Using USB Camera with PIC

[pcmgogo]

I want to make a project with PIC uC and CCS.
I want to using USB Web camera for my surveillance application. I would like to use USB camera because of its costs.
But I don't know how. Is it possible. How?

[Ttelmah]

Basically, not possible (easily).
To operate a webcab, you need a USB _master_ device. PIC's only implement USB slaves.
Now, it is possible to do using something like the FTDI Vinculum chip (which a PIC can talk to), but the costs will be rising.
If this is for a 'one off' project, or one with a low number of units used, it'll be far cheaper, to use one of the really small embedded PC's, with a small Linux, since all the control software will already be available (representing several weeks of software development time). The cost of such machines now is tiny. There is a unit currently shipping in India, for under $20, in reasonable quantities. However if you need to save every penny, and are going to make tens of thousands of units, then the cost of the software will become acceptable, and you might as well develop directly onto something like the Vinculum.
The PIC is not the chip of 'choice' for a project like this.

Best Wishes

[Ken Johnson]

One other note - cameras generate images with LOTS of pixels - you need a lot of memory to do something with this. PICs are kinda short in this regard.

Ken

[arunb]

Hi,

Sorry to jump in like this,but could you post a link where I could get more information on the embedded PCs...

thanks in advance

arunb

[Tom.wmd]