Over the past few months I have been developing ways to capture images from high speed events. There are many examples of ways to achieve this on the web and for those not wishing to undertake a home brew solution there are a number of commercial options. My objective was to set myself a challenge to develop a solution myself. My initial direction involved a fully hardware solution but I soon realised a software solution combined with limited hardware was the way forward. What follows is the documentation required to build this project.
I'm sure there are many talented individuals out there who could improve on this basic design, especially the software. All constructive inputs are welcome.
HardWare
The hardware utilises an Arduino Uno at its core and a limited number of external components to provide an interface for both Sound and Light Triggers.
The 'SOUND BOARD' can easily be constructed from an LM386 audio amp chip, as used in my original prototype. An easy option is to purchase a 'Linker Sound Sensor - A61NG' (available from Maplin) which I used in my final construction. It is easy to connect this via. a 3 core lead to the main Arduino board thereby providing flexibility for optimum microphone placement.
The 'LIGHT Trigger' can be configured in numerous ways. Using a laser pointer aimed at the photo cell providers a great 'beam breaking' option; the distance between sensor and laser pen can be many feet. Changing the laser pointer with an InfraRed LED Source and reducing the gap to a couple of centimetres provides a useful trigger for projectiles and water drops etc.
Output to the flash is via. Opto Isolator so all backend electronics should be safe. It is worth noting that some old flash guns have a high voltage across the input pins, it is possible to blow the Opto Isolator so I have used a high voltage option. To date I have used two very old flash guns with no issues.
The unit itself is very compact and runs for hours on a 9 volt battery. The construction comprises of three stacked boards: Arduino Uno - Homemade PCB - 16 x 2 LCD Shield from Adafruit.
Circuit Diagram
No comments:
Post a Comment