Technical Field of the Present Invention

The present invention relates to a system providing intuitive camera pointing angle control and stabilization at the same time.

Background of the Present Invention

In the state of the art, solutions addressing pointing angle control and stabilization are offered separately. Pointing angle control is generally achieved by use of a joystick which requires expertise in the field.

One of the prior art documents in the field of the present invention can be referred to as US2016171330, disclosing a system and apparatus for controlling a camera pivoting device (e.g., mechanical gimbal). The system comprises a main computing device, a gimbal stabilizer controller, and a computer vision camera, and/or a user camera. The system is able to track a target object using the computer vision camera even while the target object is moving, the base of the pivoting device is moving (e.g., when a user controlling the camera moves), or a combination of thereof. The camera pivoting device is mounted on to a device/object that can provide mobility and/or transportation. A further prior art document in the field of the present invention can be referred to as US2016201847, disclosing stabilization system or gimbal having a mounting arrangement for a camera providing for rotation about pan, roll, and tilt axes where tilt and roll axis position can be independently adjusted. The arrangement can be configured so that when adjusting the stabilization frame relative to the roll axis, adjustment of the camera COG relative to the tilt axis is inhibited. The system can further be arranged such that when adjusting the roll axis, adjustment relative to the tilt axis is inhibited. Similarly, when adjusting the pan axis, adjustment to the tilt or roll axes may be inhibited.

The present invention provides a control center unit which sends control signals to the camera head which is composed of actuators to control camera orientation. Besides these, motion resolution and accuracy is increased because the system is capable of retrieving feedback signals regarding its current physical state in terms of angular positionment of rotation axes. The camera head is configured such that all axes of rotation can rotate continuously and product of their angular positions is the desired camera orientation. Camera pointing angle control is achieved by applying human gesture controls on the camera orientation while stabilizing the camera simultaneously.

The invention is further advantageous in that it stabilizes angular vibrations and unwanted movements of its attached surface. For unmanned control, the invention can eliminate any angular error caused by the position of the camera head with respect to the ground changing when a recorded movement loop is repeated. As motor link angles are calculated for each motor, the processor can calculate the current state of the camera. The invention provides stabilization by coordinating synchronization of changes in motion acceleration. More precisely, the present invention particularly provides that angle control is offered by using a control center at a hand-held camera level while stabilizing angular vibrations and unwanted movements at the surface where the camera head is attached is automatically possible. The invention further allows motion data to be recorded with respect to time and replayed. The present invention therefore addresses problems not eliminated by the prior art references; particularly, the system of the invention operates in a closed loop, knowing the positions of the motors relative to each other, which increases resolution and prevent gimbal-lock. The invention provides that transfer of orientation data produced by the user is instinctively effectuated, as well as ensuring absolute angle is in the same compass direction so as to pair the user-held control center and the camera head, therefore simultaneously providing stabilization and pointing angle control.

The most important technical problem solved by the invention can be viewed as stabilization as well as implementing absolute orientation data drive with high resolution and accuracy. Objects of the Present Invention

The present invention allows the user to shoot professional footage without being an operator by providing camera pointing angle control and stabilization simultaneously while being apart from the camera in wireless connection distance. Therefore the system allows user to shoot any scene without actually being in the camera view. Summary of the Present Invention

The invention can stabilize vibrations and unwanted movements of its attached surface while providing pointing angle control at the hand-held camera level.

The system comprises an angler to which the camera is attached, a leader by which wireless control of angle and movement is provided and other side components depending on the intended use of the system. Distinctive movement filters and motor control system provide ease of shooting cinematic footage. Camera movements can be controlled simultaneously and be saved to a database and recreated repeatedly in an unmanned fashion. The invention can be used by itself or in coordination with other equipment in studio and location shooting. The invention can be used as hand-held, as a camera angle controller or time-lapse controller on a tripod, as a camera angle controller on a jimmy jib or as a camera angle controller or controller mounted on cars, motorcycles, boats or any surface that is suitable for mounting.

Brief Description of the Figures of the Present Invention

Accompanying drawings are given solely for the purpose of exemplifying a system providing intuitive and user friendly camera pointing angle control and stabilization, whose advantages over prior art were outlined above and will be explained in brief hereinafter.

The drawings are not meant to delimit the scope of protection as identified in the claims nor should they be referred to alone in an effort to interpret the scope identified in said claims without recourse to the technical disclosure in the description of the present invention. The drawings are only exemplary in the sense that they do not necessarily reflect the actual dimensions and relative proportions of the respective components of the system. Fig. 1 demonstrates an isometric view of a camera head configuration according to the present invention.

Fig. 2 demonstrates a flow diagram of the operation of the interpolator module according to the present invention. The interpolator module processes absolute orientation data from the controller and absolute orientation data from the camera head to obtain intermediate data which will then be synthesized, calculated and converted to link angles.

Fig. 3 demonstrates an isometric view of the hollow shaft slip ring configuration of the motor units according to the present invention.

Fig. 4 demonstrates a lateral view of the configuration of Fig. 3 according to the present invention. Fig. 5 demonstrates a flow diagram of the core stages in the motor control operation according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 demonstrates a flow diagram of the orientation read task according to the present invention.

Fig. 7 demonstrates a flow diagram of the packet received event handler according to the present invention.

Fig. 8 demonstrates a detailed flow diagram of the motor control procedure indicating separate tasks performed by the controller and the camera head.

Fig. 9 demonstrates rotation vector (V) with its components in the x, y and z axes.

Fig. 10 demonstrates a schematic diagram of the synthesis operation based on quaternion number system according to the present invention. Fig. 11 demonstrates an isometric view of an alternative hollow shaft slip ring configuration of the motor units according to the present invention.

Fig. 12 demonstrates an isometric exemplary view of a controller unit with an interaction surface according to the present invention.

Detailed Description of the Present Invention

The following numerals are referred to in the detailed description of the present invention:

1) Controller

2) Camera head

3) Camera mount 4) First Motor

5) Second Motor

6) Third Motor

7) Shaft frame

8) Magnet hole

9) Shaft hole

10) Magnet

11) Cable bundle

12) Encoder enclosure

13) Encoder

14) Hollow shaft

15) First intermediate arm

16) Second intermediate arm

17) Pulley mechanism

18) Drive belt

19) Connection disc

20) Bearing

The present invention proposes a motion transfer system and control center unit (controller (1) as seen in Fig. 12) as will be delineated hereinafter. Controller (1) and camera head (2) are typically two separate systems in signal communication with each other. The collected gesture control data by the controller (1) is sent to the camera head (2) by means of the wireless connection transmitter of the controller (1).

The camera head (2) hardware according to the present invention is designed as will be delineated hereinafter. Typically, three motors (respectively first, second and third motors (4, 5 and 6)) provide rotation in three axes. The range of motion is determined by the sizes and placements of the motors and the camera. The size and weight of the camera with and without a protective case and the thicknesses and centers of rotation of the three motors are designated to be the determining factors according to the present invention. It is to be noted that, as is known to the skilled reader, moment of inertia increases with the distance of the mass from the axis of rotation. In view of the system of the present invention with components of mass including the camera itself, carrier arms and motors, increasing motor thickness can be considered advantageous as it increases the power of the motor. On the other hand, it is to be noted that it also increases the moment of inertia.

In view of the placement of the three gimbals, the physical center and the center of mass of the three gimbals do not overlap. Rotation axis of the camera is determined by the center of mass rather than the physical center of the system so that the system operates with minimum energy and minimum moment of inertia. A fully symmetrical configuration around the camera therefore causes a disadvantage in terms of mass and volume. The present invention proposes a camera head (2) design which utilizes the weight of the camera (payload) as a stabilizing component for the system. In other words, the system is designed to work in a stable fashion once the camera is attached to it.

According to the present invention, in addition to a first orientation sensor in the controller (1), a second orientation sensor is used in the camera head (2) in the manner that motor control is performed relative orientation with respect to the camera head ground frame. It is advantageous in that consistence between motor angle control and pointing angle control is ensured because the three dimensional position information of the camera is also obtainable by combination of motor link angles. As a result, the orientation of the camera with respect to the system and the orientation of the system with respect to the ground is evaluated. Using an algorithm based on quaternions, it is possible for the processor to determine camera orientation based on link angles of individual motors. For this calculation, system applies angular position measurements for each rotation axes and applies kinematic equations. According to the invention, magnetic rotary (angular) position sensors are used as angular measurement sensors on account of their sensitivity and efficiency.

To ensure that camera movements are accurate and smooth, measurements are taken with a frequency of 2-5 kHz. However, due to the difference in response time of the sensors and occurrence of momentary data errors and noise, a multi-layered software architecture is devised in accordance with the present invention. Particularly, relative orientation data calculated from the received orientation data from the controller and camera head orientation sensor must be filtered due to frequency dropping to eliminate the frequencies above the range 20-30 Hz and particularly around 25 Hz whereupon unwanted noise, motion data produced during the closed loop control must be oversampled and filtered (by low pass filter). In this manner, processed orientation data (both of the controller's and camera head ground frame's) converted to the link angles by using inverse kinematic equations and feed as an reference signal to the discrete motor controller modules which uses PID control as the control technique.

It is also to be noted that, nevertheless tests indicate that some unwanted control data can still be transferred to camera head so as to undesirably affect camera movements. To this end, motion processing algorithms tracks relative orientation changes with respect to time to provide smooth transitions between the different orientations. Accordingly, the present invention proposes an embedded system where the processor calculates how motion acceleration changes and provides a smooth transition.

Closed loop provided by system integration according to the present invention is explained in the following section: Orientation data from the controller (1) are transferred to the processor in the camera head (2). Controller (1) orientation data and camera head (2) ground frame orientation data is processed to obtain relative orientation data.

As will be delineated in more detail in the following parts, encoders (13) receive motor link angles from the sensors and transfer this data to the processor. Processor models the system using algorithm developed based on quaternions, calculates which motor needs to rotate and how much to obtain previously calculated absolute angle. This calculation is applied to the motor drivers which is controlled by the PID controllers.

System synchronizes the orientation of camera to orientation of the controller (1). According to the present invention, motor control task is performed such that data received from an "Orientation Read Task" and "Packet Received Event Handler" are buffered and passed through linear interpolation and low pass filter by an interpolation module. A synthesizing step is performed in the manner that quaternions are normed and intermediate output quaternion data from an equation suitable for the physical system are obtained. Subsequently, link angles are obtained by plugging output quaternions into the inverse kinematic equations. Orientation Read Task is preferably carried out by the 9-axis absolute orientation sensor driver module (for instance BNO055) and data is loaded to said interpolation module. On the other hand, the Racket Received Event Handler includes update of synchronization delay and norming of received data.

As controller (1) and camera head (2) are two different systems run by different processors that communicate, their system times are different. Bluetooth 4.0 is typically configured to send asynchronous data packages. Timestamp, definable as the time information independent of delay, allows "queue" and "time" of these transmissions to communicate in the same language. System time of the controller (1) and the system time of the camera head (2) are related. As a specific example, the time difference between production of data in the controller (1) and production of data in the camera head (2) is variable. Received data cannot be used as is because the motion-time graph changes due to differences in data transfer times. Timestamp allows the accurate transfer of motion time graph generated in the controller by queue and time data.

Quaternions are a number system. Every quaternion is a linear combination of four basis elements. Quaternions were first described by Hamilton. This number system is used in calculations involving 3D rotations. i [ 1.0 w X y z

This number symbolizes rotation. Rotation vector is denoted as "V" as in Fig. 9 and rotation angle is denoted "Q". The rotation direction of the rotation angle is determined by the right-hand rule. When right fingers are pointed in the direction of the rotation vector, the direction of the thumb gives the direction of the rotation angle.

Rotation vector (V) is a vector in 3-dimensional space. Therefore it has three components in the x, y and z axes (Vx, Vy, Vz). Product of "A" rotation and "B" rotation ("C" rotation) is equivalent to "A" rotation followed by "B" rotation. The product is determined by the products of four basis elements of the rotation quaternions and is unique to the number system.

v _A · v _B - v _c

The inverse of "A" rotation is denoted "A ^"1 ". The product of "A" quaternion and its inverse is unit quaternion "I".

q _A ¹ = q, = [ 1.0 , 0 , 0 , 0 ]

q _A i = [ w , -x , -y , -z ]

The product of the unit quaternion with its inverse gives a rotation angle of "0". CosQ of the unit quaternions is equal to one, which is denoted as "Q=0". In other words, when Q=0 the vector has not undergone rotation.

Norming is the process of converting a quaternion to a unit quaternion. Data coming from the sensors are normed.

W ² + X ² + Y ² + Z ² = 1

"Synthesis" based on quaternion number system in accordance with the present invention is explained below in reference to Fig. 10, where qp indicates "q driver" quaternion data from controller (1), q _B indicates "q body" quaternion data from body and qc indicates "q camera" quaternion data produced to rotate the camera. Camera and driver must have the same rotation. For this reason, the product of body rotation and camera rotation must be equal to controller (1) rotation.

Both sides of the equation is multiplied by the inverse of body rotation (qG ¹ )- As quaternion multiplication is non-commutative, multiplication must be done from the same side for both sides of the equation.

The product of body quaternion with its inverse gives the unit quaternion which is equal to I. The equation for rotation of camera head is obtained as follows:

Quaternion for camera movement was obtained in the "synthesis" step. To verify "qc "value according to the equality, the link angles of the motors are calculated based on said equality.

q _c = [ w ^■ , x , y , z ] Rotation angles are calculated using 3-variable system.

euler angles ^ , e ₂ , e ₃ ]

Rotation Rotation Rotation

of 1st of 2nd of 3rd

motor motor motor e ₁ _ atan2 ( 2 ( w . z + x . y ) , ( 1 - 2 . ( y ² + z ² } ) ) e _{2 =} asin2 ( 2 ( w . y - x . z ) )

e _{3 =} atan2 ( 2 ( w . x + y . z ) , ( 1 - 2 . ( x ² + y ² ) ) )

In accordance with a further embodiment of the present invention, a mount system suitable for effecting attachment with a communication device such as a smartphone or a tablet computer or a glove suitable for providing control by gesturing is proposed. A drive attachable to a variety of hardware where control data is produced is proposed to ensure that the controller (1) is robust and can be used in different applications. It is advantageous to have a port for mounting to a communication device, as they are widely used. Besides, the glove allows the controller to sit in the palm of the user's hand, which provides effortless and more instinctive control compared to control systems using joysticks. The pointing angle of the camera can be controlled by the user turning their hand to the desired position. It is also possible to use another wearable device such as a headband or a wristband instead of a glove, which paves the way for a wide range of applications. It is for instance possible to attach a lighting device to the controller (1), which is only activated in specific angles so that certain functions are performed in certain predefined angles. In one embodiment according to the present invention, the embedded system fulfills two functions. The embedded system software module assumes the role of a system stabilizer when the controller (1) and the camera head (2) are not remotely paired by a signal connection. To achieve this, the orientation head at the camera head (2) monitors motions of the camera head (2) and in case of a change or jolt, the camera is smoothly moved to the opposite direction. This control is performed at 100 times per second so all disruptive influences can be dampened. When the controller (1) and the camera head (2) have a wireless connection, 9-axis movement/position data collected by orientation sensor at the controller (1) are taken into account. Due to the limit on orientation sensor data rate, interpolation is done from received data conventionally using linear interpolation with low pass filtering. Since the interpolated orientation data is also retrieved from the orientation sensor at the camera head (2), it simultaneously functions as a remote control and stabilizer. When a connection cannot be made with the controller (1) for a period of time due to certain signal disrupting factors, shutdown, low battery of the controller (1) system or positioning of the same further than 10 seconds, the camera head (2) reverts back to self-governing mode, in other words stabilizing mode.

Lithium-ion batteries of varying size and capacity (10-16 V, 3-4 cells) can be used as a power source for the system. Battery level is monitored and when battery level falls below a critical threshold value, the user is notified by a warning LED. In this case, system shuts down power to the motors to protect the battery.

System of the present invention uses dynamic power control to control the actuators of the system. This makes system performance independent from the supply voltage in the given range (10-16V) and more resistant to the unbalanced loads or any mechanic anomaly. Addition to this, dynamic power control algorithm decreases power consumption dramatically.

In an embodiment of the invention, when wireless communication can be established, the system becomes suitable for jimmy jib applications as well as others. In order for improving responsiveness to different scenarios or horizontal versatility, it is apparent that a system where the levers are connected by cables is not suitable for applications requiring responsiveness to different scenarios or horizontal versatility. Jimmy jibs have control systems unique to them because of their dependence on the carrier system, specifically the use of cables. For this reason, the present invention is devised under the recognition that the controller (1) and the camera head (2) should be physically separated from each other but should still work together. Wireless and Bluetooth Low Energy protocol are the main choices for establishing wireless communications. Compared to Bluetooth Low Energy protocol, wireless data transfer speed is higher; however, Bluetooth Low Energy protocol is more energy efficient. It is established that Bluetooth Low Energy protocol speed is sufficient for data transfer in view of the signal densities produced by Pan, Tilt and Dutch moves in the controller (1). In this manner, battery life was extended and it was found that current consumption of the Bluetooth Low Energy module is in the range of 10-20 mA. Considering transferring, receiving and processing of data using Bluetooth Low Energy communication modules integrated to the camera head (2) and the controller (1), while for jimmy jib systems, data transfer is dependent on cable length, using Bluetooth Low Energy provides wireless and independent data transfer from up to 10 m.

In a further variation of the present invention, the user may desire to repeat the use of certain camera movements with a certain mise-en-scene. For this reason, recording and replaying of motion data with respect to time is desirable to facilitate unmanned use of the system. It is to be noted that the present invention proposes a kinetic motion sensor or button activation instead of a screen based approach, which necessitates upgrade of motion control software. One potential issue with this system to repeat the recorded motion is the angling error in the case where the angle of the camera head (2) with respect to the ground is changed. A need therefore arises to label and manage the circuit components such as encoders, accelerometers and motor processing units so that production and transfer of motion data to the camera head (2) and calculation of the position of the camera head (2) with respect to the ground so that the data dependent and independent to the repetition of the movement loop can be labeled. A queue layer is developed within the system so that data collected from labeled hardware can be processed in order of response time. This queue layer makes the processor work more efficiently by parallelizing response times of electronic components without linearly ordering the same and facilitates separate processing of dependent and independent data while recorded movement is in operation. In this manner, motion control system and unmanned system can work in an integrated way and dependent/independent variables from the software and angle data from the position of the camera relative to the ground do not cause any problems. Since angular encoders calculate the position of motor based on a quaternion algorithm, any slip in the motor can be controlled in the closed loop. In other words, motors do not count steps but instead are controlled by PID controller until the required angle is reached. In the event that motors are in desired positions, the PID control keeps power applied to motors at minimum to maintain correct link angles. In case of a difference between the actual angle and the desired angle, power is applied to compensate for the difference and if needed, power is increased. Therefore, in order to save power, instead of driving motors at maximum power to maintain the correct link angles, power is increased only when needed, ensuring a more efficient power profile. While repeating the recorded motion, motion can be slowed down or speeded up. By means of slowed motion, time lapse videos with preferred orientations by three motors in three axes can be recorded. Practically, the motion is typically recorded in real time and the system then reproduces the same motion in slow motion in one-hour time span, for example to be repeated continuously throughout the day, such as in security applications.

According to the present invention, manipulated orientation as an alternative to absolute orientation is possible in the manner that synchronized manipulation is applicable to change the specific angles of the camera head (2) not in conformance with the specific angles of the controller (1) but in proportion therewith. In a more precise manner, changing the orientation of the camera head (2) in a certain axis with a modified orientation with respect to the orientation of the controller (1) is possible so that each time a certain rotation around a certain axis is reached, the camera head (2) turns to a modified orientation, for instance two times of the rotation angle about the rotation axis but still in synchronization with the overall motion of the controller. This operational scheme can be simultaneously applied to some or all of the axes. In a further variation of the present invention, brushless DC motors are used, whose control is performed in the following manner: Each motor is driven by three channel Pulse Width Modulation technique based proprietary control algorithm and with the help of an integrated motor drivers. Control of the brushless motor with no feedback mechanism is eliminated by monitoring motor rotation by magnetic encoder. In this manner, targeted angular position and actual angular position of the motor are subtracted to retrieve the difference. The difference is smoothly and swiftly removed by the PID controller. As the system may be used with different cameras, the payload on the motors may be different and different controller parameters may be needed. The parameters are brought to their optimum values by monitoring the system by the system software. In a further variation of the present invention, retrieving angular position data of each axis by using magnetic encoders while a wire is passed within the motor can be effectuated by a hollow shaft (14) where a slip ring is used. All three motors have power and signal cables passing therethrough. Three power cables for each axis extend from the motor driver circuit outputs in the circuit board to the respective motors. Further, to carry motor angular position information, four cables exit from magnetic encoders (such as AS5048B) attached to the rear side of each motor.

Accordingly, at least one of the motors provides a cable passageway to allow motor cables to reach to the circuit board, while at the same time not interfering with free rotation of the motors. Therefore, all of the cables in the form of a cable bundle (11) pass through a hollow shaft (14) where a slip ring is used. The axially extending hollow shaft (14) integral with a shaft frame (7) having a shaft hole (9) and magnet holes (8) for receiving magnets

(10) cooperates with an encoder enclosure (12) into a respective slot of which an on-axis magnetic encoder (13) is placeable to monitor angular orientation of the motor based on the position of the two 180-degree opposite magnets (10) rotatable together with said hollow shaft (14). Therefore, while the magnetic encoder (13) performs exact calculation of magnetic flux vector, the cable bundle (11) extends through the hollow shaft (14) centrally between the two magnets (10). The configuration advantageously provides that the hollow shaft (14) is not blocked by the on- axis magnetic encoder (13), thereby allowing passage of the cable bundle

(11) through the hollow shaft (14).

In a variation, Fig. 11 demonstrates an alternative hollow shaft slip ring configuration of the motor units according to the present invention. Said cable bundle (11) also passes through a hollow shaft (14) where the slip ring is used. The axially extending hollow shaft (14) cooperates with a pulley mechanism (17) having a drive belt (18). The pulley mechanism (17) is connected to a connection disc (19) fixedly attached to the motor (4, 5, 6) through a bearing (20) in the manner that rotation of the motor (4, 5, 6) is transferred to the pulley mechanism (17) which also has a magnet (10) whose angular orientation is monitored by the magnetic encoder (13). This configuration also advantageously provides that the hollow shaft (14) is not blocked by the on-axis magnetic encoder (13) and allows passage of the cable bundle (11).

In a nutshell, the camera head (2) is configured to take a certain position by three link elements connected to each other through the actuators (brushless DC motor). The camera is mounted in connection with the third innermost motor. On the other hand, the outermost motor is connectible with additional connection or control mechanisms such as tripod or handling device.

The present invention ensures production and collection of angular position data for each axis while a wire is passed within the motor.

The controller (1) can be mounted on cars, motorcycles, boats or any surface that is suitable for mounting. Various configurations such as vacuum mount to glass or metallic surfaces or adhesive mount to desired surfaces such as head guards are possible. Further, use of flexible portable designs (guerilla pod designs) attachable to metal profiles or use of any other suitable attachment elements such as clips for attaching the controller (1) to a vehicle such as bicycle are also possible. The controller (1) unit of the present invention is preferably provided with an interaction surface, which can be a touch-sensitive button performing different tasks such as starting/pausing controller (1) function or activating respective modes such as mirroring, recording or replaying modes. The interaction surface may have different portions to trigger specified functions.

The present invention proposes a motion transfer system comprising a controller (1) and a camera head (2) in remote signal communication with said controller (1), said camera head (2) being configured such that a camera is fixedly attached to be rotatable in three separate axes by three motors in the manner that a first intermediate arm (15) is rotatably connected to a first motor (4), a second intermediate arm (16) is rotatably connected to a second motor (4), and a camera arm is rotatably connected to a third motor (6), said second motor (5) and third motor (6) are respectively attached to said first and second intermediate arms (15, 16).

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the controller (1) and the camera head (2) comprise separate orientation sensors in the manner that three dimensional orientation information of the camera is obtained by combination of information on motor link angles and from controller (1) orientation data whereby control of motors is performed by way of calculating the differences between orientation data from different orientation sensors. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the physical center and the center of mass of the three motors are eccentric in that rotation axis of the camera is determined by the center of mass of the three motors.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, orientation data from the controller (1) are transferred to the camera head (2), orientation data of the camera head (2) with respect to the ground are also transferred to the camera head (2) and data from the controller (1) are processed with data from the camera head (2) to obtain a mutual reference frame in the manner that change in the orientation data of the camera head (2) relative to the ground can be compensated and the controller's orientation data can be correctly replicated by the camera head (2) irrespective of its changeable orientation data with respect to the ground.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, magnetic rotary position sensors are used to determine camera orientation based on link angles.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, angle measurements for each link are taken with a frequency in the range of 0,75 to 1,5 KHz. In a further embodiment of the present invention, orientation data produced by orientation sensor of the controller (1) is filtered and motion data produced during closed loop control is scaled and oversampled up to 2.5 kilosamples per second before driving the motors.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, information as to link angles used as a reference signal is transmitted to PID controllers which control motor drivers of each motor.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, derivative and integral coefficients of the PID controller are configured to provide smooth transition between incremental positions of the motor. In a further embodiment of the present invention, encoders (13) are used as sensors to obtain link angles which transfer the obtained data to a processor of the camera head (2).

In a further embodiment of the present invention, said camera head (2) comprises an interpolation module receiving data from a motor control task is performed such that data received from orientation sensors of the controller (1) and camera head are buffered and passed through linear interpolation and low pass filter. In a further embodiment of the present invention, system time of the controller (1) and the system time of the camera head (2) are synchronized such that data received from accelerometer of the controller (1) is transmitted with timestamps which contain controller system time at the orientation measurement instance.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, camera orientation based on link angles of individual motors is determined by an algorithm based on quaternions in the manner that quaternions are normed and intermediate output quaternion data are obtained.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, said controller (1) is a mount system attached with a communication device in the form of a portable computing device such as a smartphone or a tablet computer.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, said controller (1) is head- mounted device or a hand-mounted device. In a further embodiment of the present invention, said controller (1) has a port for mounting to a communication device.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the controller (1) comprises a lighting device only activated in specific pointing angles.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the camera head (2) operates in stabilizing mode when the controller (1) and the camera head (2) are not remotely paired by a signal connection in the manner that the orientation sensor of said camera head (2) monitors motions of the camera and in case of a change or jolt, the camera is smoothly moved to the opposite direction.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, stabilization control loop is performed at the frequency of 100 Hz.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, the camera head (2) uses dynamic power control algorithm which uses the difference between calculated reference link angles and the instantaneous link angles as an input.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, controller (1) motion data is prerecorded with respect to time to be replayed according to certain recorded camera movement pattern in a repeated manner.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, motion data of the controller (1) is processed by the camera head (2) in accordance with calculated position of the camera head (2) with respect to the ground during production and transfer of said motion data whereby data dependent and independent to the repetition of the movement loop is labeled.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, while repeating the recorded motion, motion is slowed down or speeded up. In a further embodiment of the present invention, synchronized manipulation is applicable in that specific orientations of the camera head (2) as controlled by the controller (1) are changed in non-direct conformance with the specific orientations of the controller (1), in synchronization with the overall motion of the controller (1) and in proportion therewith.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, motors are brushless DC motors which are driven by integrated motor drivers that uses three phase Pulse Width Modulation as control technique. In a further embodiment of the present invention, signal cables from the magnetic encoders and power cables supply and control the brushless dc motors coupled with a slip ring that resides inside a hollow shaft (14) of the motors enabling continuous rotation.

In a further embodiment of the present invention, axially extending hollow shaft (14) integral with a shaft frame (7) having a shaft hole (9) and magnet holes (8) for receiving magnets (10) cooperates with an encoder enclosure (12) into a respective slot of which an on-axis magnetic encoder (13) is placeable to monitor angular orientation of the motor based on the position of the two 180-degree opposite magnets (10) rotatable together with said hollow shaft (14). In a further embodiment of the present invention, the camera is mounted in connection with the third motor being the innermost one and the outermost motor is connectible with connection or control mechanisms in the form of tripod or handling devices. In a further embodiment of the present invention, axially extending hollow shaft (14) cooperates with a pulley mechanism (17) having a drive belt (18) in the manner that rotation of the motor (4, 5, 6) is transferred to the pulley mechanism (17) having a magnet (10) whose angular orientation is monitored by the magnetic encoder (13).

In a further embodiment of the present invention, said pulley mechanism (17) is connected to a connection disc (19) fixedly attached to the motor (4, 5, 6) through a bearing (20). In a further embodiment of the present invention, said controller (1) is provided with an interaction surface performing functions of starting/pausing said controller (1) and/or activating mirroring, recording or replaying modes.