Mirror Study

By Maxwell Nguyen

In order to eliminate the need for larger servos, the rover team will be implementing mirrors to provide vision for the rover.  As compared to lifting a phone, the torque and power require to lift a mirror is substantially less.

Objective:
The objective of this study is to examine whether a mirror used for vision control will provide a clear and undistorted image.

 A study must be conducted in order to verify if mirrors can be used for the pan and tilt vision.  We will use a basic, homemade apparatus to test the camera vision through the mirror.  The apparatus can be seen below and consists of a mirror taped to a small booklet to provide stability and a tilt function.

 

Mirror apparatus

Equipment and materials:

   -Phone with camera
   -Mirror
   -Tape
   -Small booklet

Procedure:
The setup will have the phone placed on a flat surface with the camera facing up towards the ceiling.  The phone will remain stationary throughout the entire test.  The mirror apparatus will be placed directly over the camera.  Using the flap of  the booklet, a tilt function can be simulated.  By turning the booklet/mirror left and right, we can simulate vision control to the left and to the right. 

 

Test setup

 

 Test setup(different angle)

Results:

The following short clip provides results to the mirror study.

Conclusion:
Mirrors do in fact provide a clear image for the camera.  Tilting and panning of the mirrors shows no distortion.  From this study, the team will move into designs to implement the mirror on the rover.