Pocket PC used in motion control

[Jason Dunn]

<a href="http://www.jacksonwoodburn.com/">http://www.jacksonwoodburn.com/</a><br /><br />I have to admit that I don't particularly grasp exactly what this is - perhaps a cinematographer reading this could explain it to me? Still, the basic premise is clear: the Pocket PC can be used in place of expensive, dedicated computing devices.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/motioncontrol.jpg" /><br /><br />"London-based motion-control specialist Jackson Woodburn Controls has introduced the Revolver System, which turns an ordinary geared head into a motion-control system - all controlled from a standard Pocket PC. The system fits ArriHeads 1 and 2, Panahead, Worral, Moy and others. The servo system is quickly fitted in place of the geared head's hand wheels. Each hand wheel consists of a servomotor and its electronics, a small LCD display and two control push buttons. Another small box is mounted to the head and connects inline to the lens motor and its remote-focus unit, found in such systems as Preston, Scorpio and Arri, to control the lens functions.<br /><br />Another box, the Communication Hub and Camera Simulator, communicates with the Compaq iPAQ Pocket PC that runs Windows CE 3.0. As with traditional motion control, camera moves can be remotely controlled and repeated, and key frames can be recorded using the iPAQ. A playlist of recordings can be read by the iPAQ for playback selection, and any move can be selected from the list. Individual moves can also be uploaded to the iPAQ for saving as a Windows format file for export to CGI systems."<br /><br />Source: American Cinematographer Magazine, July 2002 Issue.

[mookie123]

Wow this is very cool, but why don't they use E740? it has built in WiFi.

with that they can automatically network the PDA without loading the command to each iPAQ. This will tie the entire camera's into one big network that can be control with high precission.

mm......who need camera men, if you have PPC.

[dyei2]

8O motion control with an ipaq, now that's slick.. :werenotworthy: ..i agree that a e740 would have been better, then you would need to have a receiver on the head, along with another pocket pc located there on the head to translate the signal coming in to be routed into the servos...

this is a very slick device, what exactly is it? well, the ipaq basically controls all of the movement of the camera when on this tripod head. Controls all pan, and tilt functions... ..this is helpful to achieve the perfect fluid pan, and because it's servo controlled by the pocketpc, it can repeat the same exact pan and tilt over and over and over and over..
yeah, i can see this replacing a cameraman but only for an engineer.. ...i would love to get my hands on this puppy.

what i would like to see is a wireless monitor for my toshiba.. ...so i could see the image from the viewfinder on my handheld wirelessly. :way to go:

[brianchris]

Another amazing applications of PocketPC's in the real world!

Motion Control was elegantly defined by dyei2. One thing he didn't mention is Motion Control is used frequently in special effects. For example, when a "ghost" in a scene walks across a lawn, and the camera pans with the ghost, at one point the ghost disapears. They shoot it one way with the actor playing the ghost walking all the way across the screen, then, they shoot it with the *exact* same camera movements (ala Motion Control), but without the actor walking. Then, in editing, they can dissolve those two scenes together, and the "ghost" seems to disappear.

Same technique for panning shots where day turns night, etc.

-Brian

[DavidHorn]

That looks to be a CNC milling machine... nothing to do with cinematograpy at all, I'm afraid. It would be used to cut elaberate shapes out of metal or a similar material. The iPAQ could prove quite useful when it comes to the interface with CAD/CAM.

[nirav28]

PocketPC being used to guide smart bombs into chimneys by the U.S military...

[Jason Dunn]

this is a very slick device, what exactly is it? well, the ipaq basically controls all of the movement of the camera when on this tripod head. Controls all pan, and tilt functions... ..this is helpful to achieve the perfect fluid pan, and because it's servo controlled by the pocketpc, it can repeat the same exact pan and tilt over and over and over and over..

Aha - thanks for the great explanation! :D

[Jason Dunn]

That looks to be a CNC milling machine... nothing to do with cinematograpy at all, I'm afraid.

I'm not one to argue (I know nothing about this area), but since it was mentioned in the American Cinematographer Magazine, July 2002 Issue, I assumed it was related somehow. :-)

[mvoosten]

As is described above. Specificly used to allow precise camera and system control for stop or go motion animation, time lapse and variable interval shooting.

[popealien]

I'd love to get ahold of a setup like this. I work on stop motion animation & design, and this could be an ideal low cost solution for camera control. I'm just hoping (probably in vain) that they're going to have a low price for this camera control setup. Very cool!

[mookie123]

Have you ever played with one of those amateur telescope set up? The high end model has precission motion control of some sort too, and it can be controled with iPAQ. It can goes as low as $2-300 on some models with this motion control.

just hack out the telescope and replace it with camera. (well okay easier said than done)

here is some German astronomy club that teach you how to connect 2 precission motor to PPC. but the software is astronomy. so.

http://www.bisque.com/support/telescopes/Telescope/Astro_Physics_GTO_German_Equatorial_Mount.htm