BlueGreen Labs open-source PhenoCam

We are happy to reignite an old initiative called BGCam. Due to circumstance this project has been on hold for two years now. Here, we provide a drop-in replacement for the default PhenoCam cameras, for those with a more limited budget (~$121).

Although the Stardot Netcam series has been a mainstay in PhenoCam based near-surface remote sensing, and soon will see an upgrade to the Netcam Live2, their price-point might still be too high for those with more limited means (or for larger short-term deployments in a phenotyping context).

The BGCam addresses this problem and provides the same conveniences as we provide for the StarDot cameras, through easy configuration scripts, at a lower price point. We note that compromises are made, such as the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach required in construction to achieve the lowest price point. Get in touch if you would be interested in buying a full DIY kit. Due to EU legislation BlueGreen Labs can not sell a fully constructed camera through a webshop. Get in touch for specific contracting should you be interested.

The basic kit includes a 3D printed housing and off-the-shelf Raspberry pi components (or similar form factor boards). The complete camera runs on Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) or 5V power. Data transfers are facilitated using wired or wireless network connections. The 8MP modified camera provides jpeg and optional raw data streams, with both IR and VIS channels (acquired sequentially). Additional extensions of capabilities are possible and include: battery and solar powered operation with a low power / deep sleep mode, and/or cellular data transfers. Depending on the board used, large volume storage is also provided through USB or M.2 drives. Please contact us for more complex builds.

Please keep an eye on our blog for the upcoming software release to support this hardware, as well as detailed hardware build instructions.