Possibility of using a Bluetooth camera on FRC 2017 Steamworks robot

[sakuradavis]

My team tried to use the Axis cameras provided by FIRST on our robot to access a camera feed through the game in last year's competition. The camera worked reliably when we practiced during the season but found that at the tournament, the wifi connections were spotty and we weren't able to use our Axis cameras effectively due to these connectivity issues.

Some of our programmers have heard of other teams using Bluetooth cameras instead of the wifi-enabled Axis cameras. I am looking up documention/possibilities on this but would like to know: Is Bluetooth entirely illegal to use in the competition this year? Are bluetooth cameras allowed?

We realize that using a camera other than Axis would prevent us from connecting the camera with the FRC software, but all we need is to access the feed on our computer monitor, nothing else.

Any advice/experience on using bluetooth cameras (or other camera options that have reliable connectivity in the field) would be appreciated!

[jimbo493]

I am not sure where you got the idea of a Bluetooth camera, no other wireless signals, such as Bluetooth are allowed. What you could do is use a USB camera into the roborio, however, the issue of a bad signal is probably caused by having too high of a framerate or frame size. I would say to start with changing those settings, USB would give you the same results more or less, it just depends on the camera.

[abigailthefox]

If you're just looking to send a feed, a low res feed from a USB camera plugged directly into the RoboRIO is pretty easy to do. My team did this last year, and it worked out pretty well. If you're programming in Java, it's quite easy to acquire a camera feed from the USB camera and display it on the SmartDashboard (there's some great steps/explanation on the WPI screensteps).

Once it's on the dashboard, you can also add crosshairs or any transparency you want (or just go low tech and put tape on the screen).

[Tungrus]

Wireless communication other is not allowed except from FMS to robot. I found following two rules, but they may not cover the camera to roboRIO, but I am pretty sure its not allowed. I unable to find the rule.


H02. Wireless devices not allowed. During a MATCH, DRIVE TEAMS may not use electronic devices which have the capability of receiving communications from persons outside of the ARENA (e.g. cell phones or wearable technology).
Violation: YELLOW CARD.

H12. You can’t bring/use anything you want

F. devices used solely for the purpose of planning or tracking strategy provided they
meet all of the following conditions:
do not connect or attach to the OPERATOR CONSOLE
do not connect or attach to the FIELD or ARENA
do not connect or attach to another ALLIANCE member
do not communicate with anything or anyone outside of the ARENA.
do not include any form of enabled wireless electronic communication (e.g.
radios, walkie-talkies, cell phones, Bluetooth communications, Wi-Fi, etc.)
do not in any way affect the outcome of a MATCH, other than by allowing
PLAYERS to plan or track strategy for the purposes of communication of that

[Tungrus]

You can use Microsoft USB camera costs around $30 or so.

[rich2202]

R68. No form of wireless communication shall be used to communicate to, from, or within the ROBOT, except those required per R62 and R67.

Note: there is a blue box that mentions Cameras. IMHO, that exception is for using visible spectrum with Cameras, and not an exception for the Camera to use bluetooth.

[beurwonderwall]

Last year, 2959 used two cameras, and went through a lot of trouble to get both to work with FMS.

One of our mentors, Rich Lester, has a lot of experience with cameras and FMS, so I would shoot him an email and he can try to assist. (rich@five-star.com)

[thatnameistaken]

Wait, did you try to connect to the Axis camera directly over wifi? That's the way I read your post, and if so, that'd definitely cause issues and is actually prohibited by the manual. Connecting an ethernet cable from your camera to the robot radio would resolve any spottiness.

If you mean the wifi connection from the robot to the FMS was spotty, you're not getting around that no matter what camera you use; all communication with the robot is mandated by the manual to go through the FMS (and no other form of wireless communication is allowed either, so I don't know where you programmers heard of teams using bluetooth). If this was your issue, you may have been hitting the FMS bandwidth cap. Try hooking up the Axis camera again and look at the bandwidth use on the dashboard. If you're approaching 7mbs, you're going to have issues on the actual field.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by rich2202

R68. No form of wireless communication shall be used to communicate to, from, or within the ROBOT, except those required per R62 and R67.

Note: there is a blue box that mentions Cameras. IMHO, that exception is for using visible spectrum with Cameras, and not an exception for the Camera to use bluetooth.

And R62 is even more direct:
R62. One (1) OpenMesh Wireless Bridge (P/N: OM5P-AN or OM5P-AC), that has been configured with the appropriate encryption key for your team number at each event, is the only permitted device for communicating to and from the ROBOT during the MATCH.

I concur on the R68 blue box--that's exactly what it says.