Dual-Axis Pan and Tilt Gimbal Turret with Analog Joystick

Have you ever controlled a surveillance security camera or robotic camera crane using an analog joystick? Being able to smoothly look left, right, up, and down using a single thumbstick is the foundation of robotic vision systems.

In this project, you will build a dual-axis pan-and-tilt gimbal turret using an Arduino Uno, a 2-axis analog thumb joystick, and two SG90 micro servos. The core concept to master is: mapping 2-axis continuous analog potentiometer voltages (X and Y coordinates) into precise servo angular positions (0° to 180°) with deadband filtering to eliminate mechanical jitter.

How 2-Axis Thumb Joysticks and Servos Coordinate

Think of an analog joystick as two independent rotary volume knobs mounted at 90-degree angles to each other. When you push the joystick forward, you turn the Y-axis potentiometer. When you push it sideways, you turn the X-axis potentiometer.

Each potentiometer acts as a variable voltage divider connected to 5V and GND. The center wiper contact outputs an analog voltage ranging smoothly from 0V to 5V. When the joystick rests centered with your thumb removed, internal centering springs hold both wipers near 2.5V (corresponding to an ADC reading of approximately 512).

The Arduino reads both analog channels using analogRead(A0) and analogRead(A1). The map() function translates the 0-1023 ADC range into the 0-180 degree range required by the SG90 pan and tilt servos.

A deadband threshold of ±15 counts prevents the servos from buzzing or twitching when the stick is left resting in the center position.

Deadband filtering ignores minor electrical noise near center resting positions, extending the mechanical lifespan of servo nylon gears.

Building the Dual-Axis Turret Circuit

The Arduino Uno powers the joystick module and both SG90 micro servos from its 5V power pin, connecting to a shared GND reference. 5V supplies the servo motors and potentiometer tracks, while GND provides the return current path.

Joystick axes VRX and VRY connect to analog inputs A0 and A1. The pan servo signal wire connects to PWM pin D9, and the tilt servo connects to PWM pin D10.

The Complete Dual-Axis Turret Sketch

Below is the complete Arduino sketch for the pan-tilt turret. It samples the analog thumbstick, applies deadband smoothing, and articulates both servos in real time.

How the Code Works, Step by Step

Let us review how analog voltages translate into fluid physical movement.

Attaching Servos and Initial Homing

The sketch declares panServo and tiltServo, attaching them to PWM pins 9 and 10. During setup(), both servos receive write(90), aligning the gimbal to its center neutral resting position.

Sampling Analog Axes and Scaling Angles

Inside loop(), analogRead(joyXPin) and analogRead(joyYPin) acquire stick coordinates. The map() function linearly converts 0-1023 into 0-180 degrees. The servos follow your thumb movement with less than 20 milliseconds of latency.

Pushbutton Quick Homing

Pressing downward on the joystick activates the internal pushbutton switch on pin 2. When pressed, the turret instantly snaps back to (90°, 90°) center position.

Practical Testing and Tuning

In the simulator, click and drag the Analog Joystick handle. Watch both SG90 servo arms articulate smoothly in direct synchronization with your mouse cursor. Click the joystick button to verify automatic center re-homing.