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Remote Video Monitoring
About the Remote Video Monitoring System
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Remote Video Monitoring (RVM) systems provide a means of automatically acquiring
video data from remote locations and returning them to a central laboratory computer
for processing. Since 1991, the
U.S. Geological Survey's Center for Coastal Geology has been building RVM capabilities through a cooperative
agreement with Oregon State University where video data acquisition and processing
techniques have been under development for ten years. RVM systems provide data in the
form of numeric values, called pixel intensities, which create the colors or shades
of a digital video image. Results have shown that these video data can be quantified
to provide valuable information in a way that would be difficult with
conventional sensing methods. An RVM system is comprised of two main components, any number of
field station(s) and a central laboratory computer. Video data are gathered from truly
remote locations and environmental extremes by the
RVM field station [30k schematic].
The core of this data acquisition system is an X86 PC equipped with an internal image
processing board and a modem. An RVM field station can acquire video data from up to
four video cameras into its internal image processing board. Once acquired, these data
can be pre-processed and written to the PCs hard disk drive to await image retrieval.
The
RVM central laboratory computer [50k schematic]
can be any Unix based workstation with ample on-line storage, a modem, and a real-time
Internet connection if available. The laboratory computer connects with the field
station over telephone lines at regular intervals to download the video data. Once the
data are retrieved, the central laboratory computer provides a powerful processing
platform with which to manipulate the large data sets produced by the system. A
variety of
software tools
exist which aid in automating the system from acquisition through archiving. Additionally,
the lab computer and field station(s) can be viewed as a wide area network capable of
remote execution of commands, copying of files, and even e-mail. Remote login capabilities
to the field station and the lab computer allow the system operator as well as the
scientific community access to system data and services.
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