Design and Development of a Targeting System Using Matlab

Abstract

Advances in security equipment and technology have always been essential to prevent malefactors from performing criminal acts. Therefore, it is essential to develop new ways to deter wrongdoers. It is the intent of this project to design a targeting system that will be the precursor of a security system that will be able to target a criminal and deliver a payload to thwart their activity. The system, whose main components are a USB camera and a RS-232 Pan/Tilt Device, is controlled using a program written in Matlab. Initially, the geometry of the system’s environment had to be modeled as the basis of the control program. Once the geometry had been modeled, two programs were written to control the system. The first program targeted stationary objects fixed to a wall. The second program tracked a moving LED light. In addition to writing a program to control the system, the camera had to be calibrated to correct for distortion in the image. A calibration technique was developed to account for any distortion in the lens. This calibration was performed at a short distance to test the technique. This technique was then applied to the actual system environment that had a much greater distance from the target and the camera. After the calibration had been performed, tests were run to test the systems ability. The first test targeted a matrix of pushpin pins fixed to a wall. The second test tracked a LED light fixed to a moving pendulum. In addition, the system’s performance, i.e. the time it took to perform the computing necessary to operate the hardware, was tested for both cases.