CMOS camera chip + microcontroller = Home made camera

Posted by Hugo Muccho on August 23, 2005, 10:44 am

I am studying digital electronics and I need to build a low-resolution
camera unit which can transmit the captured frame over an RS232 comm
channel.
I will use a CMOS camera chip and a low cost microcontroller (ATMega or PIC)
because of limited student budget.

Can you tell me if you can see any design tricks/pitfall on this project
that I need to be aware of?

Where can I order a low-res CMOS camera chip in Australia?

Hugo

Posted by Padu on August 23, 2005, 11:05 am

"Hugo Muccho" wrote

>I am studying digital electronics and I need to build a low-resolution
>camera unit which can transmit the captured frame over an RS232 comm
>channel.
> I will use a CMOS camera chip and a low cost microcontroller (ATMega or
> PIC) because of limited student budget.
> Can you tell me if you can see any design tricks/pitfall on this project
> that I need to be aware of?
> Where can I order a low-res CMOS camera chip in Australia?
> Hugo

Do you have to make one or use one? If the second apply, then take a look at
the CMUCam, they have exactly what you described for an excellent price
(less than $100 if I'm not mistaken).

Posted by Dave on August 23, 2005, 1:30 pm

Be aware that there are two basic types of camera chip - those with analogue
output - ie video, and those with a digital output. If you build something
that can 'read' video signals, then you can accept input from just about any
video source. Digital camera chips tend to be much more complex and you
really need to understand the datasheet. If you are unsure about this kind
of thing, go for a CMUcam or AVRcam instead.

If you can find a local distributor for eg Ovonics, you can probably get
free chip samples - they are so cheap these days that the distributors only
want to sell you thousands. The bare chips are not particularly easy to work
with - you will need to be confident with surface mount. By the time you
have the skills and equipment you need, you will have spent far more than
simply buying the modules.

Note that you will also need to add a lens assembly to the basic chip.

On balance, unless you really want to get into this low level stuff, I'd buy
camera modules.

Have fun !
Dave

Posted by jro on August 23, 2005, 4:10 pm

> >I am studying digital electronics and I need to build a low-resolution
> >camera unit which can transmit the captured frame over an RS232 comm
> >channel.
> > I will use a CMOS camera chip and a low cost microcontroller (ATMega or
> > PIC) because of limited student budget.

Hi Dave,
I developed the AVRcam last year that fits this exact specification:
CMOS image sensor mated to an Atmel mega8 microcontroller. It is
capable of tracking up to 8 objects of 8 different user-defined colors
at 30 frames/sec. It can also spit out a complete color image over a
serial port. Check out:

http://www.jrobot.net

for more details. There is also a forums section there that discusses
what people are doing with the system, and what issues arise with such
as system.

Feel free to post any questions you have over at that forum (or here,
though I check this less frequently). Embedded image processing is
certainly a fascinating topic (especially when you're trying to do it
on an 8-bit micro), and it will provide a fun and exciting challenge to
you.

Good luck,

John Orlando
www.jrobot.net

Posted by Stef Mientki on August 23, 2005, 5:57 pm

jro wrote:

>>>I am studying digital electronics and I need to build a low-resolution
>>>camera unit which can transmit the captured frame over an RS232 comm
>>>channel.
>>>I will use a CMOS camera chip and a low cost microcontroller (ATMega or
>>>PIC) because of limited student budget.

>
>
> Hi Dave,
> I developed the AVRcam last year that fits this exact specification:
> CMOS image sensor mated to an Atmel mega8 microcontroller. It is
> capable of tracking up to 8 objects of 8 different user-defined colors
> at 30 frames/sec. It can also spit out a complete color image over a
> serial port. Check out:
>
> http://www.jrobot.net
>
> for more details. There is also a forums section there that discusses
> what people are doing with the system, and what issues arise with such
> as system.
>

Interesting !
I see you use a resolution of 88 * 144,
wouldn't then an optical mouse (I think 64*64) also bee enough ?

Stef Mientki

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