Kinetic Cam - Stardance

Ship #1 Pending review

@Pranav on Kinetic Cam · about 1 month ago

I made KineticCam, a portable two-axis gimbal that uses an ESP32, servos, and an IMU to help keep the camera stable while recording. I designed the full case, power bank holder, camera stand, servo mounts, and added a standard camera screw so the camera can be attached securely. The hardest part was fitting all of the electronics and moving parts into a small design while fixing servo spacing and tolerence problems. I am most proud of how the design slowly became a complete pan-and-tilt system instead of just a basic camera mount. People testing it should make sure the camera and servos can move seperate from each other, check that its balanced, and test how stable it stay while both axes are moving.

3 devlogs
4h build

Video of Project → See source code →

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@Pranav on Kinetic Cam · about 1 month ago

43m 35s logged

I worked on the blue camera support today and fixed a few more servo spacing and tolerance problems. I adjusted the holes and gaps so the parts should fit together better when its printed. I also added the camera stand and a camera screw so the GoPro can attach securely to the moving frame.I added the IMU to the design so the system can measure the cameras angle and movement. The hardest part was fitting the camera mount, servo, and IMU together without making the top section to large.

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@Pranav on Kinetic Cam · about 1 month ago

1h 14m 29s logged

I added a second degree of freedom to KineticCam, so the camera can now tilt up and down as well as turn left and right. I designed a new bracket to hold the camera and connect it to another servo above the main case. The hardest part was fitting the servo, camera mount, and moving parts together without making the top too large.I also fixed a few random problems in the button case and adjusted some tolerences so the parts should fit together better when printed. I made sure the camera has enough room to move without hitting the frame.

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@Pranav on Kinetic Cam · about 2 months ago

2h 5m 7s logged

I finalized the first basic internal enclosure for my 3D printed KineticCam GoPro tracker and 3D printed a v1 to get the sizing, wiring, and fits correct. The device uses an ESP32 microcontroller to control an SG90 servo that can be used for smoother panning motions while recording a camera. The enclosure is in 2 separate parts where the ESP32 fits in the lower compartment and the servo mount and camera mount fits on the top of the device.

After the parts came off the 3D printer, I tested how the wires would feed into the system and how everything would fit inside. I noticed here that I shouldn’t be using power directly from the ESP32 for the servo as it needs an independent 5V supply. I’m planning on using a cylindrical power bank for the supply to keep the device portable.

I also designed a separate power bank holder and a servo top mounting bracket. These will also keep the device very compact and stable while it is moving. The prototype was a good test for the layout, the power, and the mounting method of the tracker before I make a fully refined version.