invisible light camera modification for everyone!

[InTheWorks]

I bought two 12"x12" squares of IR transparent acrylic from eplastics.com. I'm going to get them cut locally at a maker lab. Seems to be only way to do it. If anyone wants an acrylic cover for their camera, I can cut more. I don't have exact pricing on the cutting yet, but if anyone wants one it will probably come out to USD$12 each plus shipping.

I have 6 cut acrylic pieces available if anyone needs one. They measure exactly 76.1 x 76.3mm.

[slavedave]

Returning to Aerodrums after a loooong layoff plus the invite to Aerodrums 2 Kickstarter campaign invite, and fascinated to read this thread again. It has got my DIY juices flowing! Thank you all for your dedication to getting an IR solution up and running. I had to stop playing the LED version live since it proved to be too great a distraction so an invisible option is a viable alternative. I may purchase Aerodrums 2 in due course but getting my original version up and running with a "hacked" solution looks doable now. Just need to locate all the parts and get a local 3D printer to make me up a box. Thanks again.

[slavedave]

I watched this PS 3 hack and wondered if it would be appropriate for Aerodrums? It looks like he just removes the existing IR filter in the PS3 lens mount and then replaces it with a filter made from floppy disc material to only allow the transmission of IR wavelengths to the CCD. Can it be this striaghtforward? It would mean using the existing hardware and only supplementing it with an IR LED light source.
https://youtu.be/X7Wg7li8_qM

[InTheWorks]

It looks like he just removes the existing IR filter in the PS3 lens mount and then replaces it with a filter made from floppy disc material to only allow the transmission of IR wavelengths to the CCD. Can it be this striaghtforward? It would mean using the existing hardware and only supplementing it with an IR LED light source.

You probably can do that, but if you don't know not all PS3eye cameras have a filter that can be removed. At some point during it's manufacture, the filter became an integral part of the lens. There are ways to tell. Google it.

I was just playing with Aerodrums and my IR camera. It's a sunny day and the camera was pointing straight at a north facing window with blue sky. Zero issues. My camera won't work outdoors (the IRED ring is not bright enough).

If you use a dedicated lens with a dedicated filter you get the best possible performance in two ways.

First, the filter is very narrow and rejects a lot of unwanted infrared and visible light. I don't know how it compares to floppy disk. I don't even have any floppy disks and haven't for many years. The filter has a datasheet with optical specifications and floppy disks don't.

Second, the 1.8mm lens lets you sit closer. The stock lens in the ps3eye would absolutely suck without the Aerodrums LED lamp that also has a lens in it.

Bottom line is that I wouldn't bother trying to reuse the ps3eye lens for this application.

You need to buy the lens mount, screws for the lens mount, a filter and a lens. It sucks that they come in multiples, but maybe you can organize a group buy for those necessary parts. I have extra parts because I bought some stuff in multiples. I can see what I have if you like.

If you want to use an external IR lamp, then you can assemble most of the PS3eye back together. There will be a gaping hole around where the old lens used to be, but the housing should still pivot.

Truth be told, Evgeny's mod is brilliant. It really is the best way to go.

If a 5V IRED ring were still available though, my mod is even better ;p

[slavedave]

Thanks for the full reply!

Truth be told, Evgeny's mod is brilliant. It really is the best way to go.

If a 5V IRED ring were still available though, my mod is even better ;p

I did start pricing items from Aliexpress last night and it wouldn't be a killer (just a long wait for delivery!). I would have to find a 3D printer person to create the housing as well. Very happy to have a go at it myself if I can get the bits ( I am in the uk). But I would also consider buying a complete kit but it looks like that option is closed now the conflict affects import /export from certain countries.

Thank you again for your advice ( and I loved your mid, even though my limited knowledge of electronics stumbled when you stated talking about mosfets )

[InTheWorks]

it wouldn't be a killer (just a long wait for delivery!)

The waiting is the hardest part!

I would have to find a 3D printer person to create the housing as well. Very happy to have a go at it myself if I can get the bits ( I am in the uk). But I would also consider buying a complete kit but it looks like that option is closed now the conflict affects import /export from certain countries.

The infrared acrylic is the hardest part to find. I happen to have a few extra from when I cut mine. If you wanted one then I could add those other bits to the package. I'm located on the west coast of Canada.

my limited knowledge of electronics stumbled when you stated talking about mosfets )

Yeah that was probably a bit much for most.

I started to design my own IRED board with 6 IREDs to upgrade my camera to 'outside' capable on usb-c, but then Aerodrums 2 was kickstarted and I don't need to any more. If there was enough interest, I could finish that design and do a small run. No guarantee that it would work outdoors though. I haven't done any testing and there are safety limits for how bright the infrared lamps can be.

The fully populated IRED boards would run around USD$30 ea in a build of 10 so not cheap. But combined with my housing (and additional vent holes) it would be a relatively easy upgrade to a single cable usb-c. Only out the bottom though. The rear facing usb-c is a pain.

Also would not require any mods to the PS3eye except for removal of the microphones, LEDs and usb cable. The holes would need to be clean though because some header pins need to be soldered in place. I planned to add circuitry to interface to the empty red LED holes too. This way it would be easy to build (no finicky wires).

I'm not in a rush to do it though. Its a lot of work. It's fun work, but only when I'm in the mood ;p

[InTheWorks]

Sounds like the new Aerodrums 2 is using your ideas. Or is their approach different?

I seem to have missed this question.

Hopefully now that Aerodrums 2 has been formally announced, this question doesn't need answering.

This infrared modification is an improvement on the original Aerodrums. It's the same camera (PS3 eye) with the same resolution (320x240). So aside from replacing the bright light, the infrared mod offers no other benefit. This infrared light is not usable outside in daylight like Aerodrums 2 should be capable of.

The change to a 1.8mm lens that accompanies this infrared mod allows you to sit closer to the camera which is awesome. However, what I noticed just the other day is that you can't reach the cymbal choke zones anymore. Not really a problem for me. Of course, you don't have to use the 1.8mm lens. I believe that johnnyM1984 also used a 2.1mm lens that was more like the original Aerodrums. I don't know if he tried to choke cymbals.

The wider field of view offered by the 1.8mm lens means more opportunities for stray infrared light to cause triggering problems. I was playing Aerodrums in front of a north facing window as I often do and for some reason at that part of the day, it was causing me some triggering problems. Maybe the sun was reflecting off of something outside. Of course, I dealt with it like any one would deal with stray light on a regular camera.

The obvious solution to the wide angle lens problem is a larger sensor that is centre cropped. And that sounds like what Aerodrums 2 is doing.

[Sipaliwini]

There is one fundamental problem with modding the PS3 Eye which is that it uses a rolling shutter sensor.
This means that lines are exposed at different instants in time*, over the whole duration of the frame. This in turns means that the lamp that lights the reflective markers has to be on all the time. But to beat sunshine, you need to send a lot of light.

Outdoors mocap studio cameras solve that issue by using a global shutter sensor, where the whole frame is exposed at the same instant. This lets them strobe the light at the exact time the frame is exposed (a very short duration). This is what we do in Aerodrums 2.

If you wanted to achieve the same tolerance to sunshine by modding the PS3 Eye, you would need a lamp that is many times more powerful than the Aerodrums 1 one, and it is not clear if it would be safe for your eyes (which is scary if it's infra red, as you can't see it).

*this also has implications for the accuracy of the motion tracking

[robshort2000]

Hello everyone. As an electronics nerd/diy guy myself, I just stumbled across this modification and am just now looking into the details on what I need to accomplish it. I've seen a few people that seem to be stuck at the 3d printing stage and I'm looking for some of the other parts I need to get this up and running in my new studio.

I have a 3d printer and could offer up a trade for any spare parts some of you may have available for this mod as long as the .stl files are available. I'm in Texas and don't mind shipping international as long as it doesn't get too expensive. I'm at work at the moment, but you can reach me on Discord. My U/N is normiesgetout. I work away from home and I just moved into a new house so I can't start printing until later this week probably since my 3d printer isn't set up yet, but I'll be home this Monday for a week and can start getting it up and running again fairly quickly. I have plenty of PLA+ which should be suitable for most applications. If you're concerned about UV exposure I also have some PETG if you're not too concerned about the color.

[JCMpercussion]

I just began to make this modification and ordered everything needed, and my 3D printer is busy making the case. I ended up ordering the IR passthrough plastic from ePlastics but I'm wondering if this would work as a front cover?
I can modify the case to use it if it will work. Here's the like for ordering it from Amazon, and it's quite cheap.

https://www.amazon.com/Gzikai-9-6mm%C3% ... 27&sr=8-67


Regards

Jeff