<< return to Pixycam.com

Default mode not returning color codes?

Pixy LEGO
#1

Hi.
I am using 3 color colorcodes to create a 3 digit number my project will use.
In cooked mode it works fine…sees colors and shows the 3 digit cc.

But in Default mode it does not return the same 3 digit value as cooked mode does…it either returns 2 digit value or none at all.

As well it does not return the correct 3 digit value to the LEGO pixycam routine when simply polled for a value…which is essential for my EV3 to be able to use the colorcode values in my project.

Can u suggest how to resolve this ?
Is this a known bug ?
I am using pixycam 1, with an EV3 in Windows XP.
Thanks for any help…desperate at this point.

#2

OK.
I just updated my pixycam1’s firmware from 2.0.17 to 2.0.19 and after one quick initial test it is working.
Hopefully it will stay working.
Is the fw update a known fix for this issue ?

Regards.

#3

Hello,
It sounds like you are using a Pixy1. Are you using the latest firmware (2.0.19) and latest PixyMon version (2.0.9)?

Note that there may be some differences between default and cooked modes since default mode uses two-times the resolution as cooked mode. These differences tend to only be around the margins. You might consider improving the detection accuracy:

https://docs.pixycam.com/wiki/doku.php?id=wiki:v1:some_tips_on_generating_color_signatures_2

Edward

#4

Hi Edward, thanks for your prompt reply and for supporting pixy1 for LEGO.
As I mentioned, and you confirmed, upgrading firmware on my PIXY1 to 2.0.19 has solved the problem.
Default mode now returns color codes as expected.
We are not having trouble w detection accuracy as the settings allow us to resolve that.
It was purely a go / no go issue, which is now sorted.
Cheers.

#5

Hi Edward,
We are having some challenges again and hope for some ideas.
We are using a 5 color (signature) color code system, with only 3 colors ever used at once…to generate a unique 3 digit value (which is used to identify a playing card).
When we use cooked mode, it looks fine and shows a 3 digit cc.
When we switch to default mode, it does not show the 3 digit code…usually just 2 digits, and sometimes none. Sometimes it flashed between 2 and 3 digits. This is while looking at the exact same thing.

I’m wondering if the diff in resolutions is the issue ?
Maybe default mode captures pixels that cooked mode doesnt…and blocks the 3 digit cc being generated.

To eliminate this we have set min # pixels per signature to be 150…so it should only respond to a large block of color…as shown in attached image.
In the image you can see the pink block being detected well…but not included in the signature…odd ?
Are those pixels in the corner causing the problem ? despite us setting the min block size ?
What other settings can we use to help with this situation ?
Thanks again for any help.

We are using LEGO Pixy1, firmware 2.0.19, pixymon 2.0.9…and the EV3 is connected to read these codes.

pixy%20cc%20issue
pixy cc issue.jpg2918×1641 1.78 MB

#6

Hello,
Hmm, that is odd. You pic looks good. You shouldn’t need to set min number of pixels though.

Can you try “restoring default values” and retraining?

https://docs.pixycam.com/wiki/doku.php?id=wiki:v1:action_menu

For the Pixy1, there can be some differences between cooked and default modes especially if the color signatures are too inclusive. If so, default mode, which runs on Pixy’s processor may run out of memory resources, while cooked mode, which runs on your host computer has no problem. It doesn’t look like your signatures a too inclusive though (they look well-tuned).

Let me know if restoring defaults fixes the issue (or not).

Edward

#7

Hello again,

We restored & retrained and again we find that cooked mode is quite good.
but when we switch to default mode, we either get no codes or incorrect ones.
As far as resources go…we have taught pixy1 5 colors, and we get it to view 3 color “color codes” ie: 3 digit numbers.
Is this too much for it ?
Can you suggest any commands, or debug info I can use to analysis what is happening inside pixy in default mode ?
I’ve enabled the two “debug = 1” modes…and various comments come onscreen…but they dont mean anything to me.
As we are using EV3 I cant interrogate it as if we were using Arduino etc.
We just take what it gives us…which at atm is mostly nothing in default mode.

Any suggestions ?

#8

Hmm, again that’s odd. Can you post some screen grabs in cooked and default modes?

Edward

#9

Hi,
We had a successful session with the cam and EV3 today.
If the lighting is right, with well calibrated color signatures, we get good, stable color codes in cooked mode.
Then we find that the EV3 can also get good color codes to itself if the PIXYMON is off and the EV3 is just running from its own memory.

Perhaps the old laptop we are using (running XP) struggles to support Mindstorms + Pixymon in default mode at the same time ?

In any case we have it working successfully for now, so thanks for your support and suggestions, even for us Pixycam1 users.

Its a very impressive unit !

Regards.

#10

Hello, so glad to hear :slight_smile:

Let me know if you need anything going forward.

Edward