REQ: CMOS or CCD image sensor?, XY- position of objects

[koseyel]

Hello,

I'd like to use a CMOS or a CCD image sensor to scan an image or a patterned surface and then save the data on FLASH memory.
I'd then like to be able to retrieve the XY-positions of objects or pattern on the image and process them using a dsPIC , PIC32 or PIC24.
Something similar to a pick-and-place device but without using a PC. Just standalone device.

Do you think it is possible? If so, could you please give me some tips or links. I have searched the internet, but I found only stuff related to CNC or pick-and-place projects controlled by a PC programm.

Best regards

[solutions]

How about a 16M pixel USB camera and take it from there as far as what USB host you use?

[koseyel]

For me it'd be ok if that USB camera could be connected to a host MCU (mentionned above).
Could you please give me more info on that camera?
Bear with me please. I have no experience with that.

[hate]

I would prefer an AV output device here if the resolution suited my needs. There are single chip solutions to catch the frame sync signal and then it should be quite easy to sample the frame itself. After you have a digital frame you can then process it as you like. Again, the resolution won't play nice with AV. And for the image processing part, if you don't have any experience with it, it would be wise to go with a suitable library like OpenCV which has ports for ARM.

[CocaCola]

What is the end goal?  If you are lazy you can do all the above with a low cost (generation or two back) smart phone, just write an app and spit the coordinates out using Bluetooth, wi-fi or USB to whatever needs them...

That or you can do the USB camera thing suggested, some of the ARM developer boards like the Raspberry Pi can handle USB cameras for basic task like this and there is plenty of public source code already out there to build upon...

[Ichan]

See CMUcam, their CMUcam5 looks amazing and affordable - plan to buy it soon. It was on Kickstarter.

Other way is using OpenCV on android / linux board, many samples on the web.

-ichan

[CocaCola]

See CMUcam, their CMUcam5 looks amazing and affordable - plan to buy it soon. It was on Kickstarter.

That CMUcam5 looks amazing for the price...  For a few years now I have been tossing up ideas on how to make a robot dog that would follow me around though a crowd without any clearly obvious sensors to detect me vs others...  Looks like the software they have does a phenomenal job of tracking, probably be as simple as wearing a shirt or pants with a unique pattern to accomplish my task...  Although in reality I'll probably never get around to building it

[koseyel]

What is the end goal?  If you are lazy...

Thanks for your time.
I'm not lazy. My goal is learning. Learning to use camera, learning to scan a pattern (let say like a QR code) and then reproduce it on a paper using a robot arm(ended with a pen) or a pen fixed on a XYZ table (I like ore that option). I have seen something like that on internet but they are using a PC to control the robot arm.
What I want is to only use a microcontroller for controlling the pattern scanning , saving it on FLASH memory and then reproducing it by controlling the XYZ-table or robot arm.
So, my problem is, how do you give the coordinate information to the XYZ-table so that the scanned pattern is reproduced exactly.
Very important: I don't want to use any PC, just a PIC24, PIC32 or a dsPIC, as I said above. I'm also open using some Cortex-M3, M4 from ST or TI.
I'd be greatful for any info in that direction.

[solutions]

"lazy" = "efficient"

[CocaCola]

"lazy" = "efficient"

Pretty much, a project like this is mostly software/firmware and until that is mastered the hardware used is pretty much insignificant as long as the 'prototype' hardware is similar to the end design...  A smart phone provides all the hardware you need in a low cost, already debugged, fully contained well documented hardware and OS package...  It allows for you to jump right into software development on a proven and stable hardware design, thus you can get a working prototype pretty fast...  Once you have the core software routines written it can be ported to hardware of your own design if necessary...  It's the same reason most developers use existing general purpose development boards to write the main software before they design the hardware...