Autonomous Pan/Tilt Sentry Turret

A real-time target tracking sentry turret built with YOLOv8 computer vision, Raspberry Pi networking, an Arduino Mega, and a custom Pan/Tilt chassis.

How the System Works

• Host Machine (Mac): Processes the HTTP webcam stream, runs YOLOv8 person tracking, calculates pan/tilt offset angles, and sends commands via UDP.
• Raspberry Pi: Serves as the video streamer (FFmpeg) and acts as a network-to-serial bridge over port 5005.
• Arduino Mega: Controls the physical Pan and Tilt servos with safety angle limits (45° to 135°).

Project Roadmap

• Low-latency HTTP video streaming
• YOLOv8 target tracking & HUD
• UDP network-to-serial bridge
• Cardboard prototype testing
• KiCad PCB assembly & soldering
• 3D printed Pan/Tilt gimbal chassis
• Motion smoothing & deadzone filtering