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Gyro-Stabilized PTZ Gimbal for UAVs

Posted by fibrewire on July 18, 2011 at 7:30am

 

I am an ex-USAF Avionics Sensors guy, and I have always wanted a gyro stabilized laser targeting system. Now that I am all grown up, I'll settle for a gyro stabilized camera.

 

A little looking, and I found some nice UAV equipment.It's a little out of my price range at $10,000 for the day system and $20,000 for the FLIR system. http://store.micropilot.com/category-s/21.htm

 

Now I know this is mechanically and electrically easy, but for me this could become time-consuming. Can we make a cost-effective system for our UAVs?

 

Some examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewK7NkcCFCk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5fluZ7mUoY

 

What do you guys think?

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Comments

  • Lew Payne July 18, 2011 at 5:05pm
    It might help if you selected a camera first, and then looked for a suitable gimbal mount.  There are several hobbyist gimbal mounts that will do the trick, as well as many plans (cut it yourself out of thin wood) online.  I don't see how you would build the gimbal mount first, and then select the camera.
  • Developer
    John Arne Birkeland July 18, 2011 at 10:54am

    Those metal/plast outdoor CCTV dome type of pan-tilts are usually very heavy and does not support roll rotation.

    The typical UAV gimbal system looks something like this.

    Pro_Mount_4d91247428425.jpg?width=320

  • fibrewire July 18, 2011 at 10:48am

    This is the cheapest camera I could find that supports the necessary functions.

    http://cgi.ebay.com/230456589305

    I hope I can cram those GS1 servos in there...

  • fibrewire July 18, 2011 at 10:29am

    Those GS-1 stabilized gyros look like they should do the trick. Now to find a lightweight BALANCED ptz mount. balance is the key when working with servos - the further away from the center of gravity, the bigger the servos need to be.

     

    Found another super-expensive company that produces gyro stabilized camera systems - and they have lasers!

    http://www.cloudcaptech.com/gimbal_tase300.shtm

    https://www.youtube.com/user/CloudCapTechnology

     

  • Lew Payne July 18, 2011 at 9:07am
    How about starting with the Dunehaven GS-1 stabilized gyros, in a home-brew gimbal mount (or one of the many hobbyist mounts available)?  They might provide a lot of what you want, independent of platform.  There are also a few outrageously priced gimbal systems listed on my poorly categorized blog.
    Dunehaven Systems - GS-1 Gyro Servo
    Dunehaven Systems
  • 3D Robotics
    Chris Anderson July 18, 2011 at 8:17am
    It's computationally easy (both ArduCopter and APM already output pan-tilt stabilization channels), but a good mechanical assembly is harder. Regular hobby servos don't cut it.
This reply was deleted.