LOCAL PROCESSING INSTALL & RUN NO SUBSCRIPTIONS

DIY Helmet Mounted Camera (HMC) for face capture

This is an open-source helmet mounted camera (HMC): a wireless, lightweight head rig for face motion capture, built from about $125 of off-the-shelf parts around a Raspberry Pi, with 3D printable files for the case and helmet mounts. It can be used with Brekel Body v3 for face tracking, or with anything else that can read a video stream over Wi-Fi.

Why a helmet mounted camera? The face stays fully in frame, close up and evenly lit (the case has optional internal LEDs), so the tracker gets better and more stable data than when tracking the face from a body-capture camera across the room, where the face is small in frame and sometimes not visible at all.

The finished helmet mounted camera from three angles: a white bicycle helmet with a carbon boom carrying the camera in front of the face, its LED ring lit in the last view

Specs

  • Based on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and Camera Module 3 (Wide)
  • Video streaming over Wi-Fi at 40-60 fps
  • Fully 3D printed case that snaps together, no screws needed
  • Prints on consumer 3D printers, or through a 3D printing service
  • About 50 grams for the camera including electronics
  • About 160 grams for the complete helmet mount solution including camera
  • Powered for many hours by a simple USB power bank
  • Mounts to any off-the-shelf helmet (bicycle helmet, safety helmet, your own custom 3D designed & printed helmet, etc.)
  • Open-source design files (STL and STEP)
Exploded CAD view of the camera case: bezel, LED ring, front shell, Camera Module 3, Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, and the vented back shell with its mount
Exploded view of the case
The browser control page playing the live 864x480 stream from the camera: a face under a helmet, filling the frame
Browser control interface

Get the files

The parts laid out on a workbench: USB power bank, cable, microSD card, Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W, Camera Module 3 Wide, ribbon cable, LED ring and jumper wires
About $125 of parts