Requirements:

Spring 2017 SpiderBot is required to provide live aerial video feed capable of covering the entire arena, as defined by end-of-semester-game, to other participating robots.

Introduction:

The ArxRobot phone app works in conjunction with the Arxterra mission control panel. The app utilizes the phone’s built-in camera, and transmits data wirelessly via internet connection to the control panel. From the control panel the user is able to see what the phone sees. For the specific purpose of the Spiderbot, it is required to provide a live video feed of the game arena to the other participating robots. The camera test is used to determine the minimum distance the phone camera must be to provide coverage of the entire arena.

Procedure:

The camera test was conducted using the Arxterra control panel, the Arxrobot app, an android phone, a wall, a tape measure, and tape to mark off varying lengths along the wall. The android phone used is a Huawei Nexus 6P. On the wall, a square of known length and width is marked off, setting up a mock arena. Once set up, the phone is incrementally set further away from wall, until the entire mock arena is encompassed on the ArxRobot and Arxterra Screen shown in figures below.

Phone Camera Specifications:

Model: Huawei Nexus 6P

Megapixels: 12.3
Pixel size: 1.55 μm pixels
Aperature size: F2.0
Hardware: IR laser-assisted autofocus
Video(max): 4K resolution
Flash: Broad-spectrum CRI-90 dual flash

Features: 240fps slow motion video capture

Results:

3×3 Square Arena

Fig 1. Arxterra Visualation(3×3)

Fig 2. Arxrobot Visualization (3×3)

Fig 3. Arxterra Visualization (5×5)

Fig 4. ArxRobot Visualization (5×5)

Tables

Arena(ft)	Distance(in)
3×3	53
5×5	73

Conclusion:

The Nexus 6P, in conjunction with the ArxRobot app and Arxterra mission control panel are more than capable of delivering live video feed. The field of view delivered is dependent on the distance the phone camera is from the arena, at least 53 inches for a 3×3 arena. Looking at figures 1 and 2, an important observation can be concluded. The onboard camera is not optimized for a square arena, instead a rectangular arena, would much more effectively use the camera’s full field of view. My recommendation would be to implement a 3’X5′ game arena, this will require less materials to construct a suitable anchor point and provide the best possible view of the arena for game participants. SpiderBot out….

Resources:

Spring 2017- Arxterra ArxRobot Camera Experiment