Elephant monitoring

[thinkandbuild 0]

I have a project coming up which requires unmanned DVR recording of an elephant exhibit which is rougly 100m by 200m. (300y by 600y).

 

The requirement is to have no area of the enclosure unseen, using fixed cameras, for recording to show suffcient detail that the keepers can recognise each animal, that 24/7 recording take place, with no existing nightime illumination in place.

 

I expect that I will need to conduct tests on a moonless night with a camera on a cherry picker and some IR lamps. The hurdles as I see it are:

 

1. How much illumination will be required, what type of lamp, power consumption, where to mount them etc.

2. Depth of field issues. If a single camera is mounted on the sleeping quarter's roof facing in one direction, will a single day/night camera, using B/W mode be able to provide the resolution required to see an animal in th e foreground and the background given that there may be 70m between the two.

2a. I have been told that the range of day/night cameras is limited. 1. Is this true? 2. If so, is it due to poor illumination, or is it inherent in such a camera?

3. I have read here about a variety of ifrared filters and cameras, with a range of frequencies. Is there a comprehensive discussion paper that details the various options of cameras, filters and lights for IR.

 

I'm sure there are many other considerations that I haven't broached. If anyone has performed a similar installation and knows of traps that need to be avoided I would love to have your feedback.

 

Thanks,

 

Simon

[Cooperman 0]

Hi thinkandbuild,

 

Welcome to the forum,

 

Interesting job you have there.

 

You will probably need to clarify a few points before anyone can give you any useful advice. First off, if the area is roughly 100 x 200 metres, then that would be about 300+ x 600+ feet .... not yards.

 

Is the area being monitored for security reasons, animal welfare, site management or perhaps a combination of all three?. Do you need to relay pictures to other parts of the site for public viewing (e.g. a live feed to perhaps a cafeteria?).

 

Ideally, it may be technically easier to locate cameras within the area of the compound, but in practical terms, it becomes much harder to prevent the wee beasties from destroying the equipment, and also can be problematic if the equipment has to be accessed for servicing / maintenance.

 

Incidentally, how many elephants, and is this just an exercise area, or are they permanently resident within this space?.

 

You mentioned about "no existing nightime illumination", but did you mean no visible night time illumination, which is of course a different thing?.

Is there any requirement for cameras to be used for calving?

 

Based on a bit more information, it would be relatively straightforward for members to make suggestions of suitable equipment.

 

The only thing I would suggest at this stage is that the cameras will need to be high resolution, and if you are going to use 830 - 850nM Infra Red illumination, the lighting will need to be planned very carefully so as not to have problems viewing the animals themselves.

[thinkandbuild 0]

Cooperman, thanks for the feedback.

 

Yes, my conversion for our American friends was the wrong way around. We haven't used those 18th century standards since 1967, so we are a little rusty down here.

 

The exhibit has a large barn which is planned to be used for mounting most cameras. There is an adjacent building that can look back at the barn. We may have to mount a single pole to cover one area that is in a blind spot from the buildings. I suppose I am assuming that any distance with suitable lighting is OK, eg up to 70m. If that were not the case, then additional cameras may be required on the perimeter, or as a last resort inside the enclosure.

 

The reason for monitoring is for animal husbandry purposes. It will be going back to a local DVR. The DVR will then be connected to the main zoo network. If transmission is required, I can't see that being an issue. Were you asking about live feeds in relation to picture quality?

 

The only crieteria set is that the animals must be sufficently detailed to allow the recognition of one from another to a trained eye. I am assuming that if that detail is present, there would be ample detail to see other activities such as birthing.

 

It is a permanent enclosure with 5 elephants.

 

There is no visible nighttime illumination, man made or god made.

 

Are you suggesting that there is a level of background IR illumination that is going to help me here. I have done a science degree, but the natural level of background IR wasn't covered in my course!

 

I appreciate your help.

 

Simon

[Cooperman 0]

It's getting a bit late here, so it will have to be my last post for tonight (better make that this morning!).

 

In no particular order, to get any usable pictures you are going to have to consider some form of lighting, and if the equipment is primarily being used for animal welfare, then very discreet IR illuminators will be required to produce clear Black and White images, under virtual 'black' lighting.

 

To answer your point about ambient lighting at night, depending on the proximity to a large well lit city, the chances are that only an image intensifier camera would produce anything useful at night without additional lighting, and you really don't want to go that route (cost wise, and quality wise).

 

The lighting techniques will depend on the layout of the buildings, whether you can reflect IR light off structures for a diffuse effect, whether you can use a number of small IR lamps rather than two or three larger illuminators.

 

If calving were to become a consideration, then they may segregate the expectant mum from the other four for a number of reasons. That would make calving under CCTV a far more straightforward exercise, but they may decide to use low level maintained visible lighting just in the calving area.

 

Animal recognition for the keepers would be relatively straightforward, but as a tool during calving, there are a few more things to consider (life's never easy for a zoo keeper .... or a CCTV installer ).

 

Depending on their budget, it may be worth considering two (or three) fixed cameras, and possibly a remote control camera which can either be left set to cover a given area, or be used by a keeper either on site, or remotely to allow more detailed examination of an individual animal, particularly if the animal were unwell, and in need of regular or routine monitoring (which of course is far more effective using CCTV).

 

For safety reasons, if the cameras are located near to or within the enclosure, try and use models that are powered by 12v DC.

 

One final silly point to consider.

 

Whatever cameras you install, make sure they are very, very water resistant (minimum of IP 66 standard). A favourite trick of elephants is to suck up gallons of water, and then pressure wash whatever amuses them .... within range! You've been warned