Day 22 of 1000

GaugeCam is a project that positions cameras in remote locations to measure things.  It is really pretty easy to put cameras in locations where power and internet connectivity is available, but when a camera is needed to measure something 24/7 in a location that requires cell or satellite connectivity, the problem is much more difficult and/or expensive.  The problem is that it requires power to transmit images via a cell phone connection.  It also requires power to drive lighting at night.  It is possible to couple batteries with expensive gas powered generators or relatively large solar power generators, but that is very expensive.

GaugeCam’s first remote system placed in a tidal marsh in North Carolina is a complete standalone setup with a cell phone connection and a quite small solar panel that provides all the necessary power for camera operation, image transmissions, and nighttime infrared lighting.  The first camera got placed in the marsh a couple of weeks before Hurricane Irene hit.  The mechanical setup survived pretty well, but the camera casing had a few problems, so was sent back to the manufacturer with whom we work very closely, for modifications to handle that kind of abuse.  Our leader, Andrew Brown has just started hooking the marsh camera up to the internet.  There are graphs there, but it is not yet a live feed.  It should go live within the next week or so.

Note:  My buddy Lyle over at RWDub’s Reviews is going to start working on building BleAx for Linux.  I am looking forward to seeing how he does.