Cavicams
Cavicams are custom-built camera mounts for the Raspberry Pi camera to capture images of a subject at ~30x magnification for a configurable duration and interval e.g. images captured every 5 minutes for a duration of 4 hours. Originally developed to capture images of leaf and stem xylem for cavitation imaging (hence the name), the device can also be used as a high-resolution optical dendrometer to capture the shrinkage and swelling of plant organs e.g. stems, leaves, roots and petioles (see Optical Dendrometry for more information). The device is intended for use by researchers in the fields of plant physiology, ecology and biology.
Key Features
- Bright illumination above or below the sample.
- Fixed image capture settings (ISO, shutterspeed etc) to ensure consistent pixel colour and brightness for stack image analysis.
- Clamping mechanism with soft and durable rubber pads to eliminate or substantially reduce movement without damaging the sample.
- ~30x magnification of 10mm2 visible area.
- All aspects of configuration and control via a custom web-based administration interface.
- Raspberry Pi (version 3b and above, not included) for storage and configuration. Comes with OpenCV and Python pre-installed.
- Camera (not included) is the Raspberry Pi Camera v2 with an 8MP resolution (image size 2592×1944 pixels).
- Can be used for xylem cavitation imaging, optical dendrometry and as a general use time-lapse camera.
- As a dendrometer, the device can monitor shrinkage/swelling and water use in a range of herbaceous and woody species.
- Developed by researchers with broad applications in plant physiology, agriculture, ecology and many other fields.
- Holes for attaching straps and custom mounting brackets
- Proven application in a number of publications in top quality journals.
