micrObs – A customizable time-lapse camera for ecological studies

• Published in: HardwareX
• Main Authors: Winterl, Alexander, Richter, Sebastian, Houstin, Aymeric, Nesterova, Anna, Bonadonna, Francesco, Schneider, Werner, Fabry, Ben, Le Bohec, Céline, Zitterbart, Daniel
• Other Authors: Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: automated camera system; image processing; remote sensing; ecology; collective behavior; wildlife monitoring; [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDV.NEU.PC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Psychology and behavior; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02988638; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02988638/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02988638/file/Winterl%202020%20HAL.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2020.e00134

International audience Camera traps for motion-triggered or continuous time-lapse recordings are readily available on the market. For demanding applications in ecology and environmental sciences, however, commercial systems often lack flexibility to freely adjust recording time intervals, suffer from mechanical component wear, and can be difficult to combine with auxiliary sensors such as GPS, weather stations, or light sensors. We present a robust time-lapse camera system that has been operating continuously since 2013 under the harsh climatic conditions of the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic regions. Thus far, we have recorded over one million images with individual cameras. The system consumes 122 mW of power in standby mode and captures up to 200,000 high-resolution (16 MPix) images without maintenance such as battery or image memory replacement. It offers time-lapse intervals between 2 s and 1 day, low-light or night-time power saving, and data logging capabilities for additional inputs such as GPS and weather data.