Teach the Camera

The first thing you need to do is teach Pixy the objects you want it to track. The best way to do this is using the PixyMon software. With PixyMon, you can see exactly what Pixy sees and how well it has learned.

Find a toy!

Brightly colored balls are good.  Place it in view of the Pixy camera.

Connect the Camera

Connect the camera to your computer using a mini-B USB cable.

 

Hint:  If the software has already been loaded, it helps to disconnect the servos during the teaching process.

Run PixyMon

  • Download PixyMon from the link above.  (There are several versions, be sure to pick the right one for your operating system.)
  • Launch the PixyMon application.  
  • Select the "Cooked" view (click on the icon with the chef's hat!)  This view will show you exactly what the Pixy camera sees in real-time.
  • Click "Action->Set Signature1..."
  • Select an area on the ball to teach a color to the camera.

Once learned, the camera will indicate recognized objects with a rectangle and signature number.

Upload the Code

Open the Arduino IDE and load the Pixy Code from the following page. Connect a USB cable to the Leonardo on the Pixy Pet and upload the code.   

Note:  If the upload fails, try pressing the reseet button on the left side of the Zumo board, shortly before the compile completes.

Play Ball!

  • Disconnect all the USB cables and make sure that the Servo cables are plugged into the camera. 
  • Make sure that the batteries are installed in the Zumo robot base.
  • Turn on the Zumo using the on/off switch located at the rear of the Zumo.

Once the bootloader has finished (the yellow led will stop flashing), Pixy will start looking for the ball. Once it sees the ball it will move toward it and start to follow it around.

This guide was first published on Aug 26, 2014. It was last updated on Oct 17, 2016.

This page (Playing with your Pixy Pet!) was last updated on Jul 31, 2014.

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