Two cameras: Pros and Cons

[cooknl]

Well, I've searched the forums, and the only mention of two cameras that I can find is this thread from last year, http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...ht=two+cameras


We're seriously considering using two cameras this year, and I'd like to see a discussion on the pros and cons of the setup.

The basic idea is laid out in this post from the thread above, http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...7&postcount=14.

This year is much simpler than last year, due to the single, illuminated target in known locations at the ends of the field, so I don't think Dave Lavery will be handing out six dozen doughnuts this year, http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...67&postcount=9

So here are my thoughts to get the discussion started:

Pros
- Quicker acquisition: Two cameras can cover a wider field of view than one, and as soon as one has acquired the target, the launcher can start moving into position while the second camera finds it.
- Simple aiming: Just move the launcher until the pan angles on the two camera mounts are congruent!
- Simple and robust ranging: The pan angles of the camera mounts give the range using a lookup table. Additionally, the tilt angles of each mount give two independent range values (also lookup tables) that can be checked against the pan angle result.
- Redundancy: If one goes out, you've still got one to work with (granted you'll have to have some code to make this work)
- Coolness: A robot with color, binocular vision!
- Practice: Once you've got one camera working, the second is that much easier

Cons
- More stuff to break (hardware AND software)
- More code to write
- Use of the program port: The second camera can't be also plugged into the TTL port (of course, it doesn't need an RS-232 to TTL adapter, either), so that means you need to unplug a camera to update the software, which adds risk to pit operations (what if you forget to plug the camera back in!?!). I guess you can make some kind of Y-cable, but you'll have to be careful not to mess up the camera while the RC is hooked up to the computer for the download.

Well, I think that's enough to get started, I'm interested in hearing what everyone has to say!