Remote-controlled camera dolly : A Camera-carrying robot project

Abstract

The motions of cameras play a critical role in cinematography. People have been trying to achieve the steadiest, the most stable camera movement in order to capture the most-qualified scenes and pictures since the old days. This level of preciseness is nearly impossible to be attained by humans, or at least requires a considerable amount of skills and effort. However, the robotics industry has simplified the problem. A robot, generally called “camera dolly”, has gradually replaced humans in controlling the camera movements. This thesis project focused on the electrical and embedded aspects in building a camera dolly. In this project, two independent camera dollies were built. The first camera dolly had a fixed moving pattern since it has to move on a one-meter curved track. The second camera dolly, on the other hand, can move deliberately on the ground, however, still maintain the balance of the camera regardless of ground topography. Both camera dolly robots have the same specific requirements. The rolling speed of the wheels has to be precise, so that the camera moves to the right location in time. In addition, to carry a camera and a battery system, the robot must be quite heavy, thus, the motors have to be strong enough to move the whole system. In the mechanical aspect, both robots should be 1.2 meters high, and while one robot moves on a track like a mini tram, the other moves around on the floor as instructed by controller. This thesis did not focus on the mechanical aspects, otherwise, it fulfilled the electrical and programming areas.