This blog post on adding a Raspberry Pi camera to your robot contains excerpts from Lesson C-12 and Lesson D-4 of our Intro to Robotics program. Intro to Robotics consists of four levels that start at the beginning and systematically teach you to build circuits, use a Raspberry Pi, and write code in Python. In the final level, you will take all the skills you've learned and build a mobile robot of your own. The full Intro to Robotics course contains 72 detailed lessons including 225+ videos and 200+ projects and activities. Sample lessons and full scope and sequences for all four levels can be found here.
Our Intro to Robotics Level C kit includes a standard Raspberry Pi camera with an IR cut filter designed to provide the best image during daylight operation. Specifically the camera included in your kit is a 5 Megapixel model that uses the OmniVision OV5647 image sensor. This camera is capable of taking 2592 x 1944 pixel still images along with multiple video modes including 720p and 1080p resolution.
All power and video connections between the camera and the Raspberry Pi flow through a single flat, ribbon cable. This cable is called an FFC, or Flat Flex Cable, and contains 15 connections that carry different signals.
In this image, a single, red LED on the front of the camera circuit board is used to indicate that the camera is either preparing to, or currently capturing video. This status LED will function just like the LED status indicator on a computer webcam.
Camera Connections
There is only one connection between the camera the Raspberry Pi, and this connection is made by a 15 pin FFC cable. The camera connector on the Raspberry Pi is highlighted in this image.
The same type of connector is used for the camera end of the FFC cable. Both ends of the FFC cable are the same, but they only have pins exposed on one side of each end. This means that the pins must be facing the contacts inside the connector, or no connections will be made.
Adding the Raspberry Pi Camera to the Robot
The robot you build in Level D of our Intro to Robotics program can can move around, sense objects, react to those objects, and display video of the area in front of the robot.
To add the Raspberry Pi camera to the robot, first you will thread the ribbon cable from the Raspberry Pi connection, through the robot chassis and into the camera mount. Then you will fully assemble the camera mount from your Level C kit which protects the fragile camera.
Next you will mount the camera mount to the front of the robot chassis.
Once mounted, Lesson D-4 walks you through setting up web-based access to the video being sent from the Raspberry Pi camera. You will do this via a VNC server you will have learned to set up and work with in Level C of our Intro to Robotics program.
This blog post on adding a Raspberry Pi camera to your robot contains excerpts from Lesson C-12 and Lesson D-4 of our Intro to Robotics program. Intro to Robotics consists of four levels that start at the beginning and systematically teach you to build circuits, use a Raspberry Pi, and write code in Python. In the final level, you will take all the skills you've learned and build a mobile robot of your own. The full Intro to Robotics course contains 72 detailed lessons including 225+ videos and 200+ projects and activities. Sample lessons and full scope and sequences for all four levels can be found here.