NEW PRODUCT - Pro Camera-HD Upgrade

#1

When exploring the underwater world, one thing that allows you to really become immersed in the environment is phenomenal video quality. With this in mind we have been working on a custom camera for Trident. We wanted to bring this amazing camera and all the possibilities that it opens up to everyone in our community. We are happy to share that we have finished the design of the camera and have developed a product that will allow it to be integrated into your existing OpenROV system.

Some of the biggest features are

  • Very low latency 1080p live video stream at 30 frames per second
  • Great low light performance, high dynamic range, and excellent color rendition
  • In-browser recording of video through OpenROV software

Find out more!

Footage from the camera in the field

This is the same camera system we used for all of our dives on the S.S Tahoe in June.

New OpenROV Pro camera on Raspberry Pi 3
Raspberry PI as a complete OpenROV
#2

Hi, your product seems quite interesting.

There is a thing I’m not sure about, what do you mean by “SD card with software image”?

Is it that there is a real time image enhancement software included within the camera board?

Thank you in advance, Pedro.

#3

Brian

Great but is it 4K ? Otherwise people professionally filming have
difficulty meshing the images. This will be critical and if not
incorporated can the trident be upgraded when 4K is on stream??

Thanks
Andy

#4

@pedro The SD card includes a new software image for the BeagleBone to run. The camera requires different drivers and a lot of backend software for it to work. This image on the SD card is the latest development image of our latest and greatest software. Let me know if you have additional questions about this.

@andrew.barker57 The camera is shooting at 1080p. This is the same camera that is on Trident. For most users 1080p video quality is great and allows for much smaller file sizes and transmission of data up the tether and to the control device for piloting the ROV. With Trident (and 2-series) users controlling with laptops, tablets, and cell phones the majority of these do not display 4K.

#5

I am with Andrew Barker here. A great solution would be 4k recording on
board, and 1080p/720p via the tether, not least for post production.
(Downside would be sensitivity) Similar to Dji drones (I know they are
wireless.) Would that be far off in the future?

#6

@Brian_Grau Just wondering if I get the latest dev image without buying the new camera please? If not, how far away is the release?

#7

@terje I can’t speak to what the future plans are for the camera system at this time. We are focused on getting Trident out the door as a solid and reliable product at this time.

@Brendan Right now on the software side we are getting it to a stable release for the camera upgrade. Right now the Dev image only works with the new camera and we are adding back in all the functionality for the old camera. Once we have the old camera in the software and it is stable, then we will release the image. We do not really see a point of releasing it without the current camera working, but if people feel strongly that we should we are open to this. As far as timeline, the camera upgrade release will happen when it starts shipping in two weeks. The release with the old camera working might be around the same time depending on if we can get all that code tested.

#8

@Brian_Grau Thanks for the info, It’s not much use to me without the old camera working. I’m very interested in the new UI’s and looking forward to it’s release in the next few weeks.

#9

@Brendan We are working as fast as we can to get the stable version out. With all the new features there is a lot of testing needed.

#10

Hello,
If higher resolution is requiered, the easiest solution is to use the internal camera for navigation and an external GoPro type camera for the high resolution shooting. As far as I understood, you will be able to command the external camera using a wifi connection with the Trident. Optimal, no ?
Marc

#11

@marcolinger you are correct. This would handle the situation for people who need 4K video.

#12

Does this module include the 2.8 board and lazers?.. as a complete drop in module for my 2.6 ROV-body(replacing the 2.6) or do I have to use my old 2.6 board and only replacing the camera acrylic part?

#13

The store posting has a listing of what is included.

What’s Included
HD Camera with cable
Light Board 2.8 Pro
Corrective lens
Acrylic pieces for e-chassis
Mounting hardware
SD card with software image

This list is a little incomplete it also includes:
Red and Black wires to connect the Light Board
Lasers

You will need to re-use the Controller Board Stack (Controller Board, BBB, Tenda, and RJ-45) from your previous ROV.

2.8 CB Stack.png1150x862 761 KB

These parts are re-used

Let me know if you have additional questions about this.

#15

Hello Tom,

As I mentioned to you over email to help with your timeline we sent the hardware first and then the software. The instructions were not complete at the time of sending, but have now been written. Your process is different than the standard user for this product. I don’t want others that are reading your post to be confused.

-Brian Grau

#16

I understand. . Sorry for this.
I have now deleted my post :sunglasses:

#17

Hi
I have problem exporting the recorded video-image from this module.
When I enter the DATA section in the cockpit, there is only a “telemetry”-something… no video…
a lot of “NaN”…I have tried to wait for the cache to buffer or render…nothing.

Can I go to a direct path in the pc file-explorer?

Regards
Tom-Vidar Salangli

#18

How long are your recordings?

#19

5-6gb…but also short ones… 30sec… e.g

#20

Hi everyone

I’ve got the new camera upgrade module and installed it on my V2.6. Everything went well.

Then under test dive I tried the “recording option” within the cockpit. I recorded around 5-6 gb of video.
I suddenlyexperienced an connection failure issue between rov and cockpit over and over again every 30 secs or so.
Chrome lost everything and gave me the “:(” face.
I thought the problem came from a small leakage I had in the main sylinder.
I cleaned up everything and tried to reboot, but the same problem. Got video feed for 30 sec and no contact with thruster or camera tilt. Nothing.

Then I tried to connect my rov to another pc.
Everything was working!

SĂĄ I figured my connection problem was located in chrome.
It looks to me that… since I made the 5-7gb recording in the cockpit option… And there was only 3-400mb left in the available cache. …that this makes something go wrong.

I couldn’t download the video either from the data option knob. … there was nothing in the data page.
I couldn’t either delete the recorded files since they were nowhere to find.

I had to delete Chrome completely using Ccleaner and then reinstall. Now everything is up and running again :smiley:

Have you guys experienced something similar?

#21

Hi Tom,
I have just ordered one of the new OpenROV Pro Camera-HD Upgrade, but it will be a while before I have it up and running.
However, I will say this that the latest version of Chrome has messed up my logins on a number of websites including this Forum whereas MS Edge works just fine. Also, the opening video on the OpenROV webpage when using Chrome is very pixilated from time to time.
Regards,
TCIII AVD