gps enabled camera

john_draws · 02-17-2005, 12:42 AM

Just blowin around Tomshardware today and just thought this was interesting

Chicago (IL) - Nikon today launched the D2Hs professionals digital SLR that comes with 802.11g connectivity and GPS support. The company also introduced four new digital consumer cameras covering the $200 to $500 segment.

http://www.tomshardware.com/hardnews...16_120358.html

Not that i need a $2000 camera but do think you could snap pics with gps data and then somehow use the pics in your gps application, kind of like the Keyhole software.

I know nobady is really going to it but just thought was kinda cool.

Maybe a google search on gps enabled video cameras to record everthing i drive by. Well time for google.

later

Grimey · 02-17-2005, 02:52 PM

Lol yea I read about that too. Pretty crazy what they are coming up with. Give it a year or so and you'll be able to get one for $100 bucks. By then they will have cameras built into your eyes that take pictures after you blink and wirelessly send it to your computer and print out a list of prints for you when you get back to your house.

Good find

kevlar · 03-14-2005, 11:46 PM

I'm writing a small app to do just that, but which inexpensive USB webcams, and other usb-based video devices. I might add in DSLR control support (USB 1.1 and 2.0) eventually, since I have a Canon Digital Rebel (300D) and a 20D.

As of now, the app opens mdi windows (windows inside a main window) for each video source it automatically detects as connected. You can save snapshots to disk of any video source, or have it take snapshots of all videos sources at once (and then you have the option to merge them side by side into a single image for easy storage if you want... eventually, I might write some panostitching in).

I'm writing the GPS connection and parsing code as we speak. Once that's done, I'll make it add gps exif data to all the pictures. And then GPS track logging and uploading to a website/database (with the pics too).

Main purpose of this program is that I mounted many cameras around in my car aiming out to the street, and I want to catalog pictures of downtown areas for use in some of my other projects, rather than have to take pictures of each place by hand. There are plenty of uses though, like being able to visualize your daily route.

Anyone interested in this?

kiltjim · 03-15-2005, 01:32 AM

I think it would be a cool idea. That way you could (with a ton more programming) construct 3-D images of a street or cityjust by driving though it, and hitting record.

Chairboy · 03-15-2005, 02:01 AM

Very cool. Here's the data I would like to be coded in a picture:
1. Date/Time (easy, most cameras already do)
2. GPS coordinates (what we're talking about)
3. Digital compass reading (the direction the camera is pointing)
4. Tilt angle indication (the degree to which the camera is tilted. Use a piezo gyro, they are down to IC size).
5. A universal notation for the width of the current field (eg, to figure out how far it was zoomed in).

With this data, you could build a 3d Mosaic of... anything. This data would be eminently mappable over any terrain data to provide fierce levels of precision.

kevlar · 03-15-2005, 06:43 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by Chairboy

Very cool. Here's the data I would like to be coded in a picture:
1. Date/Time (easy, most cameras already do)
2. GPS coordinates (what we're talking about)
3. Digital compass reading (the direction the camera is pointing)
4. Tilt angle indication (the degree to which the camera is tilted. Use a piezo gyro, they are down to IC size).
5. A universal notation for the width of the current field (eg, to figure out how far it was zoomed in).

With this data, you could build a 3d Mosaic of... anything. This data would be eminently mappable over any terrain data to provide fierce levels of precision.

Chairboy, features noted, I'll have features 1, 2, 3, and 5 added in. Although I'm not sure how to get that information yet. I'd do 4 if you make the circuit for me.

Oh, by the way, I smell the ability to construct your own street-level picture based navigation in the near future

Although sharing your image data with others online would be so damn difficult (huge images).

Any other features we're forgetting?

KingB · 03-19-2005, 12:13 PM

I would be interested in a dummed down version of what you are talking about..

Originally Posted by Chairboy
Very cool. Here's the data I would like to be coded in a picture:
1. Date/Time (easy, most cameras already do)
2. GPS coordinates (what we're talking about)

I only need those two options... Has anyone done this before?

I have seen gps_cam http://www.geocities.com/gps2sms/_fi...am/gps-cam.htm

But I'm still looking for other options...

I just want to mount a USB cam, and a USB gps in a little box on my dash and have my carputer record a snap every minute or so.. I just want little pictures so that I can record thousands of them..

I would also like to find a program that would auto detect when there is a Wi-Fi signal, connect to it, and FTP the latest pic to my website! (Or am I dreaming)

KingB

Chairboy · 03-19-2005, 12:30 PM

I could make a circuit for #4, sure, but it might not be practical for large scale. I've built things that sample the ADXL202 accelerometer for the drone/autopilot I built a few years ago, but it was a real pain in the circuits. I'll look around to see if there's anything premade that can be adapted cheaply.

In regards to the GPS coordinates in the pictures, it would be really useful if the coordinates were in machine readable format. Eg, use one of the non-displayed information fields in the image to store the coordinates so that you wouldn't have to mess with OCR or manually type in the coordinates. If they were overlayed onto the picture AS WELL, that would be fine, as long as there's the machine readable version embedded.

PS, for the purpose of carputing, the tilt sensor really isn't needed. It would be something I'd want in a handheld digital camera. Also, the idea of sharing the data by long/lat would be supergreen. Imagine the possibilities...

KingB · 06-12-2005, 10:19 AM

Hey Kevlar,

Any news on this project?

kingb

Cheekz185 · 06-12-2005, 04:44 PM

yeah kepp us posted....seems like an interesting project

xBrady · 06-12-2005, 04:53 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by KingB

I would be interested in a dummed down version of what you are talking about..

Originally Posted by Chairboy
Very cool. Here's the data I would like to be coded in a picture:
1. Date/Time (easy, most cameras already do)
2. GPS coordinates (what we're talking about)

I only need those two options... Has anyone done this before?

I have seen gps_cam http://www.geocities.com/gps2sms/_fi...am/gps-cam.htm

But I'm still looking for other options...

I just want to mount a USB cam, and a USB gps in a little box on my dash and have my carputer record a snap every minute or so.. I just want little pictures so that I can record thousands of them..

I would also like to find a program that would auto detect when there is a Wi-Fi signal, connect to it, and FTP the latest pic to my website! (Or am I dreaming)

KingB

Buy me a web cam and I'll add it to the GPS app I have in my sig.

wesko · 11-05-2006, 12:21 PM

If you need a way store store a trail while driving, you could try the GPS2SMS option. Later you can add pictures. You can also import a track log from your GPS to the web.

Let's have a try on www.poi66.com, e.g.:
A couple of oldies driving through Europe: http://www.poi66.com/maps/show_album?album=famverweij

wplate · 10-11-2007, 08:33 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by kevlar

I'm writing a small app to do just that, but which inexpensive USB webcams, and other usb-based video devices.
<snip>
Anyone interested in this?

Did anything happen with this application? I'm looking for this very thing.

Is your source available, Kevlar? I'm looking for a Mac app instead of Windows.

Thanks!