Just finished my single owl with dashboard to test for our vineyard sprayer. Working great. My project only needs 3 owls. Ordering the parts for the other 2 but still can’t find any stock on the global shutter camera. I used the HQ camera for this one. Is this still my next best option?
Max speeds for me will be 7-8mph, but I want to trigger on very small weeds up to the suckers growing from bottom of vine trunks.
Nice to hear it’s progressing! Make sure to use the display-bug branch there are a few fixes there.
HQ camera is still a good option for the C mount 6mm lens. 12MP compared to the 1.58MP so you will get higher resolution. The trade off is that the pixel size is much smaller than the 3.45um of the IMX296.
Did you check out the innomaker versions? There are some in stock it seems of the IMX296 on Amazon. The Waveshare option looks ok as well.
Thanks! I’ve struggled through the process. I don’t quite understand this stuff…I’m just ok at following directions. Ha!
i didn’t realize the alternatives would be a drop in replacement. Would you lean towards the Imx296 or the higher MP of the hq camera? The cost difference is not an issue. This project will already save me quite a bit on the first spray pass.
One thing I noticed. I don’t think the hardware list shows a usb drive for the owl. Took me a few days to realize why I wasn’t getting the camera feed to the controller until I saw a note about needing that. I’ll also check the Display bug branch.
Would really appreciate any suggestions on how to make it easier! Anything in the instructions that could be made better?
The USB problem is now fixed in the display-bug branch after @pvouzis suggested it. Was a hangover from when I bricked an SD card after saving too many images to it. I will pull that branch into main, but I need to fix a few small things first. To use it just do:
git clone -b display-bug https://github.com/geezacoleman/openweedlocator owl
As for the cameras, I haven’t tried the Waveshare myself, but the drawings look to be the same. So mechanically it should fit (Pi Global Shutter | Waveshare.
For the Waveshare you do have to modify the boot config file, but it’s pretty straightforward, just follow the directions in the Waveshare link above.
I also now have an Android app you can control your OWLs from, let me know if you’re interested, it’s just an .apk file I can share.
I ordered 2 of the imx296 from amazon to try out. I’ll run those on the outboard cameras and compare the detection ability.
That fix was how I figured out I was missing the USB. On the hardware list for the compact owl, it is not listed. Just the SD card is.
I always like starting a thread or two just to even document the issues I have had. That way anybody in the future might be able to search and find the fix.
Does the Android app replace the dashboard? Or does it give the ability to change settings, etc. without accessing each owl’s terminal? I could grab a cheap android tablet if needed. I’m utilizing a wired network for the 3 owls to the controller.
Just received our Innomaker IMX296 and they have worked well for us too. Only ones that are really available at the moment. Arducam are also now sold out - chip shortages seem to be hitting everyone.
Yeh - the app replaces the dashboard currently, and I am building it out so it will work as a controller for multiple OWLs, but that isn’t yet implemented. You can change settings on it as on the dashboard and save those without needing to use the terminal. Which controller screen are you currently using?
My Innomaker cameras and everything else just arrived so I can build out the other two Owls.
I am using a raspberry pi 5 with the touchscreen 2 currently as the controller.
That would be awesome to make changes like that. On the controller, I mistyped the GPS settings, so I wasn’t sure if I could just make that single change or if I have to restart the whole process.