Standalone Image Processing Engine Known as AVRcam

Overview

The project uses the Atmel ATmega8 microcontroller to create the standalone processing engine AVRcam that is capable of visually tracking 8 objects of 8 different user-defined colors at 27 frames per second.

Explanation

A user interface is provided by the system over a standard serial port and through a well-defined protocol. The image information provided to the user in real time by the user interface includes bounding box of each tracked object, center point of each tracked object, color of each tracked object, and number of currently tracked objects. The AVRcam enables mobile robots to perceive their environment in a high capability package, low-power consumption, and small form factor by allowing the user to take snapshots of its current field of view.

The system can be configured by the platform provided by the PC-based application AVRcamVIEW. The standard RS232 port on any PC is used to interface the application to the AVRcam. The real-time tracking results are displayed by the AVRcamVIEW to the user. By clicking on the colors of interest, the color map can be set up by the user to be used by the AVRcam once a snapshot is taken.