Post by donburch on Aug 8, 2006 21:18:28 GMT 10
I've been doing some research on Machine Vision - controlling a robot based on input from a camera - thinking that there would be a ton of background and theory to learn before I could even start...
Well, I'm pleased to discover it's not necessarily the case !
I don't think I can explain it any better than their summary...
I downloaded their RoboRealm software, available free, and was using it in minutes. It is a Windows application, which means it supports most webcams and has a easy interface. Add their large library of image processing routines to the 'pipline' which allows you to combine multiple routines in any sequence, and you have an excellent platform for testing out different combinations before you even build your own bot.
But wait, there's more ! They have made several interfaces so that you can add your own (quick and easy) VB-Script logic; or link to your own application using sockets or pipes. (i.e. RoboRealm will send the processed image to your own standalone program, which can be written in any language you like (Perl, C#, Java, Visual Basic, etc)). Finally they provide an interface that allows you to write your own RoboRealm module and include it within the program as a plug-in (similar to the ImageJ plug-ins). This is more involved DLL C++ programming but does offer the best interface to RoboRealm and is the most powerful.
Source code is not available, but they have plenty of ways to customise your application; and it is only available for Windows, due to using the Video for Windows APIs.
Seems to me like an excellent package - easy to use for beginners like me ... but with the expansion capability to become the brains of any robot. I certainly recommend anyone else interested to take a look at RoboRealm.
Well, I'm pleased to discover it's not necessarily the case !
I don't think I can explain it any better than their summary...
Using RoboRealm you can create a low cost vision software solution with a standard webcam that allows you to explore the very complex world of image analysis and image processing. Through an easy to use analysis pipeline you can add image processing filters to translate an image into robotic movements or computer actions.
Image and/or video processing can be technically difficult. Home robots are continuously moving towards high powered PC based systems that are capable of supporting complex image processing functions. Sometimes you just need a testbed of current image processing applications to test potential ideas that you want your robot or computer + webcam application to perform. We've compiled several image processing functions into a freely available windows based application that you can use with your computer's webcam. You can use it to test out your machine vision ideas and see what may be possible or not ... have fun! We did!
I downloaded their RoboRealm software, available free, and was using it in minutes. It is a Windows application, which means it supports most webcams and has a easy interface. Add their large library of image processing routines to the 'pipline' which allows you to combine multiple routines in any sequence, and you have an excellent platform for testing out different combinations before you even build your own bot.
But wait, there's more ! They have made several interfaces so that you can add your own (quick and easy) VB-Script logic; or link to your own application using sockets or pipes. (i.e. RoboRealm will send the processed image to your own standalone program, which can be written in any language you like (Perl, C#, Java, Visual Basic, etc)). Finally they provide an interface that allows you to write your own RoboRealm module and include it within the program as a plug-in (similar to the ImageJ plug-ins). This is more involved DLL C++ programming but does offer the best interface to RoboRealm and is the most powerful.
Source code is not available, but they have plenty of ways to customise your application; and it is only available for Windows, due to using the Video for Windows APIs.
Seems to me like an excellent package - easy to use for beginners like me ... but with the expansion capability to become the brains of any robot. I certainly recommend anyone else interested to take a look at RoboRealm.
