Camera system using stabilizing gimbal
Disclosed is an electronic gimbal with camera and mounting configuration. The gimbal can include an inertial measurement unit which can sense the orientation of the camera and three electronic motors which can manipulate the orientation of the camera. The gimbal can be removably coupled to a variety of mount platforms, such as an aerial vehicle, a handheld grip, or a rotating platform. Moreover, a camera can be removably coupled to the gimbal and can be held in a removable camera frame. Also disclosed is a system for allowing the platform, to which the gimbal is mounted, to control settings of the camera or to trigger actions on the camera, such as taking a picture, or initiating the recording of a video. The gimbal can also provide a connection between the camera and the mount platform, such that the mount platform receives images and video content from the camera.
1. A method, comprising:
detecting an object relative to an orientation of a camera coupled to a gimbal; and
controlling a motor of the gimbal by:
determining a first difference between a velocity of the camera and a target velocity of the camera;
comparing the first difference to a threshold; and
responsive to the first difference not exceeding the threshold, adjusting a velocity of the motor of the gimbal to reduce the first difference.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the velocity of the camera is an angular velocity of the camera, the target velocity of the camera is a target angular velocity of the camera, and the velocity of the motor of the gimbal is an angular velocity of the motor of the gimbal.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the gimbal is coupled to a rotating platform, further comprising:
controlling a motor of the rotating platform by:
responsive to the first difference exceeding the threshold, adjusting a velocity of a motor of the rotating platform to reduce the first difference.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein controlling the motor of the gimbal further comprises:
responsive to the first difference not exceeding the threshold, determining if the rotating platform coupled to the gimbal is stationary.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
responsive to determining the rotating platform coupled to the gimbal is stationary, adjusting the velocity of the motor of the gimbal to reduce the first difference.
6. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
responsive to determining the rotating platform coupled to the gimbal is not stationary, decelerating the rotating platform and adjusting the velocity of the motor of the gimbal to reduce an offset between the velocity of the motor of the gimbal and the target velocity of the camera.
7. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
summing the velocity of the motor of the gimbal and the first difference to generate a combined velocity;
comparing the combined velocity to the threshold;
responsive to the combined velocity exceeding the threshold, adjusting the velocity of the motor of the rotating platform to reduce the first difference; and
responsive to the combined velocity not exceeding the threshold, adjusting the velocity of the motor of the gimbal to reduce the first difference.
8. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:
detecting a first angular position and a second angular position of the object relative to the orientation of the camera, the first angular position detected at a first time instance and the second angular position detected at a second time instance;
determining a velocity of the object based on the first angular position, the second angular position, the first time instance, and the second time instance; and
adjusting the velocity of the motor of the rotating platform to reduce a second difference between a velocity of the rotating platform and the velocity of the object.
9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
determining a target angular position of the motor of the gimbal based on an angular position of the motor of the gimbal, the second angular position of the object, and an angular position of the camera; and
adjusting the angular position of the motor of the gimbal to reduce a third difference between the angular position of the motor of the gimbal and the target angular position of the motor.
10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions that when executed cause a processor to perform operations including:
determining a first difference between an angular velocity of a camera and a target angular velocity of the camera;
comparing the first difference to a threshold; and
responsive to the first difference not exceeding the threshold, adjusting an angular velocity of a motor of a gimbal coupled to the camera to reduce the first difference.
11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10 , further including instructions that when executed cause the processor to perform operations including:
responsive to the first difference not exceeding the threshold, determining if a rotating platform coupled to the gimbal is stationary.
12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , further including instructions that when executed cause the processor to perform operations including:
responsive to determining the rotating platform is stationary, adjusting the angular velocity of the motor of the gimbal to reduce the first difference.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , further including instructions that when executed cause the processor to perform operations including:
responsive to determining the rotating platform is not stationary, decelerating the rotating platform and adjusting the angular velocity of the motor of the gimbal to reduce an offset between the angular velocity of the motor of the gimbal and the target angular velocity of the camera.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , further including instructions that when executed cause the processor to perform operations including:
summing the angular velocity of the motor of the gimbal and the first difference to generate a combined angular velocity;
comparing the combined angular velocity to the threshold;
responsive to the combined angular velocity being above the threshold, adjusting the angular velocity of a motor of the rotating platform to reduce the first difference; and
responsive to the combined angular velocity being below the threshold, adjusting the angular velocity of the motor of the gimbal to reduce the first difference.
15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , further including instructions that when executed cause the processor to perform operations including:
detecting a first angular position and a second angular position of an object relative to an orientation of the camera, the first angular position detected at a first time and the second angular position detected at a second time;
determining an angular velocity of the object based on the first angular position, the second angular position, the first time, and the second time; and
adjusting the angular velocity of the motor of the rotating platform to reduce a second difference between an angular velocity of the rotating platform and the angular velocity of the object.
16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , further including instructions that when executed cause the processor to perform operations including:
determining a target angular position of the motor of the gimbal based on an angular position of the motor of the gimbal, the second angular position of the object, and an angular position of the camera; and
adjusting the angular position of the motor of the gimbal to reduce a difference between the angular position of the motor of the gimbal and the target angular position of the motor.
17. A camera system, comprising:
an imaging device;
a gimbal coupled to the imaging device;
a rotating platform coupled to the gimbal;
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the memory includes instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to:
determine a variance velocity between a camera velocity and a target velocity;
compare the variance velocity to a threshold velocity; and
responsive to the variance velocity not exceeding the threshold velocity, adjust a velocity of a motor of the gimbal to reduce the variance velocity.
18. The camera system of claim 17 , further comprising:
a rotating platform coupled to the gimbal, wherein the memory further includes instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to:
responsive to the variance velocity exceeding the threshold velocity, adjust a velocity of a motor of the rotating platform to reduce the variance velocity.
19. The camera system of claim 18 , wherein the memory further includes instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to:
responsive to the variance velocity not exceeding the threshold velocity, determine if the rotating platform is stationary;
responsive to the rotating platform being stationary, adjust the velocity of the motor of the gimbal to reduce the variance velocity; and
responsive to the rotating platform not being stationary, decelerate the rotating platform and adjust the velocity of the motor of the gimbal to reduce an offset between the velocity of the motor of the gimbal and the target velocity.
20. The camera system of claim 17 , wherein the target velocity is suitable for tracking an object.