The Pixy CMUcam5 is a very capable vision sensor recently funded on kickstarter that can track colored objects which it's "learned." The Pixy team is currently working to extend the sensor's capabilities to include "color codes" and face tracking, in addition to possibly detecting various shades of gray (the current version can only detect hues). The particularly nice thing about the Pixy CMUcam is that it is extremely easy to interface with, with a variety of simple communication options, including UART serial, SPI, I2C, digital, and analog outputs. An Arduino library contains pretty much everything you'll need, using a custom command "getBlocks()" to return the number of blocks of a certain color the Pixy sees. Each specific object tagged with a color signature (which you teach to the camera) gets stored in an array, where you can access information on each element of the array, such as x and y locations, width, height, and color. More information on using Pixy with Microcontrollers here. You can monitor what the Pixy sees, set color signatures, and change settings using a free software called "PixyMon" (Fig. 2). | |
Overall, the Pixy CMUcam's simple interface and versatility make it a viable option for many simple to advanced machine vision applications. The current version still has some bugs and quirks (especially when adapting to changing light conditions) but updates and fixes are expected in the future, and the active user community has knowledgeable people willing to help fix issues. I'm excited to see what sorts of applications people come up with, and will certainly incorporate the sensor in a project of my own.
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So, in summary, here's how I'd rate the Ultimaker 2:
User-friendliness - 10/10 Reliability - 8/10 (10/10 if printing with rafts) Value for price - 9/10 Accuracy - 10/10 Print Quality - 10/10 (this printer has z-axis resolution of up to 20 microns!) Speed - 8/10 (speed can be changed, though for good quality prints, stay under 80 mm/s) Look and Feel - 10/10 (sleek and professional - includes OLED display and internal lighting) Overall Impression - 9/10 (this printer is very pricey, but you certainly get what you pay for) I hope this post was helpful to any prospective buyers. As long as you remember to use rafts when printing, this printer will almost always produce precise and accurate prints. One of the best FDM printers on the consumer market, I'm certainly going to use this machine in future projects. |
AuthorHi, I'm Chris! I like to tinker and build awesome things, and I'm fascinated by anything innovative and unique. Categories
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