Pixy (CMUcam5) Smart Vision Sensor - Object Tracking Camera for Arduino, Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black
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Product Specifications
- Robot vision made easy - press the button to teach Pixy an object.
- Simplify your programming - receive just the objects you’re interested in.
- Use whatever controller you want - includes software libraries for Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and BeagleBone Black.
- Communicates via one of several interfaces: SPI, I2C, UART, USB or analog/digital output
Configuration utility runs on Windows, MacOS and Linux
Product Description
Pixy is a smart vision sensor you can quickly “teach” to find objects. It saves you time by only outputting the object data you’re interested in. A multitude of connection options means you can use Pixy with almost any microcontroller. It connects directly to Arduino with the included cable, and fully supports Raspberry Pi and BeagleBone Black with included software libraries. Included in the box is mounting hardware to attach Pixy to your robot creation. The firmware, software and hardware are open source, so you can tweak to your heart’s delight. Free tech support is included on the CMUcam wiki! Note: if you are using an Arduino shield in conjunction with Pixy, you may need to purchase Stackable Headers for the Pixy cable to fit. USB cable not included.
Product Reviews
Fun and easy
Pretty cool. We’re using this as an aiming cam on our competition robot. Interface to the RoboRIO was looking a little difficult (though there is code on Chief Delphi for it, we were pressed for time and it didn’t work immediately) so we threw an Arduino Nano at it. Coding for the Nano took just a few minutes using the provided library, and I don’t think it could be easier to configure. The Windows software for config and signature registration is very easy.READ MORE
Excellent
Very very high quality product for hobbyists and amateurs. It works MOSTLY based on color so don’t expect it to be able to tell the difference between the seven of clubs and the ten of spades, for example. But it can track different colored objects very well and is very easy to use with Arduino. Also has great built in features and good customer support.READ MORE
Very good product and tool!
The team at Charmed Labs have developed and made available an excellent product and tool with the Pixy (CMUcam5) camera sensor and the pan/tilt servo motor kit. Their after-sale support (not that it required much; just a few clarifying questions) has been excellent and very responsive!The Pixy sensor worked as largely expected; detecting whatever object (color signature) it was programmed to detect. The PixyMon software utility is an intuitive and easy to use tool to configure and program the sensor for color signatures. Note that this product by default is not designed to work in low-light, dimly-lit environments. For my application which can be in a low-light or dark environment, I have worked around this by setting it up to detect a particular light emitting color.The pan/tilt kit was very responsive and the software tool utilityREAD MORE
CMUcam5 works great with [g++] from PC
CMUcam5 worked great immediately, with the latest firmware (v19 I think?) apparently pre-installed. I’m connected via my PC and was able to immediately get PixyMon working, as well as a slightly customized program (adapted from code example provided) compiled using [g++ (tdm64-1) 5.1.0]. The CMUcam5 also comes with mounting hardware that I imagine works with the pan/tilt hardware. I used nylon washers in the mounting holes with medium sized plastic clamps to create a little mount for the camera.I could not figure out how to embed the LIBPIXY_VERSION constant into the libpixyusb library, so I had to comment that line out of the [hello_pixy.cpp] example code prior to successfully compiling and linking.READ MORE
very easy to setup and use
As far as Open Source software goes, very easy to setup and use.ProsEasy to UseFast RecognitionFast TrackingColor Codes for distance and angles are very useful in many applicationsEvery possible connection to computer, arduino, ect. built inBuilt in CPU does all the fast calculations, so doesn’t slow down raspberry piConsSetup of Colors require a bit of tweakingLighting changes greatly effect the color recognitionBetter at close range than long rangeLong range colors register different than when close rangeOverall:Great for projects intermediate to advance.Personally I’m using it for a pick and sort robot and it’s fast and consistent. Does what I need it to do!READ MORE
Works with Raspberry Pi!
This is a great little camera for the price. It is sensitive to varying light conditions, but is surprisingly functional and the accompanying software and libraries a packed with potential for developers. I purchased this to use with my Raspberry Pi B+. That said, I would like to offer some suggestions for others who are interested in using the Raspberry Pi to interface with the Pixy.When building and installing the pixymon software, you will need to comment out line 71 of usr/host/pixymon/pixymon.pro, viz.,QMAKE_CXXFLAGS += -mno-ms-bitfieldsAlso, once the code has been successfully compiled, you will need to create a “Documents” directory in your home directory, that is,/home/pi/Documentswithout this directory, pixymon will crash with a Segmentation Fault at start up. Pixymon runs with a bit of latency on the Pi, but it runs and provides a useful interface. I would advise against powering the pixy with pan/tilt servos attached via USB connection to the Pi. I tried this and crashed my Pi and have not been able to use pixymon to interface with the pixy from the Pi since.READ MORE
Pixy and Pan tilt crazy recognition
I just built PIXY cam plus pan-tilt mechanism.Hardware is excellent, easy to put together with good instructions.Used PixyMon software in MS windows XP 64Works great.***** PIXY camera does object recognition by coloryou teach it a objects color.Surprising how many other things are in view that are the same color–sends PIXY pan-tilt wacky trying to track.I have yet to get it to track an object without it going crazy.Great projectKeep in mind very limited recognition out of the boxI’ll keep you updated if PIXY gets any smarter withfollowing objects – mine only two days old!READ MORE
Color recognition capability not very good. Returned.
I tested a new unit today (hooked to a computer) and I am quite dissatisfied with it and returned it. I trained it on a neon orange marker with good (indoors) lighting and the camera would also report parts of a dark brown desktop and parts of a white wall too. Maybe I have a defective unit, but this was quite useless. Also there is ZERO CUSTOMER SUPPORT (their website does not even list an email or phone for contact).READ MORE
very nice easy-to-use system for basic machine vision experimentation
Should be able to hook up as a vision system for FRC.
Four Stars
great item….but it had a missing cable… i am returning it then repurchasing
The inclusion of screws was nice, but I was given an odd amount that …
It does what it was designed to do. Unfortunetly, the quality of the camera could be improved and the packaging was rather lack luster.
Great service.
Fantastic. Product arrived in time as described.
Excellent
We are using the Pixy for Arduino robot applications and it works excellently.
Problems
My didn’t fully work as shown on their website.
Five Stars
good!
Five Stars
good product
Amazing little Device.
The one I bought over a year ago died for unknown reason. This time I bought the “extended warranty”.
Four Stars
comments powered by DisqusA compacted and easy getting on image tracking kit for mobile robot development.
