Hello,
I have purchased this camera/gimbal
I would like to control it using the PWM outputs of Pixhawk Cube. I would also like to configure it to be able to point to ROI and zoom during auto missions.
Is this possible? Do I need to purchase a gimbal controller? Or is the camera/gimbal good for this purpose?
Note: I am using dragonlink 12ch sbus rx.
Sorry, I am new to gimbals, in general, let alone configuring them with ardupilot/pixhawk.
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Justin
The answer to your queries are, yes, no ,yes. The gimbal controller is part of your gimbal. I takes PWM or serial input. Pixhawk does both of these. That look like a sweet unit if it works well. I have done ROI on auto missions using a cheap $79 OllieW gimbal. I set up roll and yaw for stabalize. Those axis stay aliened with the copter,s nose and the horizon. Pitch is controlled by the Pixhawk, either directly from my Tx or ROI, you have to use gcs to change gimbal modes between RC and Auto mode. There is a bit of calibration to do to get the desired pitch the Pixhawk wants to the PWM value that gets the gimbal controller to do it at the correct angle. It worked for me. I did a few auto fly by’s of objects and there was a bit of lag, ie the aiming point was a little behind the target when things are moving fast. If the copter is stationary it would be right on.
I haven’t tried serial input. That would probably do away with the whole pwm calibration procedure. When Pix wants -38.7 deg then that’s what it sends to the gimbal contoller.
The Pixhawk and gimbal need to use the same protocol and I don’t know if they can. If serial isn’t an option you still have PWM.
I could help you through the processes once you get it all put together. BTW what type of copter do you have?
Hi Greg, sorry for the slow response, work gets in the way of these things. Thank you for your detailed answers to my questions.
I plan on sitting down this weekend with my new camera and playing around and seeing if I can get it working with my pixhawk. I will keep you updated. I may need some help:)
My platform is a MFD Crosswind (fixed wing). I think this cam will be a great addition to it. I plan on integrating pan and tilt and zoom for the auto pilot and myself to control manually.
Thanks, Justin
This is a document for controlling this device with serial. I feel like it is worth a try to get this to work. However, I have my doubts. The document is directed at someone with much more knowledge in this area than me.
Yangda Security-Serial command protocol v1.9 Watermark[2935].pdf (404.0 KB)
Hi Justin, we just recently bought this same Sky Eye-I because of zoom camera.
Have you get this gimbal to work on Cube Black (Pixhawk2.1)? There are no official documentation in ArduPilot wiki but I just followed the guides according to their manual and follow the guides on this page: https://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/common-storm32-gimbal.html
But I couldn’t get to work. Hope anyone can give some advise.