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A simple project to control two cameras horizontally and vertically using an Xbox Series gamepad with realtime streaming

Published March 4, 2026 © GPL3+

Stereo camera pantilt-pi-gamepad

A simple, efficient, and effective dual-camera rotation project for the Xbox Series gamepad. Realtime stereoscopic image via local webpage

BeginnerFull instructions provided2 hours18

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Raspberry Pi 4 Model B

Raspberry Pi Camera Module

USB camera

Plywood for laser cutting

UBEC 5V 3A

UBEC 6V 6A

16 cahnnel servo controller

LiPo 7.4V Battery

Story

A simple project to control two cameras horizontally and vertically using an Xbox Series gamepad with realtime streaming.

Machine in work

Another test - front

The robot is based on a Raspberry Pi 4. I wanted to make a stereoscopic live broadcast to a VR helmet with head tracking, but unfortunately it turned out that the Raspberry Pi 4 is too slow for that.

So, all that's left is to control the gamepad from the console. The project may prove useful to someone for a variety of purposes.

Plywood 3mm elements for laser cutting:

plywood_3mm.dxf

Main python program:

stereocam.py

In the program, the image from the USB camera is zoomed because my camera had a wider viewing angle than the raspberry pi camera.

I was using the Raspberry Pi Imager application to install Raspbian Full(with desktop) on Raspberry Pi.

In my case, I had to execute a series of commands to get everything started:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
sudo apt install -y python3-pip python3-opencv
pip install adafruit-circuitpython-servokit flask flask-cors --break-system-packages
sudo usermod -aG video $USER

You must remember to enable I2C.

To connect to the gamepad I executed the following commands:

sudo rfkill unblock bluetooth
sudo rfkill unblock all
sudo systemctl restart bluetooth

bluetoothctl

power on
agent on
default-agent
scan on
//  run pairing mode on the gamepad

pair XXXXX    //   XXXXX - your gamepad address
trust XXXXX
connect XXXXX
exit

Next we create a python environment:

python -m venv env --system-site-packages

source env/bin/activate

pip install adafruit-circuitpython-servokit inputs flask opencv-python
pip install evdev
pip install approxeng.input

and run the program:

sudo ./env/bin/python3 stereocam.py

When you restart Rpi, you need only to repeat last command. Gamepad will connect automaticaly everytime when Rpi's gonna ready.

Vertical servo is connected to channel 8, horizontal to channel 12.

Schematics

Code

stereocam.py

import cv2
import numpy as np
from flask import Flask, Response
from picamera2 import Picamera2
import sys
import threading
import time
from adafruit_servokit import ServoKit
from evdev import InputDevice, list_devices, ecodes

app = Flask(__name__)

# --- Servos initilization ---
kit = ServoKit(channels=16)
pan = 90
tilt = 90
pan_servo = 12
tilt_servo = 8
kit.servo[pan_servo].angle = pan
kit.servo[tilt_servo].angle = tilt

# --- gamepad control loop ---
def gamepad_loop():
    global pan, tilt
    print("searching for gamepad...")
        
    device = None
    while device is None:
        for path in list_devices():
            try:
                temp_dev = InputDevice(path)
                if "Xbox" in temp_dev.name:
                    device = temp_dev
                    break
            except:
                continue
        if not device:
            time.sleep(2)
    
    print(f"SUCCES! Connected with: {device.name}")

    # remember joystick states
    joystick_state = {'x': 0.0, 'y': 0.0}

    def update_servos():
        global pan, tilt
        while True:            
            if abs(joystick_state['x']) > 0.1:
                pan = max(0, min(180, pan - joystick_state['x'] * 1.6))# 1.6 - sensitivity
                kit.servo[pan_servo].angle = pan
                
            if abs(joystick_state['y']) > 0.1:
                # vertical angle limit 0-140
                tilt = max(0, min(140, tilt + joystick_state['y'] * 1.8))#1.8 - sensitivity
                kit.servo[tilt_servo].angle = tilt
            
            time.sleep(0.02)

    # servos moving threat
    threading.Thread(target=update_servos, daemon=True).start()

    # main loop - reading gamepad status
    for event in device.read_loop():
        if event.type == ecodes.EV_ABS:
            if event.code == 0: # left joystick
                joystick_state['x'] = (event.value - 32768) / 32768.0
            elif event.code == 1: # left joystick
                joystick_state['y'] = (event.value - 32768) / 32768.0
        
        elif event.type == ecodes.EV_KEY:
            if event.code == 304 and event.value == 1: # button A
                pan, tilt = 90, 90
                kit.servo[pan_servo].angle = 90
                kit.servo[tilt_servo].angle = 90


threading.Thread(target=gamepad_loop, daemon=True).start()

# --- Cameras initialization ---
print("Starting Cameras...")
try:
    # 1. USB camera
    cam_usb = cv2.VideoCapture(0, cv2.CAP_V4L2)
    cam_usb.set(cv2.CAP_PROP_FOURCC, cv2.VideoWriter_fourcc(*'MJPG'))
    cam_usb.set(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_WIDTH, 1920)
    cam_usb.set(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_HEIGHT, 1080)
    
    # 2. RPi's camera
    picam2 = Picamera2()
    config = picam2.create_preview_configuration(main={"format": "BGR888", "size": (1024, 768)})
    picam2.configure(config)
    picam2.start()
    print("Cameras online.")
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Cameras error: {e}")
    sys.exit(1)

# --- generating images ---
def gen_frames_usb():
    while True:
        success, frame = cam_usb.read()
        if not success: break
        ret, buffer = cv2.imencode('.jpg', frame, [int(cv2.IMWRITE_JPEG_QUALITY), 80])
        yield (b'--frame\r\n' b'Content-Type: image/jpeg\r\n\r\n' + buffer.tobytes() + b'\r\n')

def gen_frames_rpi():
    while True:
        frame = picam2.capture_array()
        # color correction
        frame = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_RGB2BGR) 
        ret, buffer = cv2.imencode('.jpg', frame)
        yield (b'--frame\r\n' b'Content-Type: image/jpeg\r\n\r\n' + buffer.tobytes() + b'\r\n')

# --- FLASK TRACES ---
@app.route('/video_usb')
def video_usb():
    return Response(gen_frames_usb(), mimetype='multipart/x-mixed-replace; boundary=frame')

@app.route('/video_rpi')
def video_rpi():
    return Response(gen_frames_rpi(), mimetype='multipart/x-mixed-replace; boundary=frame')

@app.route('/')
def index():
    return """
    <html>
        <head>
            <title>Stereo cameras</title>
            <style>
                body { margin: 0; background: #000; overflow: hidden; }
                #vr { display: flex; width: 100vw; height: 100vh; }
                .cam-box { width: 50vw; height: 100vh; overflow: hidden; }
                .cam-box img { width: 100%; height: 100%; object-fit: cover; }
                #zoomed { transform: scale(1.5); transform-origin: center center; }
            </style>
        </head>
        <body>
            <script>
                let wakeLock = null;

                // blocking screen blanking
                async function requestWakeLock() {
                    try {
                        wakeLock = await navigator.wakeLock.request('screen');
                        console.log("screen blocked");
                    } catch (err) {
                        console.log(`screen block error: ${err.name}, ${err.message}`);
                    }
                }

                // activator (and fullscreen)
                document.addEventListener("click", () => {
                    requestWakeLock();
                    goFullscreen(); 
                });

                // We reactivate the lock when you return to the card
                document.addEventListener('visibilitychange', async () => {
                    if (wakeLock !== null && document.visibilityState === 'visible') {
                        requestWakeLock();
                    }
                });
            </script>
            <div id="vr" onclick="this.requestFullscreen()">
                <div class="cam-box"><img src="/video_rpi"></div>
                <div class="cam-box"><img src="/video_usb" id="zoomed"></div>
            </div>
        </body>
    </html>
    """

if __name__ == "__main__":
    try:
        app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=5000, ssl_context=('cert.pem', 'key.pem'))
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        print("\nShuting down...")
    finally:
        cam_usb.release()
        picam2.stop()
        picam2.close()

Credits

Kamil Czaja

2 projects • 1 follower

Stereo camera pantilt-pi-gamepad

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Story

A simple project to control two cameras horizontally and vertically using an Xbox Series gamepad with realtime streaming.

Custom parts and enclosures

Plywood elements

Schematics

Wiring schema

Code

stereocam.py

Credits

Kamil Czaja

Comments

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Stereo camera pantilt-pi-gamepad

Stereo camera pantilt-pi-gamepad

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Story

A simple project to control two cameras horizontally and vertically using an Xbox Series gamepad with realtime streaming.

Custom parts and enclosures

Plywood elements

Schematics

Wiring schema

Code

stereocam.py

Credits

Kamil Czaja

Comments

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