Auto-Aiming System - rpi-auto-aim

Overview

The Auto-Aiming System is an embedded project designed to track and aim at a target in real time using computer vision and motion control. The system integrates a Raspberry Pi 4, ESP32, Raspberry Pi Camera V2, and a 3D-printed pan-tilt mechanism.

Developed for the SEL0630 - Embedded Systems Projects course (Prof. Dr. Pedro Oliveira) and SSC0715 - Intelligent Sensors course (Prof. Dr. Fernando dos Santos Osório), this project demonstrates concepts in computer vision, PID control, and embedded systems. It was created by:

• Matheus Henrique Dias Cirillo - 12547750
• Carlos Henrique Craveiro Aquino Veras - 12547187

Students of the Computer Engineering program at USP São Carlos (EESC and ICMC).

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Features

• Real-time target detection and tracking using OpenCV (C++).
• Discrete PID control for precise motion adjustments.
• Customizable and modular 3D-printed hardware.

For detailed information, see the Wiki.

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Getting Started

Hardware Requirements

• Raspberry Pi 4
• Raspberry Pi Camera V2
• ESP32
• Two 9G servo motors
• 3D-printed pan-tilt mechanism (Thingiverse)

Software Setup

1. Raspberry Pi:
   • Install OpenCV (C++): sudo apt install libopencv-dev
   • Install GStreamer: sudo apt install gstreamer1.0-tools gstreamer1.0-plugins-*
2. ESP32:
   • Upload the PID control code via Arduino IDE.

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System Architecture

1. Image Processing:
   • Captures frames via GStreamer:

     libcamera-vid --inline --width 640 --height 480 --timeout 0 -o - | gst-launch-1.0 fdsrc ! decodebin ! videoconvert ! appsink

   • Processes frames using OpenCV to calculate the target's centroid.
2. Control Signal Generation:
   • Sends error values via I2C to the ESP32.
3. PID Control:
   • Adjusts servo motors for pan and tilt based on error values.

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Usage

1. Start the camera feed with the GStreamer pipeline.
2. Run the image processing script on the Raspberry Pi.
3. Power the ESP32 to enable servo control.
4. Observe the system automatically tracking the target.

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License

This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL v3). For details, see the LICENSE file.

The 3D-printed pan-tilt design uses the Servo Pan Tilt - Raspberry Pi Camera model from Thingiverse, licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Share Alike (CC BY-SA).

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For further details, including setup, code structure, and analysis, visit the Wiki.