Connecting Your Android Phone to a Doodle Network for Video Streaming

Wireless video streaming from aerial robotics platforms has become an essential capability for many applications, from drone operations to remote monitoring. In this article, we’ll explore how to connect an Android phone to a Wearable Mesh Rider® Radio device to access video streams from a VOXL® 2 camera system over a wireless network. Essentially, we will create a mesh network out of these components and stream data over it. If that sounds like it might be complicated, it’s not, so let’s get started.

Understanding the Network Architecture

The setup involves five main components:

1. An Android phone

2. A Doodle Labs Wearable Mesh Rider Radio

3. VOXL 2 camera system

4. Doodle Nano radio

5. A PC

In summary, we will cover connecting the Voxl 2 camera system to the Doodle Nano radio. Then, we utilize our Wearable as a wireless bridge between the phone and the Voxl 2 camera, enabling access to video streams and device configuration through a web interface. That’s it. Let’s go into more detail now.

Configuring The Mesh Rider Radio

Connect the Wearable Mesh Rider Radio to your computer. Depending on your model, you will use either the RJ45 or USB-device port. Then you can power it on. Open a web browser and navigate to the IP address listed on the Doodle Wearable.

Initial Network Configuration

To establish the connection, you’ll need to connect your Android phone to the Doodle Labs wearable’s WiFi network. The network name appears as “DoodleLabsWiFi” in your phone’s WiFi settings. If that isn’t the name in the config under SSID, then you can use whatever name is already there or name your own. You can also set your password on the form field right below that. Enter those credentials into your phone.

Setting Up Static IP Configuration

When first attempting to connect, you may notice the phone gets stuck at “obtaining IP address” before eventually failing. This is because the network requires specific static IP settings rather than the default DHCP settings. Here’s how to configure them:

1. Access the WiFi network’s advanced settings through your phone’s network configuration menu.

   
   

   

   
   

2. Change the IP settings from DHCP to Static

3. Configure the following network parameters:

   • IP Address: 10.223.0.151 (or another address within the same subnet)

   • Gateway: 10.223.0.1

   • Network Prefix Length: 8 (this is crucial, as the default 24 will not work correctly)

Okay, once you have the parameters all in correctly, hit save and then connect.

Verifying the Connection

Once properly connected to the network, you can verify the connection by accessing the Doodle Radio’s web interface (the same IP address that you entered before and is listed on the Doodle Wearable). Enter the device’s IP address in your phone’s web browser, and you should see the Mesh Rider Radio’s configuration portal. This confirms that your phone is now connected to the Doodle's Mesh Network.

Connecting to the VOXL 2 Web Portal

Type in the IP address of your VOXL 2 on your phone (default is 10.223.0.100 unless otherwise specified), and you should see the VOXL Portal pop up. Now that you are on the network, you can try and select the Camera drop-down and pick a camera you know is available. If everything has worked correctly, you should see the camera from your drone.

Configuring Video Streaming

It’s great that we can verify the stream through the VOXL Portal, but if you want to integrate this with other applications, you can test that by using the tried-and-true VLC software. First, you want to ensure your RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) functions. SSH into your VOXL 2 and run the voxl-inspect-services command.

This will print out a list of available services, whether they are enabled and/or running, and the extend of their CPU usage.

If voxl-streamer isn’t running yet, just type voxl-streamer into the command line to kick it off. As it starts up, you will receive important information, such as the dimensions of the feed, the frame rate, and the format. Most importantly, you will receive the stream address:

In this case, that is rtsp://127.0.0.1:8900/live.

With network connectivity established, you can set up video streaming using the VLC media player app on your Android device. The process involves:

• Opening the VLC app

• Entering the streaming URL with the VOXL 2’s IP address

• Using port 8900

• Configuring the appropriate streaming protocol

The video stream, when properly configured, allows you to view the VOXL 2’s camera feed directly on your phone, providing real-time visual feedback from the camera system.

Troubleshooting Network Connectivity

When connecting to the Doodle network, you may encounter some common issues that can be resolved through systematic troubleshooting. Try pinging the IP address of the Doodle wearable and Doodle nano to confirm that both are responding (IP addresses will be listed on the radios) using a network testing app to confirm basic connectivity. If ping tests fail, double-check your static IP configuration, paying special attention to the network prefix length setting.

Conclusion

Setting up video streaming from a VOXL 2 camera to an Android phone over a Doodle Labs network provides a flexible and powerful solution for remote monitoring applications. The combination of proper network configuration, optimized streaming settings, and attention to best practices ensures a robust video streaming solution that opens up a world of possibilities for custom application development. Take this knowledge and build something amazing. Be sure to share whatever you make with us on LinkedIn or connect Ascend Engineering to take your project to the next level.