Has anyone hacked a gimbal to become a motion control?

[sandrobrito]

Hey guys. 

The question is in the title but I'll reiterate. I was wondering anyone has hacked a simple gimbal (maybe those "inexpensive" gopro gimbals from china) to act as a motion control for yaw, roll and pitch? I was wondering about this as these units tend to be quite expensive. As I thought about doing one all I could think was that it would be quite a hard build and then it hit me that those gimbals might be perfect as they have all the hardware necessary to do this and it could probably be hooked up to one or two arduinos to control the movement. I didn't find anything on my google searches. 

Any of you heard of something like this? 

Thank you!

 

(Edit: Just thought that, as some of these have remote controls for the pan and tilt, the hacking could actually be done on a remote rather than on the gimbal, avoiding to void the waranty)

[andrgl]

Yes. I used a Nebula 4000 and ultimately a PC to program movement.

http://www.basecamelectronics.com/serialapi/

 

Doesn't support enough weight (I use zoom lenses and need motorized zoom and focus controls.) Modifying a larger gimbal seemed like too much work.

Currently building my own 2-axis head with high torque motors. Goal is to support a max weight of 25 lbs. Having the prototype frame machined currently. Hoping to have a 'final' version in a month or two.

 

I've looked at what's commercially available. But I've come to realize that building it myself, I have complete control over hardware. Last year I spent 3 weeks analyzing the IO from a Edelkrone motorized slider, so I could tie it in with the Nebula.

Such a waste of time.

[Cinegain]

Like... this?

[chauncy]

the price on the varavon birdy 2 has come down so much now(check varavon for latest) along with the new lite gimbal, that there may not be a need. You can control movement on the varavon gimbals from your phone with the basecam software.

I did a whole series of videos a year or so ago. https://vimeopro.com/kevinconder/gear-review-the-varavon-birdycam

including one on controlling motion with your phone https://vimeopro.com/kevinconder/gear-review-the-varavon-birdycam/video/113389695