AnnexCAM

[cicciocb]

What do you think of a version including the camera support ?

Anyone have an ESP32-CAM module ?

cicciocb

[Lizby]

Yes, I have several ESP-32CAM modules, and would love to have Annex32 support for the camera. I have the camera working, but have hesitated to do any development with them because Annex32 has me spoiled, and I'd really like to avoid development on the ESP32 with anything else.

[PeterN]

My son gave me an M5CAMERA(PSram) module for Christmas and I am currently using it on a Celestron telescope.

It would be really great to use it with Annex32 as well.

Different ESP32 cam types explained : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfQ5VgcnJhg

If I could do one (or two) wishes:  Right now it would be great to be able to use the RFID-RC522 not only on the ESP8266 but also on the ESP32 in combination with its MP3 capabilities.  

I apologize in advance for this additional wish ;-))

https://github.com/m5stack/M5-Schematic/blob/master/Units/esp32-cam/M5CAM-ESP32-A1-POWER.pdf

[barry winch]

I have used the ESP-32CAM, Annex support would be fantastic!!!

[Zim]

I don't have this module yet, but would certainly buy them if annex supported the camera!

[cicciocb]

Hi all,

I think that the support of the camera could be implemented but ...

As you can see, at the bottom of this post there should be something like this :

This enable to vote (or unvote) for the request. 

As soon as the number is going to be important, I'll implement it.

I will try to apply the same logic to all other requests in order to implement and prioritize what is really important for most of people.

[cicciocb]

On Monday, 20 January 2020 17:19:01 UTC+1, PeterN wrote:

 Right now it would be great to be able to use the RFID-RC522 not only on the ESP8266 but also on the ESP32 in combination with its MP3 capabilities.  

Peter,

place a "formal" request and let see how many people will vote ;-)

[Dwight]

I have two the esp32-cam modules on order.  Would love to have Annex provide camera support.

Thanks Cicciocb for all your time and efforts!

dwight

[cicciocb]

Only 10 requests! It's very disappointing ...

Have a look at this little demo

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e60ZsZP1iHoy7yHBume42amwXFVhLidL/view?usp=sharing

[PeterN]

Good evening CiccioCB

The demo video looks great.  I am very unhappy with the rudimentary firmware of my M5CAMERA.

And 10 answers are good! This corresponds to the number of really active forum participants.

Don't get discouraged - I think all current developments are very good!

[PeterN]

one more thing:

i can understand your intention to avoid the costly development of unnecessary unpopular features and therefore ask users for feedback. In the forum, however, the voting function is somewhat hidden for the occasional reader. Thus the real interest is certainly not reflected.

[Electroguard]

CiccioCB keeps giving us new ways to do magic... it is up to us fans to show others what can be done with it.

[Timothy Truckle]

Hi, CiccioCB, thanx for yout work!!! It makes the ESp-toy to a ESP-tool!

Where can I find the ESP-Cam version to play with it?

Regards from Germany

Peter

[cicciocb]

Is not yet released but you can vote if you are interested

[Lizby]

On Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 3:57:34 PM UTC-5, cicciocb wrote:

Have a look at this little demo

Tantalizing. What is the video output being displayed on?

 

[cicciocb]

On Thursday, 23 January 2020 00:18:38 UTC+1, Lizby wrote:

Tantalizing. What is the video output being displayed on?

 

The output is the Annex output web page  

[PeterN]

I suspect that this is an MJPEG stream(?) sent to the browser.

I am very curious how this looks like when the ANNEX32 interpreter has to do other things at the same time. Here the 2-core processor probably proves itself.

Already when encoding MP3 there were sometimes short dropouts when the core had to deal intensively with WIFI etc. 

It is always amazing what you can do with these processors and your tireless technical effort!

[cicciocb]

Probably the "demo" was not clear.

The module is an ESP32-CAM with a preliminary version of AnnexCAM.

The image shown comes from its camera and; in parallel, a program runs at the same time.

[PeterN]

Thanks, that is indeed a bit hidden in the video. 

But if you know where to look at ... then I see some of my concerns already absolute dispelled :-))

I am very curios to see that with a M5CAMERA

[cicciocb]

Annex use both cores.

The core 0 is dedicated to the system (WiFi) and the core1 runs the basic interpreter.

The mp3 decoder runs also on the core 0, enabling the basic program to run always at (almost) the same speed.

But, because it runs on the same core as the WiFI, some little glitches may happen in case of big wifi activity.

This can be mitigated increasing the size of the I2S buffer in the function PLAY.SETUP

[PeterN]

AH! This is a very good indication of the I2S buffer! 

This will improve my experiments with a talking clock.

[Electroguard]

Hi Peter,

A side note - Serial TTS for a talking clock (or talking anything, including IP, temp, humidity etc) is very effective if the XFS5152CE speech module (which announces all my alerts) or SAM quality is acceptable.

Reduces the firmware IO load cos no big pre-recorded files need to be stored and loaded.

[PeterN]

That leads directly to streaming the live vide with MJPEG and pan tilt control the ESP32-Camera with two miniservos

[PeterN]

Hi electroguard 

I have your TTS  and MP3-Player projects and examples  in mind!

Since the memory on the ESP32 is now somewhat more generous, it is naturally obvious to store some things there and play them back selectively. 

I always find it very fascinating to be able to achieve  good results with as little hardware as possible.

Thanks again 

[Electroguard]

Chinese dual axis pan & tilt kits complete with servos are available for about a fiver (usually needs self-assembly, but isn't difficult),

And 'pucker' RS485' PELCO compatible pan and tilt platforms are available for about 20 quid. Had both for over a year, but not had time for them yet.

An Annex PELCO RS485 remote controller for my PTZ's has been on my todo list since Annex was just a baby, the problem is that CiccioCB keeps bringing out ever more interesting Annex capabilities which keep side-tracking me.

[PeterN]

Am Donnerstag, 23. Januar 2020 12:45:13 UTC+1 schrieb Electroguard:

... the problem is that CiccioCB keeps bringing out ever more interesting Annex capabilities which keep side-tracking me.

This is actually a factor that should not be underestimated!! ;-))))) 

[George Towler]

I bought an ESP32-CAM because they were dirt cheap albeit with slow boat from China delivery.

Seems like I bought the wrong one because I found a reference to it saying that you had to program it on 5v but run it on 3.3v (or maybe the other way round). Apparently the give away is that it doesn't say "AI-Thinker" and not "DM" althought both are ESP32-S.

I just can't be arsed to play with it in that dreadful mess called Arduino.

It would be great if you implemented ESP Cam, and I'd gladly buy the "correct" one if you did.

I guess it must be pretty disheartening when response seems a little sparse or when some grateful sh*t is wining at you but you have a fine product (I was going to add "stick with it" but that sounds patronizing so I just go with Thank You)

George 

[Carla Huisman]

Hoi cicio,

I don't have the ESP32-CAM module yet, but wil definitly buy some if you support it in Annex.

I thank you very much for all your inspiring work upto now, already!.

@t

[PeterN]

Good evening

I found an interesting comparison of the current different types of ESP cameras, 

showing the capabilities, the different interfaces and the GPIO usage.

Maybe useful for someone?

ESP32 Camera Units Comparison

[PeterN]

Good  evening  Cicciocb,

I would like to optimize my MP3 decoding by increasing the size of the I2S buffer to eliminate small glitches - as you recommended.

But currently I cannot find this option in the ANNEX32_1.38RC5 docu. 

Is it a currently undocumented feature or not yet available in RC5? 

[cicciocb]

Yes,

it is present but I just discovered that is not documented.

sSmply add another value at the end of the command

PLAY.SETUP dest [,buffer_size]

By default the buffer is 8 and can go up to 64 maximum.

[PeterN]

Thanks for the quick tip.

Today I received a nice very small I2S sound module (MAX 98357A) with integrated class-D 2-Watt audio-amplifier.

This allows together with the ESP32 a very compact design.

   

https://datasheets.maximintegrated.com/en/ds/MAX98357A-MAX98357B.pdf

[PeterN]

Hi ciccioCB

Since I now have an ESP32 camera and an M5 camera that differ in the  GPIO wiring: 

Will it be possible in ANNEX32 to support these different GPIO layouts? 

Or is it better now to stay in one of these worlds?

[plasmamac]

Request +1.

thx

[cicciocb]

Actually I'm playing with an esp32 cam that it seems to work very well with annex32 inside.

Still doing crash testing to check stability at the moment but I still don't know if and when I'll release it.

[PeterN]

Oh !!!

I am pleased to hear that you are still working on it, ciccioCB  - but why do you want to hide it in the end?  

That would be a great expansion!! 

And I already had the following project plans:

 - Bird nesting box camera with IR light barrier or VL53LOX sensor as shutter release. A friend of mine is building a mount for a M5Camera in the lid of a nesting box. 

- Wild boar camera together with a radar sensor at a friend's place in the Sauerland area, one of the deepest wildernesses of Germany ;-) together with email notification and a horn to chase the animals away from the vegetable field.

- If the photo function is fast enough: light barrier or similar as shutter release to trigger a photo series (example: falling water drop) 

So: Please do not get discouraged!The world needs you and your programming skills!! We just have to make the world understand this a little better :-)))

[cicciocb]

Peter,

if i had been discouraged you would still have stayed with esp basic and arduino.

I develop annex because I like and it makes me happy to know that there are people who use what I do.

This is my form of reward.

The support for the camera, on the other hand, is another story because it works so well that could easily become a commercial project.

[PeterN]

These are very understandable thoughts, cicciocb

I just wanted to avoid that you misinterpret the sometimes missing exuberant euphoria here in the forum - the users are more technicians and less musicians ;-))

[Bugs]

Well said Sir!

Now - how do you manage to send emails from the wilderness when I can't do it from my back garden??

[PeterN]

Hi Bugs 

I'm a little careful about estimating the size of your garden. 

The wilderness in Germany is not quite so frightening... about 50 meters to the nearest wifi access point. 

Hopefully this will work fine with some antenna effort and the 200mW radio frequency from the ESP32-Cam Module. First tests give hope :-))

[Bugs]

Pocket handkerchief garden - just the metal greenhouse causes problem.

Looks like a very neat and compact solution. My attempts at (semi-)remote wireless monitoring have failed due to battery swapping and charging chores.

Perhaps you also monitor the battery state?

[PeterN]

That is far better than my balcony-garden!:-)

I did no battery monitoring until now. I planed to use a 3000mAh-Pocket charger and buffer that with a solar battery charger.

For the Nesting box: Not so far away and I can use a very small 12Vto5V or12Vto3V3-switch converter at the end of a long bell wire to power the camera. 

[Electroguard]

2 possibilities for remote power depending on circumstances are...

  Solar power bank - autonomous remote power, but doesn't increase comms range

  W5500 wired ethernet - increases comms range, and can supply power over ethernet (POE) down RJ45 UTP cable

[Dwight]

Hi Cicciocb,

I received two of these ESP32 CAM modules in the mail, and would like to add my encouragement to make Annex available to work with the camera modules.

Thanks for all you do Cicciocb

cheers

dwight

[cicciocb]

Hi Dwight,

happy to hear that you have received these modules.

You can start to use it with Arduino, there are some examples available.

[PeterN]

Hi Dwight

I'd like to associate myself with your words.

I have equipped my modules for the first impression with the following software:

https://randomnerdtutorials.com/esp32-cam-video-streaming-face-recognition-arduino-ide/

It is extremely impressive how face detection and face recognition works with this small module - I have used a RasberryPi for this purpose with similar results so far.

 

[PeterN]

Did you end up with this one too? :-))

[cicciocb]

Just a little update on this subject.

This is actually a picture taken from the output page of AnnexCam.

Still in testing phase but yes, it is working and it is a real BOMB!

Obviously all the code is in Basic, including the web page that use external CSS for styling the objects.

In addition it controls an ESP8266 using ESP-NOW to turn ON/OFF a light.

This image is taken from a connection made with internet; 

This enable to control your devices and see what happens at the same time  :-)

[Electroguard]

Hugely impressed - this will put Annex on a very serious level !

[PeterN]

Wow!! This is extremely appetizing!!!

It's very mean, waving that bone around in front of us ;-)) 

[Electroguard]

The lovely styled controls are interesting just by themselves.

[Dwight]

looks Beautiful Cicciocb!!

I am drooling all over my keyboard as I type this :-)

Thanks? for enticing us with your work!

you are a master.

dwight

[salvatore fusto]

Congrats Cicciocb, i've a little suggestion: as you already have an ESP8266 you can add and control a pan tilt sipport, with 2 servos, to move the esp32-cam on x and y axis, so controlling a wider area.

great and impressive project

[PeterN]

Hello Salvatore

The fantastic thing about the camera integration in Annex seems to be that Annex32 with all known programming functions is available in parallel while the cam is running on one of the two ESP32-kernels. So you can freely design the user interface and program script yourself and use all pins of the ESP32 not occupied by the camera itself, or establish a communication with  one or more external controllers.

CiccioCB had already implemented such a control of an external switch with MQTT and placed a button in the web interface of the camera control.

You could also place two sliders and control two local servos with two PWM signals, or switch LEDs, couplers, relays etc.

 

Infinite and fantastic possibilities!

[salvatore fusto]

CiccioCB,

as already i told you privately the main problem of Annex is the lack of any sort of commercial licence; i had a lot of experiment with your tool, but if i have to implement a commercial project based on ESP chips, i have to look at other languages, i.e. Arduino Micropython and so on.

i hope you will release a commercial license asap, in the meanwhile i have to use other languages.

congrats and regards

[cicciocb]

Salvatore,

as Peter Says, the camera mouvement can be controlled autonomously by the module itself, using the free pins available.

About the commercial license, It could be an opportunity.

[Carla Huisman]

CiccioCB,  fantastic, in one word.   This really makes our Annex future even more  beautiful .

@t.

[Zim]

Hi cicciocb

After several weeks I have received my ESP32-cam.  Is there any news or ideas on the release of AnnexCAM?

Thanks

Zim

[cicciocb]

The AnnexCam is still in development but is not too far from being published

[Zim]

Thats great news!

Thanks

Zim

[Dwight]

I too have an esp32cam module and loaded it with the Arduino (yuk!) pre configured camera "sketch" and it does work but the module seems to knock other devices off my network or cause network instability and overload due to the high amount of video data.  I gave up on it as I am not at all versed in the Arduino-C language.

Would love to try out the Annex software on the CAM module.

dwight

[PrecisionClays]

I just purchased an Arducam on Amazon.  Wanted to have one on hand when Annex has camera capability added.  A lot of power on a small Uno sized board.  I also liked the battery connection.

[cicciocb]

On Sunday, 3 May 2020 19:07:12 UTC+2, PrecisionClays wrote:

I just purchased an Arducam on Amazon.  Wanted to have one on hand when Annex has camera capability added.  A lot of power on a small Uno sized board.  I also liked the battery connection.

You should try to find the schematic of this board to see how the camera is wired.

So far the best is the ESP32 CAM that is very cheap at around 5 Euros 

[Timothy Truckle]

Hi all,

are there any news regarding Annex and ESPCam?

regards

Peter

[cicciocb]

Not yet

[hub...@dreiling-kamen.net]

I tried AnnexCAM with an ESP32-CAM Module from Ebay, looks like the same as in the photo Dwight posted,. 
The Arduino examples work fine for AI Thinker Cam Settings.
But when I flash AnnexCam, after restart the flash LED is always on. 
Is this a bug in hardware or software and how do I find the cause? 
Since the board gets really hot then, I have switched off the power before trying anything.

Hubert 

cicciocb schrieb am Dienstag, 30. Juni 2020 um 10:39:04 UTC+2:

Not yet

[cicciocb]

Go in the config page and set ESP32-CAM in the module option

[Dwight]

The LED is connected to GPIO4

So at the beginning of your program code change the state of PIN(4)=0 or 1 to turn off the LED

(I can't recall if it is 0 or 1 to turn it off)

You can also use the IMMEDIATE section of the code development window and quickly do the same thing to turn off the LED

Dwight

[Dwight]

This document also shows the little Red LED is on gpio33 but I have not tested that.

https://randomnerdtutorials.com/esp32-cam-ai-thinker-pinout/

[cicciocb]

Dwight, probably he simply flashed the module with Annex32 instead of flashing AnnexCAM.

What you are mentioning is not required anymore as soon as the right version is flashed in the module.

[Dwight]

Thanks Cicciocb!

So you have changed Annex such that when you choose AnnexCAM the LED (Flashlight) defaults to OFF?

That is awesome.

Would still be helpful to know that it is GPIO4 so you can turn it back on if desired :-)

cheers and Merry Christmas to all!

Dwight

[ciccio cb]

Dwight,

The AnnexCam version is much better than this, as this version supports the camera including the sdcard and the flashlight..

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[Hubert Dreiling]

I have flashed ANNEX Cam. 
The Cam is set on the config page.
No matter if SD Card is enabled or not the LED turns on.
When I turn off the LED via GPIO4, it turns off and on again when .i use annex cam in output page.
The LED flashes a few times before turning fully on.
I have now desoldered the base of the transistor so the LED ca not turn on.
The camera now works, but has horizontal stripes in the frame.
So i looked at https://loboris.eu/ESP32/ESP32-CAM%20Product%20Specification.pdf
and the maximum speed for the AI Thinker Cam Module is 160MHz. With 160MHz the Picture is without distortion.
greetings Hubert

[cicciocb]

Hello Hubert,

I do not clearly understand your message.

I do not own an original AI-THINKER ESP32-CAM but, normally it should be possible to use the camera including the SDCARD and control the LED independently.

In all my tests, I can confirm that the camera works well at 240MHz but with a good antenna and a good power supply.

About the speed, did you set the speed with the command OPTION.CPUFREQ ?

[hub...@dreiling-kamen.net]

Hello,
I tried a little more today, so i found out
When I do not use 5V Supply but external 3.3V i can run at 240MHz without distortet Pic.
Seems the onboard 3.3V Regulator does not deliver enough power.