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You can run the FaceTrack utility without a camera turret as long as you have a standard Windows web camera. Naturally, the camera won’t pan and tilt to follow your face without a turret, but you can watch the system detect your face and then track it via the colored boxes it draws around your face to show you where it thinks your face is currently.
If you want your camera to track your face with this utility you will need at the very least the X10 CM15A transceiver and the Ninja Pan ‘n’ Tilt camera turret. The CM15A is the bridge between your Windows PC and the X10 gear you have in your home. It transmits signals both along the power lines running through your home and via radio frequency (RF) using its antenna. This allows it turn X10 modules on and off and to pan, tilt, and center the Ninja turret amongst other operations. The best way to get started, if you don’t have it already, is to get the X10 ActiveHome Professional package. This package includes the CM15A transceiver and software.
X10 also has a software package that allows you to control your camera turret over the Web and stream video to you remotely. I have not used it but if you’re looking for that kind of capability, that may be an additional item to get.
IMPORTANT: Driver Notes
Make sure you have the latest drivers installed for the CM15A transceiver or your gear will not work right. At the time this was written, the latest drivers could be found using the link below and the file name to download was x10drivers_6432_239.exe. However, check to see if there are newer ones just in case:
CM15A drivers page
If you have trouble, try the X10 technical support forum for help.
Camera Notes
For my setup I just have the CM15A transceiver and a standard USB web camera that I clipped on to the Ninja Pan N Tilt camera turret. That works fine for me. If you want to have the camera far away from your PC, you might consider the Ninja/Camera combination. The camera in that package has transmits via radio frequency (RF) to a receiver. This allows you to have the camera anywhere in your home as long as it is within range of the receiver so you are not limited by the length of a USB cable as you would be with a direct connect camera. Be aware, if your home has a lot of RF interference from other devices you may not receive a clean video feed.
X10 Caveats
X10 gear is a lot of fun and is used reliably by millions of people worldwide. However, it should not be used for mission critical purposes. Also, it’s the kind of gear that for some percentage of people will be problematic. If you have complicated electrical wiring in your house the power line signaling may not work right. If you have a lot of RF interference in your home you may have trouble controlling the RF devices and transmitting/receiving wireless signals. I suggest you buy from a reputable dealer with a decent return policy and test everything within the warranty period offered. I bought my gear direct from the X10 web site.
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