Looking for an inspection camera solution…

Post all general Toughbook related things here.
Post Reply
Message
Author
thewanderlustking
Posts: 86
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2017 11:52 pm

Looking for an inspection camera solution…

#1 Post by thewanderlustking »

I am looking for a solution to quickly add pictures (and sometimes video) into digital inspections in an automotive shop environment. I have a CF-19 with a bottom facing camera, but I need a GOOD Windows 10 or 11 machine to run our MyShopManager software. The Cf-19 camera comes at the cost of memory. And while I think it would work, it doesn't seem to be very good resolution. I didn’t get far enough to to try as the CF-19 is on W7 and wouldn’t work with the software. Besides I need a solution that is repeatable (those cameras are hard to find as you need the whole laptop/camera setup). Plus carrying the laptop and trying to get pictures in tight spots in the engine bay or underneath isn’t ideal.

Google wasn’t very helpful. But GIGO. I really am not sure what to look for. I was trying to find some sort of standalone Bluetooth camera module. It needs to be seen as a native camera module. IE like a webcam.

A webcam of high enough quality could “almost” work. But they all plug in…. Plus I want something more camera/box shaped with a button to take pictures.

The only possible solution I have stumbled across that I might be able to get to work, is to utilize an action camera like a GoPro and set it up as a webcam or native camera. I need one that could connect via Bluetooth though, most seem to utilize WAN, and that needs to stay connected to the shop WAN for the software to work.

This could be a cheap solution though. They are everywhere and a non GoPro can be gotten silly cheap. Or a genuine one on eBay for a reasonable amount. I have a couple off brand ones I am going to try. But doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to get them to work.

Am I on the right track here or is there a better option?
CF-3110778CM, CF-19ADUU51M

SJLPHI
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat May 14, 2022 1:31 am

Re: Looking for an inspection camera solution…

#2 Post by SJLPHI »

Not quite what you're looking for but my Cat S62 Pro phone uploads automatically to my NAS and my NAS is mounted on all of my computers. I supposed same can be done with any/all modern phones and your shop must have some kind of server right?

thewanderlustking
Posts: 86
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2017 11:52 pm

Re: Looking for an inspection camera solution…

#3 Post by thewanderlustking »

I don't think we have a server? But the application is cloud based. So there must be one somewhere lol. Yes, we can utilize a phone and even do the inspection off our phone. But to synch them up I have to back out of the inspection on both devices, and then reopen it. And it is not very easy to scroll to the right portion and access on the phone.

Doing this rigmarole easily adds 20-30 minutes to an inspection that should only take 15 to do... When the whole thing is done on a phone or tablet, I get horribly written inspections from the guys that have to be gone through by somebody and fixed on the computer. Of course, they don't want to do that as it already takes them 30 minutes or so to do a proper inspection with their phones.

When doing the inspection on a laptop or desktop, you can easily scroll up and down to the needed section. Or simply start at the top and work down. In each section we have a spot to add notes, photos and videos. If we are using a pc for this it is super easy to navigate. If I can get a camera connected to the PC, then a few seconds to go snap a picture and directly populate it in the inspection will save a tremendous amount of time.

I have given the process a couple months hoping that we would all get quicker with it. Hasn't gotten much better. I have done these at other shops and was able to get it down to about 5-15 minutes. But these also were not very well written or thorough inspections and we couldn't utilize a computer to look at it.

One of our desktops is on its way out and both the shop laptops are damaged. We also have about a dozen different diagnostic tools that utilize laptops. A handful of those tools actually require PCMCIA cards as a hardlock key or something. I saw at least on that required a serial port. While most of this is likely replaced by our newer scantools, some of it is pretty cool and niche. And we have it. So if I can get even some of it working... Replacing the failing desktop with a Toughbook makes a LOT of sense.

The CF-31 has a large enough screen to make it a reasonable alternative to the desktop. And I have been using mine there to prove it can do it all. If I can solve the photo input directly into the laptop, it will be a 90-99% solution. While there are some scenarios where a CF-19 is more ideal, they are cheap enough I can have one of those there too.

I also have a "user error" factor to consider. One of my guys is a bit "smart phone challenged" and if I can eliminate that I will save myself a LOT of time each week...
CF-3110778CM, CF-19ADUU51M

thewanderlustking
Posts: 86
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2017 11:52 pm

Re: Looking for an inspection camera solution…

#4 Post by thewanderlustking »

That phone is hardcore awesome btw!!! I wasn't able to figure out the NAS bit though??? Is it like a mini server or something?

I have some other pretty cool tools that utilizing a Toughbook as our main interface would make adding to the mix a little easier for the much more in depth inspections. I have a nice Flir camera, borescope, and a couple other tools that can datalog or take pictures.

In theory, we could actually use our Autel scan tools for all of this. Unfortunately they run KitKat 4.4 and don't come with Google Play. I have rooted one before and been able to sideload it with some stuff, but never got google Services to run stable on it. And I suspect MyShopManager won't run stable on it if at all. Plus this still is only a small step up from using a phone anyways. A real keyboard is a pretty big deal!

I have two different types of action cameras here I am going to try out and see if I can get either one to work... I think this is probably the closest solution to what I am after in cost and execution.
CF-3110778CM, CF-19ADUU51M

SJLPHI
Posts: 10
Joined: Sat May 14, 2022 1:31 am

Re: Looking for an inspection camera solution…

#5 Post by SJLPHI »

Yeah Cat S62 Pro, I don't regret spending 600 bucks on it. Built-in FLIR camera and as tough or tougher than tough books and etc.

For NAS (network attached storage), like you said they are pretty much mini servers. I have a QNAP 219+ and QNAP 419P II. First one dedicated for my documents and work related things and second one for movies and etc. I can access them anywhere in the world that has internet (I can for example upload my documents from U.S. while on a work trip through Verizon cell network to my NAS at home in Switzerland it is obviously faster and cheaper if I use the home network and wifi). I have my phone configured through QFile, a QNAP app available for android and others probably where I can make my camera synchronized to the NAS. Then the NAS drives are mounted on my laptops, linux/Windows 10.

This is actually MUCH faster than connecting the phone to the computer with a wire and etc. I just take pictures, then get on my computer, and it's there in seconds.

I'm sure your shop has some kind of server and I don't think they'd be too opposed to spending like 100~200 bucks on a server that will increase your efficiency/productivity quite a bit.

Otherwise, personally I would probably go for a good old digital camera (probably another IP68 one) that takes in SD card and just transfer images using the SD card, quick and easy.

Post Reply

Return to “General Toughbook Talk”