Tech Report - Gimbal

Owned by Joshua Perry
2021-12-22
2 min read

For out gimbal system, we are designing a two axis gimbal that will be used in task 2, using computer vision.

The gimbal consists of 3D printed structural parts, one part connecting the servos to the structure and another which hold the camera and the IMU.

The range of motion for this gimbal is 90° to either side on the yaw axis and 180° from the horizontal plane downward on the pitch axis. This gives a wide visual range that cannot be achieved with a standalone camera, as well as allowing for use in tasks such as picking up objects.

 

 

Initially, calculations were performed to determine what servo motors had enough torque for this application, but in the end, the masses of the components of the gimbal were low enough that this could be disregarded. The camera was 3 grams, the 3D printed parts were 9 grams, and the servo attached to the gimbal was 9 grams. This meant that common OTC servo motors were usable for this application.

 

In the images above, it can be seen that only one servo(blue) is attached directly to the gimbal despite it having two axis of rotation. This is because the second servo is mounted directly onto the frame and is what holds the gimbal onto the frame.