I came across this yesterday - a developer who is working with the GoPro open API to create a way to control gopros remotely. I am not super clued in to what would be needed to make this all functional, but it looks like wired stream over UDP at low res, and control of local recording may be possible. I am going to keep my eye on it and have a play but I figured the smarter brains at BlueRobotics would be able to weigh up the feasibility a lot faster than me!
No question here, just an FYI that may or not be helpful, I know that I have seen the “can I use a gopro” question a lot!
Coincidentally we were looking at one of their other repositories recently for a project, but ran out of time before we got to test it out. Cool to see that they’ve made a Python library for convenience
Accessing and controlling a gopro is definitely an interesting use-case, and I’m sure there are several people who would be interested to try it out. Was there a particular reason this was made as a private message instead of a public post? If not I’ll convert it so others can join the discussion
In terms of feasibility, the README seems to indicate that older models are controllable via Wifi and/or Bluetooth, while the latest ones also support a wired connection. Physically it’s likely simpler for waterproofing to use wireless control, which may be possible with an acrylic enclosure and keeping the distance between the camera and the onboard computer as short as possible (since water quite aggressively absorbs wifi signal). A wired connection may also be possible, although it would either require either
a way of waterproofing the cable connection
possibly via an external case, or some form of potting
including the gopro in the main electronics enclosure, using either
a flat end cap
a large enough enclosure that the gopro lens can be central (to avoid excessive distortion), or
From a software perspective, a go-pro controller / handler would likely be a good candidate for a BlueOS extension, potentially by allowing access to some controls via a web interface that then presents one or more streams to the existing camera manager
Be interested to know whether anyone has been able to use this API with the BlueROV? Have a couple of old gopros (3 and 4) that I’d like to try wireless streaming via the BlueOS. Any tips much appreciated!
Hi @BillyBudd -
If going for wireless control, you’ll likely need the housings touching, or within mm of one another to provide a path that allows RF signals to make it without being attenuated. Best of luck!
Thanks Tony - was thinking of streaming the video wirelessly to the BlueROV but appreciate the advice as didn’t realise the signal would be attenuated that much.
Still good to know as for this or other applications where a wireless signal is useful - maybe extending the radio antennae to the surface of the electronics enclosure. Then its only gotta get through 4mm of acrylic.
- was thinking of streaming the video wirelessly to the BlueROV but appreciate the advice as didn’t realise the signal would be attenuated that much.