Velleman K8000 - [K8000 Applications] - [K8000 Webcam Control]
This page describes a remote controller for any webcam, using the K8000 to do the controlling. The webcam can be watched via a simple HTML page, where you get a real time video stream on your screen. Also 2 buttons are available, to move the camera to the left and the right. Doing so, you can choose what you want to see.
needed hardware
Of course, you need to own a webcam to be able to run this application. Here, I'm using a logitech QuickCAM camera, which isn't expensive. It is connected to the computer via USB.
Other hardware is required if you want to be able to move the WebCAM. Because this site is about the K8000, only K8000 accessories will be used. To move the CAM, I've used the K8005 stepper motor card. This motor isn't very powerful, but it's good enough to move the camera. I've looked for a way, to connect the webcam to the motor.
In the picture below, you can see an image of the webcam. It is mounted on a little piece of wood. The motor is attached with 2 screws into the wood; the camera is connected to the motor by a little cylinder.
needed software
The software is a little bit more complex to realize. You should be able to access it over web pages.
The first step was the development of a system, that allows you to rotate the camera to the left or the right. I've chosen to design a little webserver, so you can give use HTML commands to the K8000. The server shows only one page as output. On this page, there are 2 links: one for LEFT, one for RIGHT.
The second step was looking for software which allows you to stream webcam images to a web page. I did a little search, and found the "streamee" software. This software is in German, but I managed to get it started. This software acts like a server for video streaming. So this server runs on your own computer. the software also uploads a page to your web space. This is the page users should open to watch your webcam. The video images on this page are linked to your own computer. (streamee adds your IP to the page it uploads).
A short review: you'll need 2 different webservers to run this system. One to control the K8000, the other one to serve video streams.
Configuration & setup
references & downloads