Blueye External Camera

Overview

1. Introduction
2. How to install
3. How to use the external camera in the Blueye App
4. How to use the external camera in the Blueye Observer App
5. How to download media files
6. Specifications

1. Introduction

One of the available peripherals for the new X3 underwater drone is the Blueye External Camera. It uses the same high-quality camera found in our Blueye Pro drones packaged into a tiny waterproof enclosure.

The camera can be mounted in numerous ways depending on your use case, and you will be able to view both the primary camera and the external camera simultaneously.

You can point it straight up to inspect the hull of a flat bottom boat, or you can mount it pointing backward to get better spatial awareness when accessing tight spaces.

2. How to install

The Blueye External Camera must be connected to Guest Port 3 (GP3).

2.1 In the box

The content of the external camera box depends on the number of cameras/lights you have. If you have one camera + one light, the equipment box will contain these items:

• 2x extra o-rings
• 1x universal strong mount
• 2x universal strong mount screws(M3x12mm)
• 1x Hex4 key
• 2x ball-mounts
• 1x T-mount
• 2x camera/light mount
• 4x mount screws(M4x20mm)
• 2x silicone bands

2.2 Top mount

The video tutorial below shows how to install one external camera and one external light on top of the ROV. The same steps apply if you are only installing one external camera on top.

Installation steps:

1. Power OFF the ROV and take out the battery.
2. Unscrew the 3 screws and remove both side-covers.
3. Take out the buoyancy on both sides.
4. Install the Blueye universal strong mount (included in the kit) above the Guest Ports.
   • Use the Hex3 key to fasten the M3 screws.
5. If you are installing one camera: Take the Ball-mount adapter and attach it to the universal strong-mount.
   • Use the Hex4 key to fasten the M4 screws.
6. If you are installing one camera + one light: Take the T-mount adapter and attach it to the universal mount. Use the Hex4 key to fasten the M4 screws.
7. Attach the camera/light mount(s) to the T-mount or the Ball-mount (depending on which you are using).
   • Use the Hex4 key to fasten the M4 screws.
8. Take the silicone band(s) and attach them to the camera/light mount(s). There is a hook/edge on the underside of the mount, where you can pop in the silicon band.
9. Take your Blueye External Camera and place it in the curved camera mount you just installed, and use the silicone bands to enclose the camera to the mount. Do the same with the external light on the other side, if you are installing both.
10. Remove the blind plug from the guest port 3, for the external camera. And if you are also installing a light, remove the Blind Plug from either guest port 1 or 2.
11. Connect the External Camera's Smart Connector to guest port 3 and tighten the screw. (And the same for the external light)
    • Check that the connector has o-rings and that they are clean and lubed.
    • Do not tighten the screw too much - try to get it "finger-tight". A tip is to hold the short end of the Hex key, so you don't use as much force while tightening. 
12. Put the right side buoyancy and side cover back on.
13. Put the left side buoyancy on, and route the cable(s), so it all fits inside the drone. 
14. Put the left side cover back on, while making sure the cable is routed out through the top mount slot before popping the cover back on.
15. Remove ballast weight(s) to compensate for the extra weight of the equipment. When using one external camera you need to remove one ballast weights. When using one external camera + one external light you need to remove two ballast weights. Use the pin spanner to push them out of the sloth on the bottom of the drone.
16. Insert the battery and put the battery cover back on - And you are ready to dive!

Always check that the drone floats before diving! Seawater and freshwater have different densities, and the ballast weights are provided to compensate for the difference. If you are diving with multiple external equipment, you may need to add the additional top canister buoyancy.

3.  to use the external camera in the Blueye App

In the Blueye App, you can switch between the internal and external camera by:

• holding the (LB) left bumper or the (RB) right bumper and pressing the (A)-button on the controller to switch between the main camera and the external camera
• navigating to the External Camera settings page in the in-diving menu and selecting which camera to use

The drone will capture still pictures and record video from both cameras at the same time. We will add additional settings to select which camera to use for media capture in a future software update.

Any camera settings such as Exposure, White Balance, and Hute will be applied to both cameras. The external camera records in the same bitrate used for the video stream, while the main camera always record in 14 MBit.

4. How to use the external camera in the Blueye Observer App

On iOS, you will be able to view both the main camera and the external camera simultaneously. The two video streams will play simultaneously in picture-in-picture mode if the device is in a landscape orientation or side-by-side when in portrait orientation.

You can switch which video stream should be played in the main window in picture-in-picture mode by double-tapping the small video player or changing the selected camera in the camera selector.

On Android, you use the camera selector to choose which video stream to view. In the future, we will try to bring the same dual streaming capability to Android as well.

5. How to download media files

When downloading media files using the Blueye App or the Blueye File Transfer app, a small icon is added to the thumbnail to indicate if the file is captured by the main camera (1) or the external camera (2).

Specifications