Exciting week at Pokercam HQ! On Thursday the first batch of parts arrived! Since I was the address listed on the order form, I unboxed everything (video coming soon /s), packaged them up into kits for the other team members and flashed the OS onto the micro SD cards.
Prior to the first shipment of parts arriving, I began work on designing the PCB (much easier with all the parts in-hand) As a group we decided to, rather than include the camera module on our PCB, build our additional circuitry as a stackable board. Here’s a sketch I did of how that would work:
It uses the Arducam module boards we already have and allows us to simplify our design as well as get the LEDs closer to the base of the card shoe (creating a better lighting environment in the process). There will be an additional header (currently debating whether to include a separate PWM-enabled power input for the LEDs to allow for dimming (however this includes its own challenges when it comes to the video and syncing everything together).
More research is to be done (and likely a prototype made) however I’m confident in our ability to make up the lost time from the parts arriving late.