Gyro Camera (mount)??

Searching from VFRD and other market website but unable to find that. Let's take a look on this video: The camera seems stable and horizontal all the time. Anyone knows what type of the camera or camera mounting kit which could help the video looks like taken from a gyro-cam? And where to buy it? Thank you.

Can't help you on what to buy but damn that was impressive!!!

Those have been around for awhile but doesn't appear to have hit the consumer market just yet.

There are some available for sailboats by HorizonTrue but they may be a bit over-built for motorcycles not to mention very pricey.

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Yeah. Seems to be that one. But it's more expensive than the camera I planned to mount on... haizz....

So I had to build one.   I think this would work great at sailboat speeds, but the cornering loads on a motorcycle are going to throw the balancing weight out and have the camera leaning into the turn also. (I suspect)   I have not used it yet.  I'll try to get out this weekend and test. Ideally, the balancing weight would be set at the point so the center of mass of the camera/weight system is at the center of the shaft.  Then the counter weight would not be thrown out and the whole thing would pivot about the axle.  But with seals in the bearing I have too much stiction for it to work this way.  I may knock out the seals and wash out the grease for super low friction, then play some more. I use a RAM ball system so that is what mount I have on the bearing housing.   I do not have any damping other than the grease in the bearings.  I just wanted to knock something out quick to play around with.

Very cool Lee!  Glad to see someone jumping in with a little R&D.  Can't wait to see a test video.

I've had this design in mind for a while but I haven't had time to cobble something together not to mention I'm hopeless when it comes to welding aluminum.

[image: Posted Image]

Great ideas folks!
I would suppose you guys need  to consider "very heavy" balancing weight in comparison with the camera's weight so it makes the camera stays with less unwanted movement.
Thanks for sharing your ideas.
(so the outcomes should not so much expensive huh!)

I don't see where the wt.(gravity)is going to overcome the centrifugal force of the turn, what I'm seeing is the wt will stay inline with the bike, to no avail??????

I believe those options work well.
The dutchinterceptor's idea may face with friction issue as there are three contact points (at the three wheels) and there are not much room for you to put the balancing weight.
The option from lee 2002 simpler and it seems more realiable. Just need to make the proper mount (instead of your hand), sufficient balancing weight, and the distance from the weight to the bearing must very much longer than the distance from the camera to the bearing.
Greasing/applying lub oil well to bearing prior to ride :tour:

I'll try to get out this weekend for a daytime pleasure ride....

But, like I said,

[image: View Post]Lee 2002, on 02 September 2011 - 10:27 AM, said:

the cornering loads on a motorcycle are going to throw the balancing weight out and have the camera leaning into the turn also.

Ideally, the balancing weight would be set at the point so the center of mass of the camera/weight system is at the center of the shaft.  Then the counter weight would not be thrown out and the whole thing would pivot about the axle.  
But, if the center of mass of the camera/weight system is truly centered on the shaft then the system is just as likely to be happy upside down or sideways or any other clock position.   So, in order to keep the camera upright the bias has to be toward the weight.... which means that the weight will swing out in a corner and tilt the camera with the motorcycle.

I suspect that the video posted at the top from Moto GP is some form of a true gyroscopic or powered self leveling mount.

Still, I'll try to mount it up and get out for a ride this weekend.

Ideally, the balancing weight would be set at the point so the center of mass of the camera/weight system is at the center of the shaft. Then the counter weight would not be thrown out and the whole thing would pivot about the axle.

@Lee 2002
Choose a very mini/compact camera for mounting would be gud.
You can make the adjustment weight as per my below drawing for easier balancing:

[image: Posted Image]
(C.O.C: Center of Gravity)

See the video, that's what I built. Instead of an adjustment balance weight, I have a slotted camera mount so that I can move the camera center of mass to center. That is why the camera appears to be mounted way off to the side.

Got your point.
Hope there would not many holes would be made... hehe...

any tests from this? Interested in it for a watercraft application

Ahem, .... 80% of my riding is in the pitch black of night. I have not tested it yet.

There is a prospect of a sunlit ride this weekend as a VFRD member will be coming to my area from out of state to ride the Flint Hills of Kansas (yes, we have some roads that are worth visiting, OK, two that are worth visiting) If schedules work out I will try to join up with him for a ride.

I have no doubt that it would work well to keep a level horizion for a rolling watercraft. I'm sure that cornering watercraft will cause the camera to lean just as I expect it to do on my test ride.

Got your point.
Hope there would not many holes would be made... hehe...

Speaking of holes, keep your eyes to the sky tomorrow, there's a bus size satellite falling, and your Country is in the path(they don't know where it going to hit though).
So to keep on subject, if you find it look for some gyro's in the mess(but I hope it doesn't hit peeps or property).

GoPro makes a chest mount very well would could have been that, I've seen videos from skiers and snowboarders that are just as smooth.

http://gopro.com/cam...-mount-harness/

GoPro makes a chest mount very well would could have been that, I've seen videos from skiers and snowboarders that are just as smooth.

http://gopro.com/cam...-mount-harness/

It absolutely not the one. I have one also.

How about adapting this...

https://www.buygyrob...chan=G&data1=TM

How about adapting this...

https://www.buygyrob...chan=G&data1=TM

Knife, It's really interesting one. Hmm.. may be buy one for study...

OK. I finally got out today for some pleasure riding.....

The self leveling camera mount leans into the corners with me... It does not keep level due to the pendulum. Any mount that uses weights to keep the camera upright will lean into the turn.

Unless a true gyro is used there will always have to be some amount of weight imbalance to keep the camera upright.


Cloverleaf @ 5:45

[video: http://youtube.com/embed/K9hsIY6Mj50?html5=1&fs=1]

Oooh wow! Rock and roll! Lee, thanks for the R&D.

Ok that pretty much sums it up but what about more resistance, more weight, and move the weight closer to the pivot point so less chance of the pendulum action?

I can balance the whole unit about the pivot point using the weight...... Example: the camera will balance upright, sideways, upside down or wherever I position it. With it in that state, the camera would maintain level (or whatever position it started in) with frictionless bearings. I don't have frictionless bearings, (and damping would add more friction) so each turn would have the camera rotating some amount with the turn.

In reality, with center of mass about the pivot point, the camera would be just as happy upside-down or sideways or wherever it happened to be placed. The wind would have it spinning like a windmill. We need the pendulum to keep the picture right-side-up... but that same pendulum kills us in the turns by swinging out and leaning into the turn with the bike.

We need a true gyro... Spinning mass that resists motion.

I'm of the opinion that the "gyro stabilized" video that we're seeing on TV is electronically generated.


My opinion and thoughts below:

I believe that the camera is solidly mounted and has a field of view of (for example) 1000 pixels. Inside, the camera has a bank angle sensor that encodes it's reading into the video transmission. At the control center a computer samples the middle 800 pixels and rotates it to level based on the encoded signal from the bank angle sensor. By sampling only a portion of the entire video feed they are able to avoid the corners of the video being trunicated when the video is rotated.



We really need Larry to take some up close photos of the video cameras at the next MotoGP he attends. I suspect the level camera shot in MotoGp is electronically generated, not mechanically rotated. I suspect that the level camera shot in the OP's video in post #1 is a tank mounted gyro (spinning mass) due to it being mounted on the tank where there is plenty of room to swing and rotate.

I'm sure you're correct about the stabilization being computer controlled. Smart Phone technology seems to be there already. Brief glimpses of the cameras on the bikes show them to be quite small. Too small for any typical gyro. Larry, get your tape measure ready.




Ran across this shot while searching for gyros. Maybe you could get this guy to ride with you . :laugh:




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You couldn't tell from the video..... .but after Dad waved he hopped onto the back, shorts, T-shirt, and Crocks and held the camera for the remainder of the ride. The whole self-leveling mount thing was just a joke.... Dad's not too steady these days.

It's really great, Lee. You have materialized the idea and found out the issues.
I haven't turned to the practices yet as I don't have my workshop and also not much time for it.
---------------
Just saw on youtube, the guy did not use a Gyro-cam, but the final video still has the "gyro effect" - all he need is the software and time to mod the video. See the video and also his description below:

[video: http://youtube.com/embed/c7Cz3YCqlzk?html5=1&fs=1]

Long time... almost forget the Gyro-Cam idea, until getting to see it again on latest race:

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On board Álvaro Bautista:
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Really cool...........

(photos taken from my TV)

Search for gyro camera stabilizers for model helicopters and airplanes. There are some DIY plans using a helicopter gyro circuit to run a servo, and even complete systems. I was looking into this myself as I was interested in doing something similar to the self leveling light BMW was coming out with on one of their motorcycles.

Check out this guys setup. It's similar to using a helicopter gyro to control a servo, though I think he may be using a custom programmable gyro as he mentions editing the code a few times.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aquinasv

I just bought a Feiyu G4, this is a quick test of me running around a car park with no attempt made to keep it steady (it looks sped up but I assure you, it's not):

http://a.pomf.se/mjukoh.webm

The residual shaking is due to lateral and vertical translation, which the gyro cannot fully compensate for. Much better results can be achieved by trying to move smoothly. I'm taking it to Europe at the end of this month and have ordered a 3D printed clamp so it can be used directly with gopro mounts. The main disadvantage is that there's no waterproofing but it shouldn't be hard with some planning to place mounts that allow decent placement of both the waterpoof case and the gyro.

This guy is making them and selling them through a German race team:

https://www.facebook...MotorradGyrocam

I think they run in the $200-$300 range. They use the same technology as the quad rotor folks are using these days (gyros + accelerometers + gimbal motor)

For a DIY approach, here's some stuff I worked on a few years ago:

http://revenanteagle.../gopro-gyrocam/

My buddy from college (www.kenyon.edu) is a talking head on the TV in Atlanta and uses this (G3 Ultra)  to stabilize shots with his HD go-pro.  He also uses UAV's as well...

I got a demo of the G3 Ultra the weekend before last of this and it does a great job for being hand-held.  Don't know how long the batteries last...

A few years later and there are quite a few options available, like these:

[video: https://youtube.com/embed/rBzSPdsVfpY?html5=1&fs=1]

Awesome!

Waiting for the pricing down a bit on the market. I forgot about this DIY for a while already as I knew that people out there working on it professionally.

Thanks for the vid, Rosso. Better if he could have a little time on a cornering motorcycle :comp13:

A few years later and there are quite a few options available, like these:

[video: https://youtube.com/embed/rBzSPdsVfpY?html5=1&fs=1]

I'm not sure if this one has been mentioned:

http://www.pegdownra...om/gyrocam.html

a little elbow grease and some solder and some cash for screws and plastic and you're good to go!...not bad

I'm not sure if this one has been mentioned:

http://www.pegdownra...om/gyrocam.html

I don't think so. It's great info. Thanks!