A Raspberry Pi Vision System for FIRST Robotics Competition

The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), as you may know, is an international high school robotics competition where students, coaches, and mentors work to create a robot to accomplish a certain challenge. This can involve a wide range of activities, and this year’s game (2020) is called INFINITE RECHARGE, where teams must collaborate to perform tasks that "charge a shield against asteroids." Importantly, targets in the game are outlined with retro-reflective tape, which can be picked up by a computer vision system.

While there is a “Limelight 2” camera available specifically for FRC, it’s $399 price tag wasn’t in the budget for Team 3512. Instead, mentor Louis Lauriello developed a custom Raspberry Pi vision system for $150. The device, dubbed "SpartaCam," features a Pi 3 processor running Chamelon-Vision (a Pi 4 was considered, but the 3 was chosen for power, thermal, and software considerations) and a Pi Camera V2. A 3D-printed enclosure designed by another mentor (Matt) in Fusion 360 holds everything and an array of eight LEDs is available to light the targets. The system also has a fan, as well as a buck voltage converter to supply the Pi with just over 5V.

The project write-up provides a great introduction into the challenges of designing a refined Pi vision system for such an event and shares some practical tips for setting the device up. Perhaps we'll see other systems inspired by SpartaCam in the future!