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Sat, 14 Mar 2009
YARB robotic blimp now available for purchase
The YARB robotic blimp, as chronicled in www.surveyor.com/YARB.html, has proven to be a very useful platform for testing various configurations of cameras, sensors and control consoles.
While it has always been possible for others to purchase the various components to build YARB, we are now offering a complete version of the robotic blmp with 66-inch helium envelope, gondola with dual rotors and thrust vectoring, SRV-1 Blackfin camera with 2 lenses and 2 camera headers, 802.11bg Wifi radio, battery and charger.
YARB supports other sensors, include LV-MaxSonar-EZ1 ultrasonic ranging modules and Honeywell HMC6352 digital compass. As shown below, it is supported by a variety of control consoles, including host-based SRV1Console and SRV1Test, as well as a Google Android G1 phone-based console, as shown here:
YARB is designed only for indoor operation. If you are interested in outdoor operation, note that we are exploring various options for larger envelopes and motors, so contact support@surveyor.com with your requirements.
Price for YARB is $875. Please check our online store for YARB availability.
Posted Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:43 | HTML Link | see additional stories ...
Mon, 09 Mar 2009Expansion board option for standalone SRV-1 Blackfin Camera
We are now offering an expansion board option for standalone SRV-1 Blackfin cameras.
Intended for those who have purchased a standalone SRV-1 Blackfin Camera, the SRV-1 Base Expansion Module includes a 3.3V regulator for battery operation (4.5V - 18.0V), header for Matchport radio, option for XBee radio header, extended pins on underside of board for 32-pin SRV-1 expansion header as well as 2-pin battery power header.
This board does not include the FAN8200 H-bridge or laser pointer drivers provided with the Wifi Expansion Module, nor does it include any radio modules. However, for users interested in interfacing the SRV-1 Blackfin Camera directly to serial ports or other radios, this is a convenient option.
Check our online store for availability.
Posted Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:30 | HTML Link | see additional stories ...
New low-light camera option for SRV-1/SVS Blackfin
We just received our first batch of camera boards with Omnivision OV7725 low light color sensors.
OV7725 pixels are 6um x 6um, which is 4x larger than OV9655 pixels, and the chip is optimized for low light conditions. Resolution is limited to 640x480, 320x240, or 160x120, but capture frame rate is as high as 60 frames/second (actually, 55fps because of our 22MHz clock) in all resolutions.
The new camera modules are now available for $55 with choice of 3.6mm f2.0 lens or 2.2mm f2.5 lens. Check our online store for availability.
Note that an SRV-1 firmware update is required to auto-detect the OV9655 or OV7725 module.
Here is a comparison in equal low light conditions of the OV7725 (top) and OV9655 (bottom), both with 3.6mm f2.0 lens. The OV9655 lens actually isn't out of focus, but camera noise reduction filtering creates that impression. In full light conditions, images from the two modules are comparable, with OV9655 images somewhat more fully saturated than the OV7725.
Omnivision OV7725 Camera Board
Omnivision OV9655 Camera Board
Posted Mon, 09 Mar 2009 12:35 | HTML Link | see additional stories ...