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Is it possible to control SimpleBGC using Labview?
  • MCKim
    Hi, I'm on a project of making two laser-pointing devices which can automatically direct each other.
    Each device has one laser pointer and one CMOS camera, so that they can detect laser from the other device.
    Once their CMOS detect laser light, they can decide the direction and angle to rotate.

    For rotation+stabilization module(some might call it "Pan-tilt unit") I'm considering using SimpleBGC-based gimbals and here's the deal:
    all of the other part of the SW(image capturing+detecting laser+angle calc.) has been done on Labview.
    So it will be a easy work if I can send target position (or angle to roate) to simpleBGC (device or GUI) using Labview.
    Is it possible? I tried to google, but I couldn't find much info..

    Any advice or comments on the project are very welcome :)
  • alexmosalexmos
    Hello,
    Unfortunately, we have no informatin about is it possible or not. Our company did not work with LabView, and we don't provide any drivers for connectivity. If you know how to program serial communication in LabView, you can try to implement our binary protocol, called "Serial API", which is pretty simple in message structure. We have documentation and examples of parser in C-language here : https://www.basecamelectronics.com/serialapi/
  • MCKim
    Thanks for the fast response!!
    I'll look for how to implement serial communication in Labview.
    (Even if it doesn't work, I think I can still use Arduino between Labview and Basecam board :)

    I have another question about the way the algorithm works if I may.

    My understanding of closed loop control of SimpleBGC is like below:
    1. Board's sensors detect absolute angle of the board -> 2. Board calculates required angle to rotate
    -> 3. Board orders motor to rotate (detection of the current angle is done by the board) -> back to 1.
    Here, encoders inside the motors are not needed: which means I definitely missed some steps.
    Could you explain how does the control system works and fill the missing steps?


    One last question : Do you think it is a nice idea to use Gimbal as a Pan-tilt unit?

    I thought so, because I thought it can rotate and stabilize the system at the same time.
    But one wondered about the Gimbal's capability of precise rotation, as we wish the accuracy would be in the order of 0.1 deg.
    Also, unlike stabilization, rotation requires more power from the motors as they have to go against the inertia.
    Will the system work well if I use motors with enough power?

    I'm sorry for asking too many questions..
    But more I think about it, things I need to consider keep popping up and I couldn't resist asking..
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