Published February 28, 2023 © MIT

2-axis Camera Controller using PSoC4100

I'll be building a camera controller - servo mounted using the PSoC 4100 pioneer kit.

IntermediateFull instructions provided2 hours202

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Infineon PSoC™ 4100S Capsense Pioneer Kit

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

Raspberry Pi Camera Module V2

SG90 Micro-servo motor

Digilent USB A to Micro-B Cable

Software apps and online services

Raspbian OS

Infineon ModusToolbox™ Software

Cypress PSoC Creator

Hand tools and fabrication machines

3D Printer (generic)

Story

Introduction

Servo motors / Robotic Arms are controlled using buttons and encoders. I'd want to use PSoC4100 to control the servos using Capacitive Sensing. I'll be building a camera controller - servo mounted using the PSoC 4100 pioneer kit. The Raspberry Pi Camera is mounted on the Servos that are connected to the Raspberry Pi 3B+. Using Pioneer PSoC 4100 kit gesture control, the servos move the camera's positions.

Hardware - Setting up PSoC 4100S

We have received the PSoC 4100S Pioneer Kit from hackster. The PSoC 4100S device has the fourth-generation, low-power CAPSENSE solution, up to 64KB flash, 8KB SRAM, 9 programmable analogue blocks, 8 programmable digital blocks, 36 general-purpose I/Os, all of which are CAPSENSE capable, and 16 smart I/Os.

1 / 2 • PSoc 4100S

Now let's see how to set up the kit. Make sure that you toggle to EXT in the PWT SEL switch. Connect the micro-USB cable to the kitThe basic RGB program has been preprogrammed in the kit. Touch the coloured area (CAPSENSE) to change the colour of the RGB LED. Once you release it, the LED goes off in 3 seconds.

Workflow

The Raspberry Pi is a powerful computer that allows users to harness the power of a microcomputer while also taking use of general-purpose inputs/outputs (GPIOs). Engineers and producers may easily measure, operate, and monitor equipment thanks to the inputs and outputs. The GPIO pins of a Raspberry Pi will be used to power and operate an SG90 servo motor, which requires pulse-width modulation (PWM) to control the angular rotation about its axis. Python will be used, along with several built-in packages that explain pulse-width modulation. The PSoC and the Raspberry Pi communicate through UART. The servo motors are controlled by the trackpad output from the PSoC.

block

Flash the Firmware to the PSoC4100S

If you haven't already done so, install PSoC Creator on your computer. This is Cypress Semiconductor's integrated development environment (IDE) for developing and programming PSoC devices.

Select the example project "USB HID Trackpad" for PSoC4100S. You can find example projects in the PSoC Creator software by navigating to the "File" menu and selecting "Code Examples." Choose an example project that is compatible with the PSoC4100S.

Build the example project by selecting "Build" from the "Project" menu. This will compile the source code and generate the firmware binary file.

Connect the PSoC4100S board to your computer using a USB cable. Ensure that the board is powered on. Click on the "Program" button in the PSoC Creator software to program the firmware binary file onto the PSoC4100S. PSoC Creator will automatically detect the connected board and program the firmware onto it.

Once the programming process is complete, disconnect the PSoC4100S from your computer and power it off. Reconnect the board to power it back on and test the functionality of the programmed USB HID Trackpad program.

Interfacing PSoC 4S & Servo & Raspberry Pi

The GPIO pins are defined as follows on the Raspberry Pi 3B+.

pinout

The SG90 can be wired to any of the available PWN ports in the 16-channel servo driver. Connect the servo motors as shown below.

By adjusting the frequency on the PWM pins, the SG90S will turn as instructed by pulse widths.

Install the following packages to run this project

sudo apt-get install python-smbus 
sudo apt-get install i2c-tools

Test the i2c ports using the command. If an Adafruit PWM breakout is properly connected and it's set to it's default address -- meaning none of the 6 address solder jumpers at the top of the board have been soldered shut -- it should show up at 0x40 (binary 1000000) as follows:

sudo i2cdetect -y 1

1 / 2

Install Adafruit's ServoKit Library and pynout lib

sudo pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-servokit
pip install pynput

1 / 2

Mount the Pi camera to the servo

Assemble the servo motors to a 3D-printed servo mount.

1 / 4 • Servo

Mount the Pi camera to the case, and then to the servo mount. Next, connect the flex cable to the camera module where copper fingers should be facing the camera. Connect the CSI Cable to the Raspberry Pi as shown.

Type in the following command to take a still picture and save it to the Desktop:

raspistill -o Desktop/image.jpg

Pan & Tilt the Pi Camera using Servo

One of the most common uses of servo motor control is to rotate the field of view of a camera. Many security cameras employ servos in both the horizontal and vertical planes. Servo1 is used to pan the camera from left to right, while Servo2 is used to pan the camera from top to bottom.

# 0 to 180 deg as 2% - 12% PWM 
pwm = GPIO.PWM(servo_pinX,50) # 50Hz - 20ms PWM period
pwm2 = GPIO.PWM(servo_pinY,50) # 50Hz - 20ms PWM period
pwm.start(7) # start PWM by rotating x axis to 90 degrees
pwm2.start(2) # start PWM by rotating y axis to 90 degrees

for ii in range(0,1):
    pwm.ChangeDutyCycle(2.0) # rotate to 0 degrees
    time.sleep(1)
    pwm.ChangeDutyCycle(12.0) # rotate to 0 degrees
    time.sleep(1)
    pwm.ChangeDutyCycle(7.0) # rotate to 0 degrees
    time.sleep(1)
    pwm2.ChangeDutyCycle(2.0) # rotate to 0 degrees
    time.sleep(1)
    pwm2.ChangeDutyCycle(7.0) # rotate to 0 degrees
    time.sleep(1)
    pwm2.ChangeDutyCycle(2.0) # rotate to 0 degrees
    time.sleep(1)

Run the Capsense_camera_controller.py to change the camera's position using the PSoC 4 trackpad.

Working 🔭

Connect the micro-USB cable to the kit and the other end to the Raspberry Pi. Use the controller as a trackpad to move the camera positions.

The Final Setup is shown here.

Setup

Demo Video

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Thanks for reading

Code

Capsense_camera_controller.py

from pynput.mouse import Listener
from adafruit_servokit import ServoKit
import time
from picamera import PiCamera
from time import sleep
camera = PiCamera()
camera.rotation = 0

kit = ServoKit(channels=16)

prevx = 0
prevy = 0

kit.servo[0].angle = 0
kit.servo[1].angle = 0
 
angle0 = 0
angle1= 0

camera.start_preview()

def on_move(x, y):
    global prevx, prevy, angle0, angle1
    
    #print('Mouse moved to ({0}, {1})'.format(x, y))
    #print('prev moved to ({0}, {1})'.format(prevx, prevy))
    
    print('servo0 {0}'.format(angle0))
    
    if((prevx-x)>0) and angle0 >= 0 and angle0 <= 180:
        kit.servo[1].angle = angle0
        if(angle0 < 180):
            angle0 = angle0 + 10
        print('servo0 + {0}'.format(angle0))
        
    elif((prevx-x)<0) and angle0 >= 0 and angle0 <= 180:
        
        kit.servo[1].angle = angle0
        if(angle0 > 0):
            angle0 = angle0 - 10
        print('servo0 - {0}'.format(angle0))
     
    if((prevy-y)<0) and angle1 >= 0 and angle1 <= 180:
          kit.servo[0].angle = angle1
          if(angle1 < 180):
              angle1 = angle1 + 10
          print('servo1 + {0}'.format(angle1))
        
    elif((prevy-y)>0) and angle1 >= 0 and angle1 <= 180:
        kit.servo[0].angle = angle1
        if(angle1 > 0):
            angle1 = angle1 - 10
        print('servo1 - {0}'.format(angle1))
    
    prevx = x
    prevy = y

def on_click(x, y, button, pressed):
    pass

def on_scroll(x, y, dx, dy):
    pass

with Listener(on_move=on_move, on_click=on_click, on_scroll=on_scroll) as listener:
    listener.join()

Credits

Rahul Khanna

48 projects • 226 followers

Research Enthusiast - Computer Vision, Machine Intelligence | Embedded System | Robotics | IoT | Intel® Edge AI Scholar

2-axis Camera Controller using PSoC4100

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Introduction

Hardware - Setting up PSoC 4100S

Workflow

Flash the Firmware to the PSoC4100S

Interfacing PSoC 4S & Servo & Raspberry Pi

Mount the Pi camera to the servo

Pan & Tilt the Pi Camera using Servo

Working 🔭

Schematics

components_raspi_pca9685_i2c_with_servo_RUwUiZhD0U.jpg

Code

Capsense_camera_controller.py

Project Repo

Credits

Rahul Khanna

Comments

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2-axis Camera Controller using PSoC4100

2-axis Camera Controller using PSoC4100

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Introduction

Hardware - Setting up PSoC 4100S

Workflow

Flash the Firmware to the PSoC4100S

Interfacing PSoC 4S & Servo & Raspberry Pi

Mount the Pi camera to the servo

Pan & Tilt the Pi Camera using Servo

Working 🔭

Schematics

components_raspi_pca9685_i2c_with_servo_RUwUiZhD0U.jpg

Code

Capsense_camera_controller.py

Project Repo

Credits

Rahul Khanna

Comments

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