Published May 18, 2018 © GPL3+

IoT Camera Mover for Less Than $35

Build a machine that can move a camera perfectly using the power of a webpage and even the Google Assistant with Particle.

IntermediateWork in progress3 hours2,479

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Particle Photon

OpenBuilds NEMA 17 Stepper Motor

Driver DRV8825 for Stepper Motors for Theremino System

Stepper Motor Mounting Plate NEMA 17

1/2 inch PVC Pipe 5 feet

1 inch x 4 inch x 4 foot lumber

Software apps and online services

Particle Cloud IDE

IFTTT - Google Assistant Service

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Hacksaw

3D Printer (generic)

Story

In making videos for my projects I have often wanted to get a smooth shot of a part, such as a pan of an Arduino Nano. I have seen about 3 projects where people made devices that could pan a camera, but they were either not internet-connected or they were very expensive. So I set out to improve them.

The Plan

I started this journey by imagining what I wanted in a device that moved a camera. What if my hands were full? Then I would want to use my voice. What if I only had my phone next to me? Then make a local webpage. This led me to use the Particle Photon, as the Particle Cloud API is extremely versatile. They have a javascript SDK which allows for access of many different cloud functions. Additionally, IFTTT has a Particle service, allowing for me to use the Google Assistant service with it.

Building the Device

In order to make the rails I cut a 5ft piece of 1/2" PVC pipe in half, making two 2.5ft sections. Then I took 2 pieces of wood and drilled 2 holes in each of them, as they would hold and guide the rails.

Next I connected them with the PVC sections, and then attached the whole thing to a 3ft board.

I also attached a stepper motor bracket to the lumber and fitted a NEMA 17 motor into it, along with a pulley for a timing belt.

Having two rails and a motor is fine, but how does the camera move? That's where Fusion 360 comes into play. So I designed a simple camera mount that slides along the two rails and attaches to the T2 timing belt.

The Firmware

Initially I thought that calling a Particle Cloud function on the Photon would be the best option, but that would limit how well you could interchange boards, so I settled on using cloud events. The firmware for the photon sets up the stepper motor and listens for the cloud events "pan" and "set_accel". Once it receives "pan" it moves the stepper at that speed to the end and back. "set_accel" changes the amount of acceleration when the camera moves.

Setting Up IFTTT

In order to use the Google Assistant as a control device I had to somehow connect it to the Particle Cloud. I set up IFTTT to use the Assistant service. When I say "Ok Google, move my camera at ____ speed" it would move my camera.

Then it would publish the event for the Photon using the speed I said as the data.

I did this for the "set_accel" event as well.

The Webpage

So what if I didn't want to use my voice or I wasn't near my Assistant? That's why I created a simple webpage to publish the events as well. The user first logs into their Particle account and is then greeted by the interface. A value can be entered into the textbox and then submitted either as a pan command or a set_accel command.

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Schematics

Code

// This #include statement was automatically added by the Particle IDE.
#include <AccelStepper.h>

void pan(const char *event, const char *data);

AccelStepper pan_stepper(1,2,3); //Driver mode, STEP pin 2, DIR pin 3

#define MIDPOINT 1200

void setup() {
    Particle.subscribe("pan",pan, MY_DEVICES);
    Particle.subscribe("set_accel",accel, MY_DEVICES);
    pinMode(2,OUTPUT);
    pinMode(3,OUTPUT);
    pan_stepper.setMaxSpeed(501);
    pan_stepper.setSpeed(75);
    pan_stepper.setAcceleration(75);
}

void loop() {
    
}

void pan(const char *event, const char *data){
    pan_stepper.setSpeed(String(data).toInt());
    if(int(data)>10){
    pan_stepper.move(MIDPOINT*2);
    pan_stepper.runToPosition();
    delay(3000);
    pan_stepper.move(-MIDPOINT*2);
    pan_stepper.runToPosition();
    }
}

void accel(const char *event, const char *data){
    pan_stepper.setAcceleration(String(data).toInt());
}

<!DOCTYPE html>

<head>
	<title>Camera Controller</title>
	<script type="text/javascript" src="//cdn.jsdelivr.net/particle-api-js/5/particle.min.js"></script>
	<script type="text/javascript" src="photon_control.js"></script>
	<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
	<link rel=stylesheet type="text/css" href="cam_control.css">
</head>
<body>
<div id="sign-in">
	<div id="sign_in_header"><h3>Sign into your Particle account here</h3>
	<img src="https://proxy.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww-assets.particle.io%2Fimages%2Flogo.png%3Fmtime%3D20160727114211&f=1" class="logo_img">
	</div>
	<form onsubmit="sign_in(this.user.value,this.pass.value); return false" method="post">
		<br><p class="input_label">Username: </p><input type="text" name="user"><br>
		<p class="input_label">Password: </p><input type="password" name="pass"><br>
	<input type=submit value="Sign in" class="submit_btn"><br>
	<h3 id="success_fail"></h3>
	</form>
</div>
<div id="load_devices" style="visibility: hidden">
	<input type=text id="input_txtbox"><br>
	<button value=0 class="select_btn" onclick="event_publish(this.value);return false">Pan Camera</button>
	<button value=1 class="select_btn" onclick="event_publish(this.value);return false">Set Acceleration</button><br>
	<label for="clear_chk">Keep Value</label>
	<input type="checkbox" id="clear_chk" checked="false">
			
</div>


</body>

var particle = new Particle();
var token;

var event_names = ["pan","set_accel"];

function sign_in(user, pass){
	particle.login({username: user, password: pass}).then(
	function(data){
		token = data.body.access_token;
		var status = document.getElementById("success_fail");
		status.innerHTML = "Success";
		document.getElementById("load_devices").style.visibility = "visible";
	}, function(err){status.innerHTML="Login failed, try again"}
	);
}

function event_publish(move_setAccel){
	var data_val = document.getElementById("input_txtbox").value;
	var publishEventPr = particle.publishEvent({name: event_names[move_setAccel],data: data_val,isPrivate: true, auth:token});
	publishEventPr.then(
	function(data){
		if(data.body.ok){console.log("event published")}
	}, function(err){console.log("Failed"+err)}
	);
	if(document.getElementById("clear_chk").checked==false){
		document.getElementById("input_txtbox").value = "";
	}
}

*{
	box-sizing: border-box;
	
}

body{
	font-family: arial, sans-serif;
}

.logo_img{
	width: 10%;
	height: 10%;
	padding-top: 3%;
	padding-left: 4px;
}

#sign_in_header h3, #sign_in_header img{
	float: left;
}

#sign-in{
	width: 30%;
	float: left;
	margin-bottom: 10px;
	justify-content: center;
}

.input_label{
	text-align: center;
	margin: 5px;
}

#sign-in input{
	width: 100%;
	padding: 12px 20px;
	margin: 8px 0;
	box-sizing: border-box;
}

.submit_btn{
	background-color: #f4f4f4;
	border: 2px solid black;
	color: black;
	display: inline-block;
	font-size: 15px;
	border-radius: 4px;
	width: 100%;
}

.select_btn{
	background-color: #f4f4f4;
	border: 2px solid black;
	color: black;
	display: inline-block;
	font-size: 20px;
	border-radius: 2px;
	height: 40px;
	width: 30%;
}

.select_btn:hover{
	cursor: pointer;
	background-color: white;
}

label{
	font-size: 16px;
}

#clear_chk{
	-moz-transform: scale(1.3);
	padding: 10px;
	margin: 15px;
}

.submit_btn:hover{
	cursor: pointer;
	background-color: white;
}

#load_devices * {
	margin-top:5px;
	margin-bottom:10px;
}

#load_devices{
	width: 70%;
	float: left;
	text-align: center;
	padding: 16px 18px;
	margin-top:10%;
	margin-bottom:5px;
	height: 40%;
}

#load_devices input{
	padding: 12px 14px;
	font-size: 16px;
}


#load_devices input[type=text] {
	width: 60%;
}

#success_fail{
	color: limegreen;
}

Credits

Evan Rust

120 projects • 1052 followers

IoT, web, and embedded systems enthusiast. Contact me for product reviews or custom project requests.

IoT Camera Mover for Less Than $35

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

The Plan

Building the Device

The Firmware

Setting Up IFTTT

The Webpage

Custom parts and enclosures

Camera Platform

Schematics

Schematic

Code

Particle Code

Webpage Page

Webpage Javascript

Webpage CSS

Credits

Evan Rust

Comments

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IoT Camera Mover for Less Than $35

IoT Camera Mover for Less Than $35

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

The Plan

Building the Device

The Firmware

Setting Up IFTTT

The Webpage

Custom parts and enclosures

Camera Platform

Schematics

Schematic

Code

Particle Code

Webpage Page

Webpage Javascript

Webpage CSS

Credits

Evan Rust

Comments

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