Applied Logic Engineering, Inc. (www.appliedlogiceng.com) has just announced a new interface adapter that can be used to connect a personal computer directly to your LANC-equipped Sony or Canon camcorder to remotely control all major camera and recorder functions remotely from your PC.

Our other LANC controller (ALE702 Sony Remote Controller) is a great choice for applications where there is a long distance (hundreds of feet) between the PC and the camera being controlled. However, most PCs these days do not have built-in serial ports, so either you would need to install a serial port in the PC or use a USB-to-serial port adapter, which makes things more complicated and more costly.

    

The new USB to LANC Interface Adaptor allows the user to simply plug into any USB port on the PC and connect directly to the camera to be controlled.  No other hardware is required.  In addition, no special software driver is needed on the PC (as long as you are using either Windows Vista or Windows 7) as the USB Interface Adapter is fully Plug-and-Play compatible and instantiates as a virtual Com port on the PC.  This allows for easy software interfacing for all LANC commands through simple commands via the serial port.  You can even use terminal emulation software to send LANC commands to the camera.

This interface adapter is based on Elm Electronics ELM 624 chip and is compatible with any software written for it.  Our ALE704 SONY LANC Control software works with both of our LANC controller products, including this new interface controller.

You can get more information on the ALE708 USB to LANC Interface Adapter here -- http://www.appliedlogiceng.com/index_files/Page1485.htm.

Applied Logic has just added a new product to our current Sony LANC offering -- an adaptor cable that allows a user to convert the standard 2.5mm plug connector to the new Sony 10-pin D-shaped connector that is now available on new Sony camcorders.

Just plug your existing equipment cable into the 2.5mm plug socket and insert the other end into the camcorder's 10-pin A/V connector jack.

This cable allows LANC equipment (including our LANC Controller board) to be used with all new Sony equipment that has the 10-pin connector.  This cable is also equipped with the necessary resistor on the 10-pin connector that activates LANC mode when plugged into the camera.

You can order this cable directly from http://www.appliedlogiceng.com/index_files/Page499.htm

                 
            Applied Logic LANC Controller                                                         Applied Logic Remote Commander


Applied Logic has just released a new embedded controller product -- the Applied Logic Remote Commander.  Typically, our LANC Controller is connected to a PC and controlled by our LANC software package.  The Remote Controller can replace the PC/software -- when these two boards are connected together via a serial cable, the Remote Commander can deliver commands to the LANC Controller to remotely control the camera's functionality. 

Commands are sent by pressing buttons on the Remote Commander.  We pre-program this board with the following commands:

        * Zoom out, Zoom In, Focus Auto/Man, Focus In, Focus Out, Photo Capture
        * Stop, Rewind, FF, Play, Pause, Power Up

There are an additional 6 buttons that can be programmed for any other Sony LANC command.

Check it out at www.appliedlogiceng.com

             


We've been working with Patricia Terry, a ROV Technician with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission/Department of Fish and Game on modifications to their underwater ROV -- similar to the project we helped NOAA with, the PSMFC is modifying their ROV to include a Sony Handycam HDR-XR500V camcoder on board the ROV.  They are using our LANC controller board and associated software to control the operation of their camera via their topside operations.  They want to use this setup to capture still photos while the ROV is operating underwater.

Our technology is a perfect fit for this application -- with our LANC Controller, we can control all camera and recorder functions remotely, either via our controller software that runs on a PC or via our new ALE706 remote commander, which sends commands  to our LANC controller by the press of a button.

I'm happy to announce that I've received notice that my fifth U.S. Patent has just been issued.  It is U.S. Patent Number 7,620,815 and is entitled "Credential production using a secured consumable supply".

This patent is based on some work I did back at Fargo Electronics (which was acquired by HID Global) -- Fargo was a designer and developer of plastic ID card printers and we had a need to securely control how particular cards were to be issued at the end user's location.  We used an RFID tag on the printable ribbon substrate that could be encoded during the production process with a unique ID code. This digital code would then be read by the end user's printer when the ribbon was inserted into the printer.  The code on the ribbon cartridge would then need to match the same code that had been installed in the printer before the printing process would be enabled.

I'm proud to be part of the team that developed this technology for Fargo.

I've written a new article that has been posted on the Applied Logic web site.

Being involved in embedded system design for over 28 years, I've seen some common errors that inexperienced designers and developers frequently make when implementing their product designs.  I've captured seven problems that seem to occur the most frequently.  Give it a read and see if you agree.

The article can be found here -- http://www.appliedlogiceng.com/index_files/Page1094.htm

While I've never been considered an Agile zealot (and I know a few), I do agree with the basic tenets of Agile software development.  When I was first involved in developing software more than 25 years ago, the Waterfall (WF) Method was pretty much the only game in town.  The WF Method requires that all requirements be defined prior to doing design, then the design must be completed before development can begin, development must complete before testing can begin, and so on to the end of the project.  In hindsight, pretty much a horrible way to develop software effectively.

The advent of Agile methodologies stressed four basic ideas:

1) Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.
2) Working software over comprehensive documentation.
3) Customer collaboration over contract negotiation.
4) Responding to change over following a plan.

It's outside the scope of this blog to go into the details of an Agile project, but if you've done software development, you can probably appreciate the fact that these principles lead to more effective results as compared to Waterfall development.

In the last two organizations I've worked in, large multi-faceted projects that include hardware development, product marketing, manufacturing, as well as software development are typically managed using a Stage Gate (SG) process, which shares many similar characteristics to the old Waterfall process -- first, the project is scoped, then a business case is built, then development ensues, then testing, followed by deployment.  Each stage ends with a "gate" review, where the deliverables from the stage are reviewed and approved.

So the dilemma is this -- how does the software development team conduct their development using Agile practice while conforming to the larger SG process being used to manage the overall project?

The answer is in properly integrating Agile practice in context with the various stages of the Stage Gate process.  I have been successful in implementing such a practice with software teams working inside of larger cross functional projects and have had great success in delivering software products in this complex environment.

If your team is facing this challenge, give us a call at Applied Logic.  We'd be happy to show you how our methods can work for you and deliver results within your Stage Gate environment.

We've just heard from Michael Carter at NOAA's Cordell Bank facility in California.  They've recently used our LANC controller board embedded in their underwater ROV.  My previous blog post shows the ROV they are using.

The controller is used to manage a Canon HD camera in the ROV from the surface support ship.  Our Windows LANC software was used to remotely control the camera functions in the ROV.  The camera is used to record underwater images (both video and stills).

On this particular cruise, NOAA was removing marine debris from the bottom near Monterey.  Michael was kind enough to send along a few photos:

   

When I asked Michael how our controller and software worked on their cruise -- his answer was "perfectly".

That's what we like to hear!

                                     

We've been working with NOAA's Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary on some enhancements to their underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV).  Essentially they are customizing their Deep Ocean Engineering's Phantom HD2+2 ROV with our SONY LANC controller and software to be able to collect video and video stills topside on a remote PC.  Our controller is mounted inside the ROV to provide control of the camera's functions, such as zoom, focus, and recording/snapshot functions.



This is a great application for our controller product and related software and we're happy to have been able to help provide technology solutions in this exciting area!

I've had a few people ask me why there is no Sony LANC jack on the newest Sony camcorders...well, it is there -- just in a different form.

For those of you that don't know, LANC is Sony's protocol for remote control of most camera and recorder functionality.  On camcorders prior to 2008, Sony had a separate LANC jack on most cameras, using a 2.5mm jack.

All new Sony Camcorders now have a 10pin multi-AV remote terminal jack (A/V R) that looks like this --

 

In addition to the LANC functions, this jack also contains video and audio outputs.

Applied Logic (www.appliedlogiceng.com) does have adapter cables available to convert the old style 2.5mm jack to the newer style 10-pin multi-pin connector.  Contact us for more details.