Build Your Own Arduino-Powered Robotic Pan-Tilt Camera Slider
Italian builder Giovanni Aggiustatutto built a mechanized pan-tilt system to capture smooth, stable video without requiring hand movements. The build uses 3D-printed parts, wood, aluminum, and an Arduino Uno.
“The idea behind this project is to shoot footage with very smooth and stable movement easily and without having to redo it many times, like I used to do when I did camera movements by hand,” explains Aggiustatutto.
He wanted to build a device that would allow him to move his camera using a remote control with a joystick. From a simple mechanical perspective, the device relies upon wood, aluminum, and 3D-printed parts. To move the camera, Aggiustatutto uses stepper motors, which are driven by belts and pulleys controlled by an Arduino Uno board, although the project could work with other Arduino. The full parts list is available on Aggiustatutto’s post on Instructables.
Once Aggiustatutto built the robotic camera slider, he needed to write the code to control it. He wrote numerous functions for his robot camera slider, including an automatic mode that moves the camera between two saved positions. The device also includes a mode for moving timelapse videos, which divides camera movements into small, user-controlled steps over a set period, which Aggiustatutto says creates “an amazing effect once the photos are sped up.”
The camera robot is designed to be mounted on a tripod and promises horizontal and vertical movement. The robot has a standard mount to which users can attach a camera or smartphone.
As Hackaday notes, the build’s stepper motors allow for “clean and accurate” movement along both X and Y axes.
Aggiustatutto’s remote control for the device looks impressive. Alongside the joystick, it has numerous buttons and an LCD to deliver useful information.
The full parts list and downloadable files for the DIY Arduino Camera Robot are available on Instructables. Aggiustatutto supplies detailed instructions and all the files for the 3D-printed parts.
More of Giovanni Aggiustatutto’s content is available on YouTube and Instagram.
