Not using Axis Camera

[aman200]

We have decided that we need to be able to autotarget that uses IR sensors so we are not using the axis camera. We are using the NVCB541W. We have not been able to get this camera to work. We need help seeing if anyone else is using a camera other than the axis and if so, how did they get it to work?

[Greg McKaskle]

I'm not too familiar with the camera listed, but here are some things to check.

Determine if it is interlaced or progressive scan. The website doesn't say, and it doesn't list the size of the sensor either. Assuming it is 1/4, the 3.6mm lens will be a considerably wider view angle than the Axis too.

Another issue we commonly found when looking at security cameras was lag. It wasn't uncommon for inexpensive ones to have 500ms or longer lag even when using mjpeg streaming.

Assuming that those areas check out, the SW drivers can be based off of what is in WPILib. The cameras both use mjpeg to deliver the images, but will almost certainly have different CGI requests from starting them. If you can find documentation on their website, then you will be modifying the string parameters to get the stream started. I also wouldn't expect any of the camera property CGI to be the same. You can decide if it is worth it to change any of those after you get basic images back. If you cannot find documentation for the web server CGI, you can use WireShark to monitor the default viewing SW or web page and reverse engineer it.

If it isn't obvious, adopting a new manufacturer's camera is technically possible, but technically challenging too. The work involved should definitely be considered before moving away from the Axis camera.

Greg McKaskle