NEW AND IMPROVED Surveyor SRV-1 webcam rover
December 4th, 2007 by DaveThe immensely popular Surveyor SRV-1 has just received some major upgrades! The tracked base remains unchanged, but the electronics have gotten a complete overhaul. Wi-Fi has replaced the slow and sometimes unreliable ZigBee wireless link, the camera can now grab video at a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024, an Analog Devices Blackfin processor has replaced the comparatively puny ARM7 processor, and they've even added laser pointers for distance sensing.
Wi-Fi:
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The SRV-1 now benefits from the extended range and faster data rates of Wi-Fi. All you need is an 802.11 b/g wireless LAN card and you're ready to start spying on the neighbors.
Camera:
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Speaking of spying on your neighbors, this 1.3 Megapixel camera is roughly on par with most cell phone cameras, with a maximum resolution of 1280 x 1024. Unlike your cell phone camera, this one’s going to be riding on tank treads.
Main Processor:
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Here it is, fully assembled. The red board on top carries the 1000MIPS 500MHz Analog Devices Blackfin BF537 processor. [Editor’s note: When I was 17, I built my first computer around the 500MHz Pentium, which was the top of the line at the time. Now you can get all that power on a circuit board that’s smaller than a playing card. Crazy, huh?]
Lasers:
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Fact: lasers make anything cooler. The new SRV-1 uses two parallel lasers as a low-cost range-finding system. Try not to blind your friends/family members/pets.
Links:
Purchase the new and improved SRV-1
More information (Manufacturer’s site)
