Enhanced PAT FPV Inspection System: Cost-Efficient Arduino-Based FPV Pan and Tilt Camera System Controlled with Head Motion Tracking

The Project

This project aims to enhance traditional search and rescue methods that often put the people performing them in danger and have limitations such as cost, compactness, and maneuverability in complex territories. Addressing this issue, I devised a pan-and-tilt FPV camera gimbal system, controlled with your head’s motion. There are two main components, a wearable headset and a gimbal. The gimbal is constructed using a 3d printed base and gears accommodating two micro 180° servos, a micro FPV camera, an antenna, and a battery to power the whole thing. The wearable headset is a cardboard VR headset made up of a video receiver, a battery, a head tracker, and an Android phone inside of it. The head tracker placed on the headset is built around the Arduino Nano 33 BLE microcontroller consisting of a mounted jack socket, a center button, and a 2-pin balance connector. It detects head orientation using an IMU built into the microcontroller equipped with a gyroscope and accelerometer. The gyroscope measures angular velocity accumulating its values in each loop sequence to determine the orientation To counter gyroscope drift over time, the accelerometer is employed for correction. A combination of both sensors, along with averaging to reduce noise, ensures the most accurate orientation in pan and tilt values. These values are then encoded with a PPM signal encoder and transmitted to the Flysky RC transmitter you hold in your hands. The head tracker serves as a 'buddy box' to the master RC transmitter and controls 2 channels of your choice for the pan and tilt. The RC transmitter then sends the pan and tilt values to the receiver located on the device you wish to control, whether it's a drone, plane, or boat. The receiver captures and directs a PWM signal to the gimbal and servos, moving the servos around. Subsequently, the streaming system works separately, the micro camera and antenna transmission on the gimbal transmits video to the video receiver on your head. The receiver is then connected to a phone inside a cardboard VR headset, allowing me to see the camera video in VR! I use a specific app called FP Viewer on the phone to display the receiver’s incoming video signals on the phone display. Results indicate successful system functionality, enhancing traditional inspection methods. The gimbal worked really well having 180-degree pan and 170-degree tilt capabilities. It was compact and easy to maneuver with the motion of your head not having to focus on doing it.

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Team Comments

Initially, I planned to build an FPV aircraft such as a plane or a drone, aiming for an FPV system for inspection. Realizing my limited time, I split the project. I wanted to start making the FPV system this year and use it as a base for next year’s science fair.

One obstacle I encountered involved accurately tracking the head's orientation by harnessing the combined power of the gyro and accelerometer. To overcome this, I watched a YouTube tutorial, which explained these systems using a drone as an example.

Something I could have done differently is to start working on the project earlier to have more time. My future improvements are using a step motor for 360° rotation, integrating a magnetometer, enabling Wi-Fi transmission, and considering establishing an online store for this system.