tracking_webcam

A small project utilizing computer vision to follow a target with a webcam in the horizontal plane.

Using rosserial to communicate from host computer to arduino. Arduino handles servo/stepper control.

Current tracking method is based on HSV colour detection.

Hardware

• Base and webcam holder (STL models here)
• Any arduino or arduino clone
• USB 2.0 Cable Type A/B
• Servo motor
• USB Webcam
• Stepper Motor + Driver (28BYJ-48)

To-Do

• Implement a deep learning tracking model
• Investigate Kalman filter for tracking stability
• Update the algorithm for moving the servo towards the target (ie PID or something)
• 3D print a better servo/webcam base

Usage

Clone repository into catkin_ws/src, cd .. then catkin_make

ls /dev/ | grep video -> provides possible webcam indices Ensure cv.VideoCapture(X) in tracking_webcam.py is using a valid argument

Upload the ros_servo_sub.ino to the arduino Check ls /dev/ttyACM* to check which port the arduino is connected to Ensure the tracking_webcam.launch has the correct port

Run roslaunch tracking_webcam servo.launch or roslaunch tracking_webcam stepper.launch

Notes

Run include/range-detector.py --filter HSV --webcam to see a live preview with the HSV mask, you can adjust the sliders for any colour you want to detect. This can also be a convenient place to test any other algorithms for segmentation.

WSL 2 does not yet support using the webcam or usb ports, I did not check if this works on a VM, nor did I check if this works with the Windows installation of ROS