Compact high dynamic 3 DoF camera orientation system: Development and control

Abstract

This paper reports on the development and control of a compact, high dynamic camera orientation system with three degrees-of-freedom (DoF). The system orients a small camera around its pan, tilt, and roll axes, using a parallel kinematics driven by ultrasonic piezo-actuators. To fit its application as part of a gaze-driven head-mounted camera system (EyeSeeCam) or as an artificial eye for humanoid robots, the camera orientation device was designed to be small in weight and size as well as to replicate the high dynamic movements of the human eye. The mechanical setup is described and the closed loop control architecture, including a dead zone compensation for the actuators, is introduced. Control experiments conducted with the prototype demonstrated that the system performance is comparable to and even exceeds that of the human oculomotor system.