‹ BackHN Continuity

Thread

Reverse-engineering a $35 backup camera display (AMT630A)

83 points · 25 comments · mogrinz

  1. mogrinz · · focus · HN ↗
    This started because I built a full-size Robby the Robot suit and discovered I couldn&#x27;t actually see out of it (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;gAHd46ErNA8?si=-iOwbobp4trPXdGB" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;gAHd46ErNA8?si=-iOwbobp4trPXdGB)

    I bought a $35 backup camera&#x2F;display to solve that problem, then discovered that the display contained an AMT630A video processor with a surprisingly capable OSD system. That sent me down a rabbit hole of I2C probing, firmware dumping, register tracing, custom graphics, bitmap formats, hidden factory menus, and eventually figuring out how to use an ESP32 to generate a programmable HUD over the live composite video.

    I ended up turning what I learned into an Arduino library, which I&#x27;ve released on GitHub. It supports built-in and custom fonts, multiple OSD windows, 16-color bitmaps, palettes, transparency, and animation. It can also be used with composite video sources other than the camera.

    The library and code are here: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;mogrinz&#x2F;AMT630A" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;mogrinz&#x2F;AMT630A You can also install directly from the Arduino IDE Library Manager (search for AMT630A)

    1. Retr0id · · focus · HN ↗
      Heads up, your youtube link has a tracking ID in it that is bound to the account&#x2F;device you shared the link from.
      1. genxy · · focus · HN ↗
        This video on the device itself (from the readme), not about the robot suit itself.

        How I See from Inside Robby — AMT630A Heads-Up Display <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=0eQ94DHOay0" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=0eQ94DHOay0

      2. mogrinz · · focus · HN ↗
        Thanks! I’ll fix that
        1. ThePowerOfFuet · · focus · HN ↗
          Still not fixed :(

          Replace it with: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;gAHd46ErNA8" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;gAHd46ErNA8

          1. mogrinz · · focus · HN ↗
            Yeah, I didn’t realize there was a time limit on edits, and I was well outside of it
Open on Hacker News to reply ↗

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.