nil

1. See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/245063939
An automated camera system for remote monitoring in polar environments
Article in Cold Regions Science and Technology · January 2009
DOI: 10.1016/j.coldregions.2008.06.001
CITATIONS
42
READS
1,346
2 authors, including:
Kym Newbery
Australian Antarctic Division
12 PUBLICATIONS 184 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
All content following this page was uploaded by Kym Newbery on 29 November 2017.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

2. An automated camera system for remote monitoring in polar environments
Kym B. Newbery ⁎, Colin Southwell
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Antarctic Division, Channel Highway, Kingston, Tasmania 7050, Australia
A B S T R A C T
A R T I C L E I N F O
Article history:
Received 21 February 2008
Accepted 1 June 2008
Keywords:
Digital camera
Automated photographic remote monitoring
There is widespread recognition of the benefits in automating procedures for the collection of scientific data,
and an increasing ability to do so as technology advances. The benefits are particularly relevant to long term
monitoring programs in remote areas such as the polar regions where the costs of regularly accessing sites
for repeated data collection are high. We describe the design and use of a camera system for automated
recording of digital images at remote sites in polar environments. The design placed emphasis on low
maintenance, low environmental impact, autonomous operation, and the ability to withstand high winds and
low temperatures with very low electrical power requirements. Our motivation for designing the system was
to facilitate monitoring of some aspects of Adelie penguin breeding biology, such as breeding chronology and
chick survival, at multiple remote islands off the Antarctica coast. However, the system also has potential for
application to other monitoring programs in polar environments.
Crown Copyright © 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
There is widespread recognition of the benefits in automating
procedures for the collection of scientific data (Claridge et al., 2004,
Hinkler et al., 2002), and an increasing ability to do so as technology
advances. The benefits are particularly relevant to long term monitoring
programs in remote areas such as Polar Regions where the costs of
regularly accessing sites for repeated data collection are high.
Images are increasingly being used as a means of capturing a wide
range of monitoring data. Examples include images taken from
satellites to monitor polar ice and snow (Massom, 1995), live aerial
video images to monitor wildfires (Hice and Young, 1995), and images
taken from still cameras to monitor wildlife populations (e.g. Brooks,
1996, York et al., 2001, Locke et al., 2005).
We describe the design and use of a camera system for automated
recording of digital images at remote sites in polar environments. The
design places emphasis on low maintenance, low environmental
impact, autonomous operation, ability to withstand high winds and
low temperatures with very low electrical power requirements.
Our motivation for designing the camera system was to facilitate
monitoring of some aspects of Adelie penguin breeding biology, such
as chronology and chick survival, at multiple remote islands off the
Antarctica coast. In many regions of Antarctica, the islands that are
occupied by breeding penguins are accessible early in the breeding
period (early summer) when firm sea-ice allows easy travel, but are
inaccessible or very difficult to access later in the breeding period (late
summer) when the sea-ice has disappeared. Monitoring of Adelie
penguin breeding performance has been carried out at Bechérvaise
Island in east Antarctica since 1990 as part of the CCAMLR Ecosystem
Monitoring System (Clarke et al., 2002). The use of manual observa-
tion methods, the need to be present regularly and frequently
throughout the breeding period to apply these methods, and the
logistical constraints to travel at some times of the year, have limited
the spatial extent of monitoring that is possible by a small team to this
single island. The aim of developing the camera system was to allow
more spatially extensive and cost-effective monitoring of Adelie
penguin breeding biology without the need for additional field
workers or complex and expensive logistics.
2. Camera system description
The camera system comprises seven main components: a digital
single lens reflex (DSLR) camera, a camera controller, a weather-proof
case, an external protective shutter, a solar panel and battery, a tripod
with azimuth/elevation control, and rock mats for securing the tripod
to the ground (Fig. 1).
2.1. DSLR camera
The concept of the described camera system has only become
realisable with the widespread availability of consumer digital cameras
capable of taking images with quality approaching traditional 35 mm
film. There are many specifications attached to digital cameras, however
the two specifications of primary importance for our application are
image quality and the ability to operate in low temperatures.
At the time of writing, DSLR cameras have maximum image sensor
pixel counts ranging from 6 to 21 Mega-pixels, although their cost
rises almost exponentially above 10 Mega-pixels. Images are stored in
the industry standard Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) image
Cold Regions Science and Technology 55 (2009) 47–51
⁎ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: kym.newbery@aad.gov.au (K.B. Newbery).
0165-232X/$ – see front matter. Crown Copyright © 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.coldregions.2008.06.001
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Cold Regions Science and Technology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/coldregions

3. file format and this format supports the Exchangeable Image File
Format (EXIF) standard to embed metadata such as date and time,
shutter speed, aperture and focal length into the image file. Most
digital cameras also embed their serial number into the image which
enables the images to be traced back to a specific camera (this may
especially useful if several cameras and many images are being
managed). For our purpose of monitoring penguin breeding success,
the camera needed to take pictures at sufficiently high quality to allow
the images to be later viewed and the same information extracted as if
a field observer were making direct observations. Specifically, we
planned to use a single camera system to observe approximately 40
Adelie penguin nests in an area of around 40 m2
, with the purpose of
reliably determining whether an adult and/or chick is present or not at
each of the nests on any day within a specified period of the breeding
season. In addition, the camera needed to operate effectively during
the summer months in temperatures down to −20 °C, and to be
unaffected by temperatures as low as −35 °C when hibernating in the
winter months.
While we successfully used and tested Canon™ EOS-300D/Rebel
and EOS-350D/Rebel XT DSLR cameras in developing the system, there
would be numerous other suitable camera brands and models
available, however each particular model needs to be tested for its
ability to operate outside the manufacturers guaranteed operating
temperature range.
2.2. Camera controller
The camera controller performs all the automation functions
required to make the camera system operate, particularly the
frequency and timing of camera operation. Through the controller,
the camera can be programmed to take an image at any specified
minute in a year. Year information is not considered so that the
program can repeat continually over successive years. To simplify the
programming task, the camera system uses a programming method
that allows use of wildcards for the month, day, hour and minute. The
controller consists of a very low power microcontroller, based on the
Texas Instruments MSP430 CPU and custom software. It contains a
temperature compensated clock which remains accurate to better
than 1 min in 1 year of operation at temperatures down to −40 °C. The
minimum time resolution is limited to 1 min because of the inherent
time variation in the picture taking process. This variation is the time
it takes to turn on the camera, open the shutter, expose the image and
write it to a memory card. The controller consumes very little power in
sleep mode (80 μA at 12 V). When operating the camera, the power
Fig. 1. Camera system diagram.
Fig. 2. Camera controller block diagram.
48 K.B. Newbery, C. Southwell / Cold Regions Science and Technology 55 (2009) 47–51

4. consumption is dominated by the DSLR and shutter servo motor.
These components are only operated as long as necessary to take a
picture.
The camera controller also has two buttons “picture” and “power”
located on the rear of the weather-proof case. These external buttons
allow test pictures to be taken once the camera is setup, and to
manually turn on the camera to check its operation.
Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of the controller. The controller is
housed in a plastic enclosure inside the weather-proof case. It has
been designed to be easily removed and replaced if required. The
controller is complicated by the need for 3 separate power supplies;
3.3 V is required for the MSP430 CPU and logic, 6 V at 1 Amp
maximum is required for the servo motor, and 7.5 V at up to 2 Amp
maximum is required for the DSLR camera. The CPU has the ability to
turn the 6 V and 7.5 V supplies on and off when required. The CPU has
a serial command port which is used to program the controller using a
laptop PC. The controller has red and green lights for diagnostic
purposes to help when setting up the camera in the field. The lights
indicate that the controller has detected no problems with the clock,
camera program or battery voltages, allowing the user to be confident
that the camera will take photographs after it has been installed.
2.3. Weather-proof case
The camera and camera controller are enclosed in a standard
Pelican™ brand case (type 1300), to protect them from hostile
weather conditions (Fig. 3). This style of case makes a good all-
weather outdoor enclosure because the plastic is UV resistant and
retains its strong properties when cold. Use of black-coloured plastic
also assists with snow and ice removal because it seems to warm up
faster in sunlight compared to other colours. The case has a lid which
effectively seals with hand operated snap-locks allowing easy access
the camera with gloved hands and without the need for tools.
Condensation can form inside the case during warm weather so a
sachet of desiccant is kept inside the case to absorb moisture. The
desiccant has only needed to be de-hydrated every 12 months.
2.4. External protective shutter
The case has an optical window on one side through which images
are taken. When the camera is not in operation, the window is covered
with an externally-mounted protective shutter to keep the window
from being abraded by dust and snow. The shutter has a set of bristles
that form a snow proof seal around the window and which also brush
the window clean when the shutter is opening and closing (Fig. 4). Just
before the camera takes an image, the shutter rotates to expose the
window and then after the image has been taken the shutter closes.
The shutter mechanism is based on a servo motor which provides high
torque at low power in a sealed and easily operated package. The
controller automatically limits the power to the servo motor and only
applies power for short periods, minimising power use and prevent-
ing damage to the servo motor if the shutter has been jammed by a
heavy icing event. In our experience, the servo motor has always had
enough torque to dislodge ice and debris without damage to the
motor.
2.5. Solar panel and battery
Solar and wind power are the two most viable sources of
renewable energy in polar regions, and of those two, solar power
requires the least amount of infrastructure and is the most reliable. By
focusing design effort into lowering the power consumption of the
camera system, the size and mass of the solar panel and batteries can
be greatly reduced. Low power also rules out any kind of electrical
heating, so all components must be able to function at the required
temperatures. An analysis of the camera system power consumption
showed that our maximum possible requirement (10 images a day for
160 days a year) required only a modest battery and solar panel
combination; a 12 V, 2.5 Ah battery in combination with a 5 W solar
panel was selected. The analysis included temperature de-rating at
−30 °C where the battery capacity drops to 30% of its nominal value.
Battery self-discharge and controller quiescent consumption was also
included. Attention was paid to low temperature performance, long
term trickle charging, rugged construction and a non-liquid electro-
lyte to avoid freezing failure and problems with transport of
hazardous materials. The EnerSys™ Cyclon family pure lead-tin
batteries fitted all these criteria. A simple, voltage adjustable, series
regulator was chosen to regulate the charge into the batteries from the
solar panel. The regulator was also selected for negligible battery
discharge in the long periods where there is no solar power available.
Both the battery pack and solar regulator are contained in a plastic
box, which in turn is located in a small carry bag which both protects
the plastic box from UV light degradation and is a practical carrying
device. The solar panel, which is flexible but still stiff, is tied to the
tripod legs using shock absorbing ‘bungy’ cord.
2.6. Tripod
The tripod is a 3 legged, surveyors' tripod with the legs shortened
to a length of 700 mm. The tripod is made from light-weight
aluminium with spiked tips and fastening points at the ends of the feet
to which the rock mats are attached. A custom made heavy duty
azimuth and elevation wedge bracket allows the camera enclosure to
be adjusted to point in almost any direction. Once tightened it is able
to withstand the mechanical stresses of high winds.
Fig. 4. View of the protective shutter partially open, illustrating bristle cleaning.
Fig. 3. Camera system overlooking a penguin colony near Mawson Station, east
Antarctica.
49
K.B. Newbery, C. Southwell / Cold Regions Science and Technology 55 (2009) 47–51

5. 2.7. Rock mats
The camera system needed to be secured and free of vibration in the
face of winds in excess of 200 km/h. Also, in keeping with thespiritof the
Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, and
because of our desire to monitor penguins as unobtrusively as possible,
the mechanism to secure the camera system was designed to have as
little environmental impact as possible. The securing mechanism
comprises a heavy-grade plastic mat secured to the tripod feet. Heavy
rocks are placed on the rock mats and around the feet. Hence no rock
holes are required for guy wires, no foreign materials are left behind
after the camera is removed, and the only environmental impact is the
movement of the rocks located near the camera site.
3. Storing and downloading images
The ability to remotely download images by wireless or wired
methods is attractive; however there are several reasons why this
capability has not yet been incorporated into the system. Long-
distance radio or satellite links in hostile environments add a
considerable level of complexity, power consumption and cost.
Often the effort required to install and maintain a communications
link can exceed the effort to visit the remote site periodically. Being
able to access high quality pictures remotely is also problematic. For
example, a typical high quality image from an eight Mega-pixel
camera, JPEG compressed to 3 MB, would take at least 55 min, and
would be very expensive to transfer over an Iridium™ modem link at
9600 bits per second. Even if the purpose of the communications link
was to transfer only small thumbnail versions of the images collected,
the ability to download the images from the DSLR and then generate
the thumbnail sized images depends on a suite of technologies that is
complex and challenging to implement in remote and low power
systems.
We chose instead to store the images on a memory card and
‘manually’ download the images by visiting the site at infrequent
intervals when access was easiest (eg during winter when sea-ice is
extensive and reliable) and swapping the full card with an empty one.
The storage capacity of the memory card depends on several factors,
including the complexity and file size of the images, the amount of
image compression applied and the number of images taken between
memory card exchanges. By assuming the worst case for all these
parameters, a memory card of 2 GB was chosen.
4. Transport and setup
For our application the primary regions of operation are Antarctic
coastal islands where Adelie penguins breed. Vehicle access over sea-
ice to the islands of interest varies with the quality of sea-ice, the time
of year and the distance to be travelled. There are some sites where
poor sea-ice limits vehicle access year round, necessitating access by
either helicopter or foot/ski. Consequently, the camera system was
designed to be as light-weight and portable as possible so as to be
suitable for all transport options. Without the rocks, the camera
system weighs about 20 kg and can fit in a large backpack. It can be
easily carried on a quad (four-wheel drive motor bike), in a Hagglunds
(tracked vehicle) or in a helicopter, and can also be easily carried by
hand from a vehicle to the operating site.
The camera system is able to be setup and tested in no more than
30 min and does not require any custom tools. The mechanical
construction uses standard metric fasteners. A small set of hex keys
and spanners is left with the system so that there are no tools to bring
on future visits.
Site selection is important. A good site consists of a relatively flat
and stable rock covered surface. Rocky moraines are also suitable if
there is a large bed of rocks that will not sink into the surrounding
snow. It has been found that good sites are those that are exposed to
wind, which tends to keep the camera system free of snow and stops it
being buried in blizzard tails forming down wind of rocks and in
sheltered spots.
The solar panels should be orientated towards true north for
maximum effect. At high latitudes the panels need to be near-vertical
to achieve maximum effect, but this usually results in high wind
loading and vibration. Wind loading can be reduced by fixing the
panel as low to the ground as possible and piling rocks on the
windward side of the panel.
Once set up, the camera system is designed to remain in place
through several Antarctic summers and winters with only the need for
a once-yearly maintenance and download.
5. Field testing
Antarctic conditions can be hostile and extremely taxing on any
form of equipment. In our application, adverse conditions included
extreme cold, wind speeds in excess of 200 km/h, blowing snow, ice,
dust, grit and salt spray. Antarctic winds in particular can cause
material failure from the unrelenting vibration of loose cables and
fixtures. It was therefore essential to test the camera system
thoroughly in the field before routine use.
The system was tested at Bechérvaise Island near Mawson station in
east Antarctica (Fig. 3) over four austral summers (2004–05 to 2007–08)
and the three intervening winters (2005 to 2007), and at Casey station in
east Antarctica over two austral summers (2005–06 to 2006–07). Tests
were also undertaken in a temperature controlled refrigerator.
Testing in the first summer exposed a problem of static electricity
causing many dark pictures to be taken during high winds. A
modification to the camera controller firmware solved this problem.
Some problems were also found in obtaining the correct exposure at
low light levels and in temperatures below −20 °C. The reason for the
fault was isolated to the camera exposure sensor not operating
correctly at low temperatures. This is an issue which affects all
electronics equipment to varying extents, and requires the controlled
temperature testing of each camera model.
The initial design for the protective shutter was successful in
minimising abrasion damage on the lens window from blowing dust
and wind, but did not completely stop snow and ice building up on the
lens window. Subsequent refinements of the design have addressed this
problem by incorporatingbristles thatbrush thelensclearof snow when
opening and closing as well as forming a seal when the shutter is closed
(Fig. 4). In all of the summer trials, when cameras were programmed to
take ten photographs each day for three months, the available solar
power far exceeded the required power. In the winter trials, available
power was sufficient for the cameras to take a single photograph each
day from February through to December, and thereafter begin taking ten
photographs each day in the following summer. Despite operating in
winds of up to 200 km/h over periods of many months, none of the
images were blurred fromvibration of the camera, and the camera's field
of view was constant, indicating there was no movement or change in
orientation of the tripod or camera case.
6. Limitations
While we consider the system is now developed for routine
operation in the field, further improvements and developments are
possible. The presence of two clock sources (one in the camera
controller and one in the camera itself) means that the time-stamps in
the image metadata drift slightly due to the drift from both clock
sources (although the actual time the picture is taken is still controlled
by the more stable controller clock). Depending on the amount of
wind vibration, the DSLR lens elements can move slightly out of focus
over time. A solution to this problem is to leave the lens in auto-focus
mode at the risk of possible missed images during blizzards or when
there are very low contrast subjects.
50 K.B. Newbery, C. Southwell / Cold Regions Science and Technology 55 (2009) 47–51

6. Making observations from camera images will always have some
limitations in comparison with direct, manual observations. However,
being able to make frequent observations in a cost-effective manner
over multiple sites that are often inaccessible is a major advantage for
monitoring programs in Polar Regions. The camera system is also likely
to be suitable for monitoring programs other than the one it was
specifically developed for; for example, since its development it has also
been used to monitor the break-out of fast ice in areas of east Antarctica.
7. Future developments
Developing a satellite modem to automatically download images
from the DSLR, resize them and then send images back from remote
locations is a potential future development, but will require significant
engineering design and field trials to make a low power, autonomous
and reliable solution.
Acknowledgements
We thank Eric King for mechanical design and construction as well
as numerous ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expedi-
tion) expeditioners for field maintenance trips to download and check
the cameras.
References
Brooks, R.T., 1996. Assessment of two camera-based systems for monitoring arboreal
wildlife. Wildlife Society Bulletin 24, 298–300.
Clarke, J., Kerry, K., Irvine, L., Phillips, B., 2002. Chick provisioning and breeding success
of Adélie penguins at Béchervaise Island over eight successive seasons. Polar
Biology 25, 21–30.
Claridge, A.W., Mifsud, G., Dawson, J., Saxon, M.J., 2004. Use of infrared digital cameras
to investigate the behaviour of cryptic species. Wildlife Research 31, 645–650.
York, E.C., Moruzzi, T.L., Fuller, T.K., Organ, J.F., Sauvajot, R.M., DeGraaf, R.M., 2001.
Description and evaluation of a remote camera and triggering system to monitor
carnivores. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29.
Hice, C., Young, D., 1995. Real-time image analysis and visualization from remote video.
Advanced Imaging 10, 30–32.
Hinkler, J., Pedersen, S.B., Rasch, M., Hansen, B.U., 2002. Automatic snow cover
monitoring at high temporal and spatial resolution, using images taken by a
standard digital camera. International Journal of Remote Sensing 23, 4669–4682.
Massom, R., 1995. Satellite remote sensing of polar ice and snow: present status and
future directions. Polar Record 177, 99–114.
Locke, S.L., Cline, M.D., Wetzel, D.L., Pittman, M.T., Brewer, C.E., et al., 2005. A web-based
digital camera for monitoring remote wildlife. Wildlife Society Bulletin 33,
761–765.
51
K.B. Newbery, C. Southwell / Cold Regions Science and Technology 55 (2009) 47–51
View publication stats
View publication stats