GoCam! Effect Demo

[Art]

Here's a demo that shows colour inverted output from the GoCam on the
PSP screen in real time, as well as two other colour effects.
This is based on the Chotto cam sample at ps2dev.org.
It does nothing else, no saving of photo or video, just an experiment done
with the same sample I started on for Laser Invaders.

I considered making a GoCam program around the time I did Laser Invaders,
but don't imagine I'll continue what I originally had in mind.
I might do something that responds to visual or audio ques to take photos
because the PSP is in a case and I need a way to start and stop underwater.

And an entirely unrelated YouTube video shot underwater!
The whole PSP and GoCam in a Pelican case is submerged,
and the camera is viewing through the polycarbonate lid:
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=_GJVnLl52vc

Cheers, Art.

[SGT4EVA]

Ha Ha omg that video is cool, do you think maybe you could post a few links to pictures of the case and where to buy it? google just isent finding it for me thx!

[Art]

It wasn't pixelated like that until YouTube messed it up.
I'm currently trying some different compression to get a better representation...

Here's an old pic

but I've changed it a bit.. now it has the bottom half of a PGP case
fixed inside it, and some foam that closes over each side of the PSP to hold it down.

[Vonsta]

man i always wondered why that darn Logitech Playgear headphone "splitter" was rubberised... i guess the answer is in that pic.. to seal it in the case

but i have just one question... WHERE is the Go!Cam in that case.. its not in the pic. did you get an adapter or something? or was it only connected when shooting the video clip? i know you said that it was "viewing through the polycarbonate lid" but i was just wondering how you did it.

[Art]

I like the idea of the cable.. how long is it?

The case is changed a bit since then, now the PSP sits in the bottom half of a PGP
case (inside the pelican), and there is enough room for the GoCam.
Today is the first day I did it, but I've had the Pelican setup for a couple of years for music in the pool.

[Vonsta]

yeah the addition of a cable could be yet another method you could use to create some interesting stuff... anyway, the one i saw was 1.5m which is the one in the pic.. there was a 1.2m one too but it was a "cheap looking" one with flimsy sockets etc.. and problem is i cant find it in any aussie stores, only hongkong and US etc

plus they are priced at about US$17 without shipping... and when i added the shipping which was US$5, it came to a total of AU$39 or something, which is a pretty big price to pay for a cable.. almost like the high-end mobile phone interface cables out there... so i think il wait for it to be available here.. or until it gets cheaper etc..

ive got a bunch of pics detailing a DIY version of the cable.. thats if ya want em.. i think thats what im gonna do. it'll cost a lot less.. ya just need a Mini B flat 5-pin extension cable (male to female) and some bits n pieces for the Go!Cam's external power PIN... there is no need for both pins, apparently the "negative" pin is connected inside the socket as well as the external.. so you only need to fabricate the single "positive" pin connection. or you could just search for them if ya dont wanna wait for me to post the pics..

anyway.. some food for thought..

[califrag]

Art, here's what you can do since you don't mind modifying your pelican case....

Drill a hole in the pelican case above the right trigger button of the psp.
Make sure the hole is large enough for your finger to fit through.
Buy a pair of latex gloves, cut the finger off, and use silicone glue to fix it to the hole that you drilled in the case.
Push the finger 'inside out' and into the case, and now you can push the trigger button and it's still waterproof. :)

[Vonsta]

hehe... thats brutally genius... "violating" a PSP underwater :)

and you could probably do something similar for the rest of the buttons.. with care of course.. those cases arent exactly cheap.. and you could probably make variations on that idea.. like using a kids "mini-water-bomb" balloon instead of the larger-diameter glove-finger, allowing the hole to be very small, and perhaps a flexible rubber "rod" to push through it as though it was a button. kinda like the original button design on some of those waterproof camera cases.. in essence its just a button that pushes through a watertight seal onto another button.

a very good idea califrag.. at this rate we will be playing WiFi Multiplayer UnderWater Laser Invaders with the Go!Cam and "VR Headsets" along with training SpecialForces Officers with "Zone3/LazerZone" style similated environments, eventuating in multi-billion-dollar military applica...

ok, wrong place to pitch my "Ultimate World Domination" plot.. but its good to make progress on that which one aspires to achieve.. and its amusing

[soopergooman]

Art the cable is totally worth it, I got one and the delivery time was about two days from Japan. I just wish I could use the psp's headset dongle as a tethered remote control for cam functions. This a sweet mod to the case, I know the guy who brought them to reality(orig designer). Maybe you help me and I'll see what I can do about getting you some free cases.(no promises but I WILL try. either that or I can paypal you $20 for ur effort. It's the only thing I really want to use.)

[califrag]

I don't really understand what good that cable would do for Art in this case...

What could he do with it? Hold the PSP outside of the pelican case with the camera inside of the pelican case? That doesn't make sense and neither would holding the camera outside of the the case with the PSP inside of the case...

I understand it allows more mounting options for both the PSP and camera inside of the case, but I don't think it will give him any added control to 'trigger' or control the camera from the outside of the case.

You could probably use the same idea above to drill holes above the L Trigger, R Trigger, D-Pad, and X/\[]O buttons, then just put more 'fingers' there to allow you to reach any of the directional pad buttons or the X/\[]O buttons. IE, you would have Four 'finger' controls holes, that would allow your pointer fingers to press the trigger buttons and your thumbs to press the other d-pad and X/\[]O buttons.

[Vonsta]

hehe sorry califrag.. it was something irrelevant to the thread, and wasnt supposed to be related to the Pelican Case.. ive been quizzing/harassing/annoying Art about stuff regarding the Go!Cam and its... umm.. possibilities, and that just happened to be something i wanted to show him..

sorry for the misunderstanding mate.. and i thankyou for being (i believe) the essential "creator" or "source-of-the-idea" of this type of interface/concept/stuff and all that..

in a nutshell. cheers

EDIT: and again, the latex glove idea is superb.. its so plainly simple and obvious, i cant believe i havent seen it done by someone else already.. i still think that some variation can "smoothen" the look and lessen the amount of butchering needed

[califrag]

ahhhh lol vonsta thanks for clarifying... I thought you were suggesting the cable as some sort of 'remote control' for the camera. My bad :)

Thanks for the compliments\credits too, but I have to give credit where credit is due.
I wouldn't have been able to do anything with the camera if it weren't for a couple users named adrahil, cubane and kururin on the ps2dev forums.
adrahil and cubane worked together to pull the camera functions from the prx modules, and kururin posted the first GoCam sample program which was just a basic program that initialized the camera and took pictures when you pressed R.
Nothing too crazy, but it opened the door to allow controlling of the camera.

Here's the original thread in case you're interested: http://forums.ps2dev.org/viewtopic.php?t=7074

I programmed the GoCam to track a laser pointer, recognize laser gestures, and created a visual input control method.
I've made two other projects that involve the GoCam: a webcam program that uses the GoCam take a picture every second and upload it to the internet and a 'pong' game that lets you control the paddle with a laser pointer and play pong.

I've seen the latex glove trick on instructables.com a lot of people use this trick to make underwater housing for their digital camera, putting the 'finger' over the camera snap button, and another 'finger' at the back to allow control of the menu buttons/etc.

[Vonsta]

wow, i didnt realise it (the ideas) went back to far.. oh well credit to you from me anyway. and in any case, Art stated that he has you to thank for the idea, so il "tunnel" mine to you via him and to those guys you mentioned as well.. i love the curiosity we humans have.. without it we'd still be clubbin cave-women in order to get layed :) among other things

and the instructables site, i spotted that on another one of your posts.. i must say theres some great stuff there.. and some totally "out there" stuff too.

and out of curiosity, what would that webcam app be called? ive got several similar-sounding apps... "PSPWebCam v0.8" (and a "Final" version) then theres "SkyPSP WebCam Suite" and theres "WifiCam v0.4".. but i dont think they use the camera, but stream the PCs camera TO your PSP screen..

and theres "WifiCam v0.4".. which DOES use the Go!Cam to stram images to the internet, but im not sure of the author as there is no documentation included..

all in all im very intersted in this "new" stuff. and on a totally irrelevant note.. love the edited UserPic.. Zangief piledrivin a toddler classic

[califrag]

hehe yea it dates back pretty far... since the GoCam was first released really. Yes we humans are indeed curious creatures

The instructables site is awesome and many many ideas have been stemmed from it I'm sure.

shameless plug time - sorry Art

My app is called "skyPSP Webcam Suite". It consists of two different programs.

The 'Client' program allows you to view other webcams on the internet. It is preset with several webcams around the world. Many of them don't work anymore or crash the PSP because they've been upgraded.

The 'Server' program allows you to use your GoCam camera as a webcam and wireless upload the images to an FTP site configured in a config file. Basically, it turns your PSP into a webcam.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh7cks5SawQ

[soopergooman]

califrag I tried to get your app from ur sig but got a 404 error. Art or anyone else I need help from someone knowledgeable to make or point out how to make a prx for camera control via psp remote dongle.

[califrag]

Soopergooman... I don't think that's possible yet because they haven't developed the remote dongle API... or at least there aren't any SDK samples for it. As soon as it is developed though I will be coding a PRX to control the camera using the remote dongle. also, i fixed the links in my sig