P3D Re: Floating 3D Revised

[Brian Reynolds <reynolds@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sam wrote:
> 
> I should have been more specific as to what I'm trying to do. I want
> to build an ultra light stereo hyper camera, say 150 grams, to be
> floated at a distance of between 20-30 meters ( 60-100 feet). We're
> talking a couple of chocolate bars weight here, so hopefully they
> could be lifted without a major investment in balloon power.
> 

Somewhere around here I have an issue of an old robotics magazine
(Robtics Age I think) that included an article on building a robot
that used a helium balloon to carry it around the house.  The balloon
had to be no greater than 3 feet in diameter and 6 feet tall so that
it could fit through doors.  The robotics platform (which hung under
the balloon) contained a couple of electric motors (fans for steering
and propulsion), a couple of Polaroid ultra sonic transducers, a
microcontroller and batteries.  This whole setup probably weighted
more than the stereo camera you're talking about.  The article
discussed the various tradeoffs in balloon design.  If you are
interested I can try and find the magazine.

> kites are out due to the inherent problems with wind and
> stability. Hot air is feasable although extremely limited. I'm just
> trying to get over the trees for some new perspectives in scenic
> photography, as Alberta has some spectacular scenery, but I can
> never get the height I want!
> 

I don't know that a balloon will be any more stable than a kite.
You'll probably have to tether it from multiple points, and even that
may not be enough.

-- 
Brian Reynolds                  | "Humans explore the Universe with five
reynolds@xxxxxxxxx              |   senses and call the adventure science."
http://www.panix.com/~reynolds/ | - Edwin P. Hubble


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End of PHOTO-3D Digest 2467
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