Simple Head Tracking with OpenCV

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 28/02/2017
Posted in: Image Processing. Tagged: , , , , . 1 Comment

Hi,

I’m currently working a bit on Animabot’s software (Raspberry Pi side). I developed a small application for the Head Tracking which will be used on the robot. The application is developed in Python and using TkInter for the GUI. The software is using the standard Face Detection from OpenCV.

The program checks for face to detect, then provide the Head center position regarding the center of the video. It also sends the position trough UART is order to link the Pi to another board if needed (in my case, to the STM32F4). Or through socket if you want to use the info internally in the Pi. The output coordinates are filtered to have a more accurate position and also to avoid having values changing every 100ms…

The interface also allows to change the detection settings (video cropping, Face HitBox size, etc..) These parameters are directly in the GUI so it is easy to find the right settings. I will maybe add a save/load feature for the parameters later if needed. But for now you can tune these parameters in real-time, then change their default values in the code.

The output coordinates (on UART and socket) as the following format : <%+0.3d|%+0.3d>. This means, that from the above screenshot, the output value is : <+034|-021>

This application is based on Python 2.7 and OpenCV 3. To use it you need to install the following packages : PIL, tkinter, PySerial and numpy. For now I’m working on windows, so I didn’t tried it on the Pi yet… this means I can’t help you for packages installation… However, I suggest you to install PIP to install packages, this would be much easier. Do not forget to place haarcascade_frontalface_default.xml in the same folder as the Python file.

Of course I will not use this application for the Pi as it would be too heavy to process smoothly, I will make a lighter version without GUI and without video feedback and only focus on the algorithm and UART output.

Below you can find the application’s code. Please be indulgent as I’m still learning Python… I’m sure it can be greatly improved (if you have corrections/suggestions, please tell me 😉 ) but at least it is as clear as possible and working quite fine ! Normally the code contains enough comments to understand it if you know how to program. But if you have questions, do not hesitate to ask me !

>>>  Source code available here <<<

Animabot Rev2 – First movements

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 21/09/2016
Posted in: Animabot Rev2. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Hi everybody ! it’s been a while… I have been quite busy the past few months and I didn’t had time to really work on Animabot… But I didn’t not forget him and I’m back in game and I will do my best to get this little beast walking as soon as possible.

I have to get back to the Kinematic story which is for me quite complicated but I have a short video for you 🙂

Stay tuned !

Animabot Rev2 – Final Assembly !

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 04/11/2015
Posted in: Animabot Rev2. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 Comments

It’s been a while since the last post… mostly because my new job is taking away most of my time…

But also because I had to fix several issues in Anima before mounting the legs and the upper body. First I had to fix the sound problem, curiously the IR sensor was generating noise which was propagated up to the audio amplifier, thus generating audible noise… To fix it I added to capacitors (100nF & 10µF) on the sensor’s power connection. Then I burned the Li-ion charger 😦 so I had to replace some mosfet and add some heatsinks.

Finally after 20 months of design, tests, doubts, bug fix, etc… Animabot is assembled and ready to walk !!!

 

Stay tuned 😉

Animabot Rev2 – Body Assembly (part 3)

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 03/09/2015
Posted in: Animabot Rev2. Tagged: , , , , , . 2 Comments

Hello ! The assembly of Animabot is going well, I have almost finished 🙂 I’m mostly making cables and cables… Thinking about how I’m gonna put all of them into the body… But anyway, I’m also testing the electronic and everything is also fine up to now: Audio amp and speakers, IR telemeter, fan, Night LED, temperature sensor and power monitor and the ATX Raspi are working !!!

The Rapsi is also much thinner without all these big connectors 🙂 but I have some issues with  the WIFI dongle and I need to test the webcam.

So I put all the parts together to see if all goes well, and for now it’s look like this :

Power ON baby !

I like it ! even if the parts are not perfect as I would like, and even if the design is full of errors, it doesn’t look so bad 🙂

More update soon 😉

Animabot Rev2 – Body Assembly (part 2)

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 23/08/2015
Posted in: Animabot Rev2. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Hi all ! Long time since the last update of the robot… I reprinted the head with the fan’s support and the air vent is slightly different, but now the head is completely finished ! The upper body is also in the print process, I only have the rear part and the hood to print and that’s it \o/

Hi there !
Head closeup
Head lock with cable holder
Head Mechanism
Front and middle upper body
Front and middle upper body

As you can see on the pictures, the head is already mounted with all the inner parts, and it’s working as designed 🙂 The next step is to mount the speakers and prepare all the remaining cables for the final assembly.

I will soon modify the Raspi board to match my requirements. I have to check if all the connections are working fine before mounting the upper body, because once it’s done, it would be very difficult to access inside the robot…

Oh, and the legs are now ready for assembly on the body 😉

Stay tuned 😉

Animabot Rev2 – Body assembly !

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 28/07/2015
Posted in: Animabot Rev2. Tagged: , , . 2 Comments

Hi folks !  Been a while since the last update… This weekend I was pretty busy on the print side, I succeed to print all the part composing the lower body. The design is not yet perfect but it’s working well for now 😉 As you can see below, the body is divided in 5 pieces maintained together with screws.

Battery slot
Battery slot
Bottom body front
Bottom body back
Mounting system

 

The battery is integrated and connected, as well as the board’s support. The ATXRaspi, the IR telemeter and the LED board are also mounted and connected 😉 The next step now is to connect properly the Li-Ion Charger, the Power Board and the Audio Amplifier, before assembly the upper body !

Assembly Overview
ATXRaspi assembly
STM32 adapter assembly
STM32 adapter assembly
Power Switchs
Power Switchs + ATXRaspi
Mounting system

As you can see, for now it’s a bit messy with all the cables, but I will try to organise it better in the next few days 😉 Anyway, I’m very happy to finally assembling Animabot after so much time of design !!!

Stay tuned 😉

Animabot Rev2 – Final Design (again)

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 07/07/2015
Posted in: Animabot Rev2, SolidWorks. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment

Hi all ! In order to wait for the real one, here are some rendering of the last version.

As you can see the tibias have been modified, same for the air vent of the head and the hood. The hood is now attached to the body with 4 small magnets (instead of screws).

Hi there !
Look at my new air vents !
Banana for scale…
Banana for scale…
Beware !
Beware !

(I hope in reality Animabot will look as good as in the renderings…)

Later all 🙂

Animabot Rev2 – Tibias + Head

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 22/06/2015
Posted in: Animabot Rev2. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Hello ! I finished printing all the tibias and I’m now the coxas print… I also sprayed some rubber at the end of the tibia to avoid slipping.

Tibias mounted on femur
Slip-proof bumper
Tibia + femur overview

I also completely finish the head assembly

Front view
Rear view
Inside
Inside

As always, stay tuned 😉

Animabot Rev2 – Femur + Head assembly

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 16/06/2015
Posted in: Animabot Rev2. Tagged: , , , , . 2 Comments

Hi all, So this weekend I have been working on the Coxa/Tibia design, and how to print them in the best way. These parts are now ready for “mass production” !

Cables managment in the femur
Workspace for assembly
Femur assembled
Femur assembled
How to print a tibia !

I also printed the head, and began the assembly. All the parts are done, just need the body to put it on 😉

Front view of head
Servo and webcam integrated

I hope I can get finished with the 4 left tibias this weekend…

Stay tuned, more to come soon !

Animabot Rev2 – Leg prototype

Posted by Emmanuel Sichet on 05/06/2015
Posted in: Animabot Rev2. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Hello ! Good news, the first leg prototype is now assembled 😀 I have printed a tibia and a coxa in order to see if the parts can be well-printed before going to mass production. I had to modify a bit the coxa to pass the cable inside (now it should be ok) and also the tibia (only the design for a better look). I still have some tests to run but I think the parts are ready to be printed 😉

Leg Tibia Prototype
Leg Tibia Prototype
Tibia Prototype
Tibia Prototype
Coxa Prototype
All femur parts

 

Stay tuned !