.5” The Pack • BeagleBoard-xM: • Bootable from Micro SD • OS: Linux Ubuntu 10.10 • 4x USB 2.0 Ports • HDMI out • 1 Ghz Processor, 512 MB DDR RAM • Buffalo Wireless N – USB Dongle • 100 Mbps network bandwidth • 50 M range • Super Circuit PC213XS micro cameras: • 92° horizontal coverage • Color Camera • Inconspicuous and durable • Size: 1” x 1” x ¾”

  12. Stationary Receiver Side • Receiver Station: The Router and the Receiving Computer • Displays the video streams • Receiver Code is written in C • Trendnet DB Wireless-N Router: • Wireless-N router • Up to 300 Mbps network speed • Receiving Computer: • Requires an operating system that can compile and execute C code

  13. Client Side Software Description: • Multithreaded with a set of threads for each stream • Continuously listens on a given port and places frames into a list data structure to be decoded by display software. • Client Side has control of the operation of the system Functionality • A connection to the remote machine’s control port can be made at any time. • Through this connection, the system’s “mode” may be changed, from idle to active, or the other way around. • The ports are determined by the client, and specified within the “change mode” packet.

  14. Mobile Streaming Software • Description • Main process runs at system start, waits for a connection on control port • Takes commands on control port • Starts and stops streams accordingly • Functionality • The main process is “homunculus”. The child processes that are spawned are “capture”. • Capture gets frames from hardware and streams to a given port and IP until killed • Homunculus spawns and kills captures.

  15. Powering Beagleboard-xM Battery Pack Camera 12V Lithium battery pack (supports 2 cameras) 12V-5V Car Power Converter

  16. Test Plan • Tested each part individually to ensure proper functionality. • Performed integration testing as we added each new part. • Tested on laptop first and then transitioned to Beagle Board. • Network Testing • Bandwidth and Range • Battery Testing • Lifetime and Consistency • Software Testing • Portability Testing

  17. Success and its measure • What works? • Currently able to stream 360° video from the mobile system. • Able to get compatibility among all the pieces in the network • The network bandwidth provides stable transmission of compressed video footage • System is built and pack design is durable

  18. Possible Future Improvements • The pack can be made smaller when/if professionally manufactured. • The wiring could likely be combined in a more professional manner. • Several excess ports could be removed from various components. • An FPGA board could be used to save additional size, if the effort is deemed worthwhile. • The client side display will be improved by graduate students working for VRAC. • The video streams could be encrypted if used in a military setting.

  19. Lessons Learned • Things that work one day may not work the next. • Test early, test often. • Integration is always harder than expected. • Communication is very important. • Almost any problem can be solved with enough wire splicing. • There are many ways to solve system compatibility issues when using open-source software.

  20. Any Questions?

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