GigaVision

We have used the gigapan.org panoramic tripod mount and canon powershot SX10IS camera to take sand dune blowout ecosystem panoramics at almost weekly intervals through 2009.  Gigavision aims to increase this to hourly intervals through the growing season. The high resolution (~ 32Gb memory card swapped weekly) will allow plant level zoom and play. Thumbnails are being transmitted the stitched in real time for habitat level observations.

Gigavision demo video (rough draft) from TimeScience on Vimeo.

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This project aims to deliver time lapse Gigapixel video for remote sensing of field sites or a greenhouse.

Gigavision is a hardware/software system that will enable recording and analysis of decades-long time‑lapse images of the environment at a scale of billions of pixels. Gigapixel resolution time-lapse images make possible visual and numeric analysis of phenological and environmental change across a wide spatial range from the level of the individual to the ecosystem. Gigavision data can be embedded in geospatial visualization tools such as Google Earth and Google maps and used in interactive kiosk displays in National Parks and conservation areas. In addition to scientific applications, gigapixel time-lapse datasets can be used to create compelling video content to promote conservation and educate the public about climate change and other slow but significant environmental change. Gigapixel image sets can also be integrated into online interactive educational products.

The Gigavision system consists of a recording and playback system that work together seamlessly. The primary goal in system design is to maximize ease of use both in deployment of the recording system and in analysis and visualization of the recorded data. A core design principle for the TimeSystem playback system is to maximize standardization in a way that facilitates the widest possible range of uses for the recorded data.

The Gigavision recording system uses a standard 10 megapixel SLR digital camera, a computer controlled pan-tilt mechanism, a mini-computer or microcontroller, solid state data storage, a weatherproof housing and an off-grid power supply. Gigavision systems will be designed to work in rugged environments while streaming live data directly to the web via a cellular or standard 802.11 wireless connection. Optional components include weather sensors and other abiotic sensor arrays.

The Gigavision recording system will be developed to work with the TimeSystem software package created by TimeScience. The TimeSystem software is an innovative data visualization system designed to facilitate easy analysis and management of time-lapse images and related data. With both a desktop and web-based interface, TimeSystem enables easy sharing of data, collaboration between researchers and promotes a wide range of uses for long-term data sets, from academic research to educational modules. The TimeSystem interface is easily configured for use by a range of user groups from research scientists, to educators, to conservation groups. The TimeSystem software allows users to quickly create high definition video of landscape change or any other interesting event for presentations, public outreach or conservation campaigns. The TimeSystem can also function in a kiosk installation to provide compelling interactive time-lapse content for National Parks and conservation areas.

How it works:
Recording system details

The Gigavision recording system consists of a stock 10 megapixel SLR digital camera with a 100–200mm zoom lens, a computer controlled pan-tilt mechanism, a netbook mini-computer or microcontroller, a weatherproof housing and an off-grid power supply. Optional components include a weather system and other abiotic sensor arrays, wireless connectivity (either via the cellular GSRM network or standard 802.11 internet wireless).

Each gigapixel image is created by shooting a panorama consisting of 200 – 300 overlapping 10 megapixel images taken over a 5-10 minute period. Individually, each image captures a high resolution snapshot of a tiny portion of the total view; when stitched together, these images create a 1-2 billion pixel image of a 180 degree view of the landscape.

The camera and pan-tilt unit are controlled with custom-designed software running on a pc or microcontroller. For each snapshot in the full panorama, the computer sets the camera position with the pan-tilt unit, snaps a photo and downloads the image to the hard drive. If the system is enabled for wireless internet access, the computer then uploads all the images to the Gigavision server where the individual images are processed into a full panorama.

TimeSystem playback system for Gigavision images:

Desktop version
The desktop application is a windows-based playback system that provides the user with an intuitive interface for watching the entire timelapse at any playback rate. Mouse-based controls let users zoom into any point within the larger panorama as well as to quickly review any time period from a few hours to years or decades. The TimeSystem software provides zoom and panning functionality as well as bookmarking and annotation tools. Users can also export a movie of any part of the timelapse at any zoom level. The movie export tools allow users to quickly generate compelling content for presentations or web playback. Advanced system functionalities include graphing components for co-visualizing any time-based numeric data set such as weather or climatic data along with the gigapixel time-lapse images.

In addition to research applications, Gigvision imagesets provide an exceptional opportunity for creating unique educational displays for museums, national parks and tourist destination. A TimeSystem kiosk installation consists of a playback computer, a large LCD display and a controller. The kiosk interface consists of a large arcade-style spinning dial for moving through time and a joystick for zooming and panning in the images. Future version could have an interface similar to the telescopes common at tourist sites. Just as with a regular mounted telescope, the user could zoom and pan around within the view, however the TimeSystem-enabled telescope would show either the live image or recorded images from the timelapse, allowing the user to look back in time while they zoomed and panned within the view the were exploring. TimeSystem kiosk systems could play back image streams from both on-site camera systems as well as any remote camera with the images downloaded via the internet. In a National Park or other conservation setting, a TimeSystem kiosk would provide resource managers with a compelling, interactive tool to showcase environmental change, restoration efforts, etc.

Online version

Online visualization of Gigavision data consists of a Flash-based playback system similar to the desktop version. Initial functionality will mimic the desktop version to the greatest extent possible within the constraints of existing bandwidth and processor limitations. The online Gigavision system will provide user accounts so individuals can customize data views and data sets and share data within collaborative groups, etc. Online tools will include bookmarking and the ability to export or download, movies, subsets of data and individual images, etc. A web-based interface also permits additional collaborative, social-networking and educational functionalities not possible in the desktop version. For example, the online interface can provide user accounts for different user groups such as “researcher”, “educator”, “student”, etc. For each group or individual, the site administrator will be able to select what datasets are available. Each user group will also have sets of tools aimed for their primary needs.  For example researchers might have collaborative tools geared towards collaboration and publication of results. Educators could have tools to create a constrained dataset more appropriate to a certain grade level and students users could have tools for writing reports and working on projects as a group.

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We have used the gigapan.org panoramic tripod mount and canon powershot SX10IS camera to take up to 360 degree panoramics. We are shooting for hourly intervals year round but will likely depend on solar power, thus more shots on bright sunny days. We would fill a 32Gb memory card weekly.  Stitching software is available here from gigapan, alternatively autopan giga2 for stacking and stitching.

See some examples here or in google earth. And prairieecosystems class assignments

With a gigapan firmware upgrade to take panoramics continuously, an eyeFi card and CHDK script to take, send and delete pictures from the camera, and AC power or solar power adapters, GigaVision will be reality.

We expect to share several Tb of GigaVision through a local server.

Quote from Tim Brown at time-science.com

Pan Tilt:
 I ordered the pan-tilt system on friday it should be here early next
week and I'll start programming it then.

Camera:
At the moment I'm trying to figure out what the best camera system is
to use. Its looking like canon or olympus wins at the moment based on
the software development kits (SDK) they provide. I'll probably head
over to a best buy and check out a couple of cameras. Also, I was
thinking that the National Geographic folks might be able to hook us
up with some of their camera contacts and we could get lower cost
cameras, better access to sdk's, etc. I'll go ahead and ask Tim
Watkins if you don't mind.

Housing:
One of the main hardware issues is what ind of housing we can use that
will give us a large field of view. I was planing to start with one of
these housings but I'm not sure there's enough space in there to move the camera
around much. I'm also looking into using a standard dome-camera
housing like you see all over the place for security systems. If you
could get a camera and pan-tilt unit small enough to fit in one of
those it would be a sweet solution since they are cheap and rugged and
secure. Once the pan-tilt unit arrives I'll have a better idea of what
the minimum size we can use is.

Computer:
Dell sells a netbook (the mini12) that comes with a built-in slot for
a GSRM card but I haven't been able to find out if it runs on 12volt
power. At some point soon I'll call all the manufacturers and figure
out which netbooks books we can run straight from 12 volt. I'll also
look into what kind of power loss you get using the universal adapters
that can run regular computers on a car battery. If it is not too bad
I'll stop worrying about the power input and just get whatever netbook
will work best.

Batteries and Power:
There are a lot of options for batteries. The harbortronics system
above works on an LiPo battery which we can buy from the manufacturer.
I'll probably wait until I have all the system components together to
see what our power requirements are. You might ask someone in your lab
to look into wind options. If the wind was consistent enough (like a
good spike 1-2 times a week) we could get a 400W wind turbine which is
way cheaper than solar and would give more than enough power if there
was decent wind. The downside might be that it would make the
installation pretty obvious to anyone who wanted to come and nose
around the equipment.

Image uploads:
According to my very rough calculations we could upload a 300MB, 100
image gigapan every 90 minute over 3G