Wheelchair Cam, First Few Tests At Linux.Conf.Au 2010
I'd be wanting to do something like this for a while, but never got around to it. My attending the linux.conf.au 2010 in Wellington this week seemed like the right place to get going :)
The problem had been the question of how to mount the Flip Mino camera I have. I couldn't hold it in my hand, as both hands are needed to manoeuvre the wheelchair. I had a moment of inspiration while looking at the neoprene can holder given as part of the swag for the conference. I borrowed a pair of scissors and some duct tape and then put together a first prototype.
Armed with this, I zoomed around a ramp and stairs between the Michael Fowler Centre and the Wellington Civic Centre.
Note: While there is sound on these videos, it is only environmental sound, hence no sound required to watch.
This was hillarious as there was a sign "strictly prohibiting skateboarding". I figured I wasn't using a skateboard, so all was fine. Up and down ramps at speed. Bouncing down steps, the lot.
Then, I went up Cuba street, at the corner of Dixon. Placed the Flip in its "chic" holder, and went down the street!!!
Not quite enough people on the street to make it really fun and impressive! But it was a good first run.
The next thing I did was to zoom from the hotel to a restaurant right around the corner.
Not much there, except for a bit of wheelchair "gliding": Wet wheels, slick polished pavement - the slightest shift sideways makes you slide around.
The final bit of wheelchair cam activity that week saw me go back up Cuba street, and film going down. Lots of people this time!
Couple close calls on that one! And couple linux.conf.au attendees towards the end. Sorry guys, dunno who you were.
There will be more in the future, I'm sure :)
8 comments
The slip-sliding effect was interesting. This sort of cam setup might be a useful way for testing venue accessibility and being able to show the owner what you're talking about. Maybe with another cam doing a simultaneous wide angle. Also, you might want to engineer a spring-based holder to suppress vertical shimmer from rough under-wheel surfaces. But for a bit of hastily prepared Gaff tape, not a bad job. Lovely image quality!
We were discussing doing a live streaming of image & sound with @zaffle over lunch yesterday :) That led us to consider doing the equivalent of Google streetview mounted on my wheelchair. I couldn't get in touch with any of the Google folks at LCA2010, but certainly something to look at.
I do have shock absorption on my front caster, so the vertical shaking is already reduce a bucketload, but it would be good to figure out how to reduce more of it. I'll be making a 2nd prototype of the holder over the next couple weeks, without worrying about vertical shimmer (unless you have ideas for me!). So Model #3 should be good :)
The Gorrilapod looks perfect for this. Otherwise I used this cheap hack for mounting on my bike.
You might prefer the quick release one not unlike a tripod though.
Looking forward to Wheelchair Cam 2.0 beta and subsequent release candidates.
I do have a gorillapod, and it's wonderful for no hand filming :) Not sure it would be quite solid enough to support the camera with the amount of vibration on the wheelchair though.
I have an idea for the next prototype, which shall be documented appropriately, probably put up on instructables. The one thing I want to avoid is a (semi)permanent mount like the two solutions you've pointed to. Great stuff there, but on the wheelchair, better to be able to remove easily.
Hack on, my friend!
