Client: Department of Conservation 

Duration: 2024 - ongoing support 

Background 

We installed two new Alpine camera sites for DOC (Department of Conservation) to capture still images at a set interval of ten minutes covering points of interest in the Murchison mountains and Wilmot Pass. These images are hosted by Downer Automation and are made publicly available by DOC. It is used by DOC as part of their Avalanche program and general monitoring of conditions in the area.  

Downer Automation have built several Alpine sites in the past ranging from weather stations, camera sites to Radio repeater sites. As a result, the biggest challenge is not building a suitable technical solution, but coordinating the on-site installation since it requires helicopter access and is heavily weather dependant to safely execute the install. Secondly the network connectivity to upload the images needed to be considered during planning and final installation at the site location to ensure we can reliably receive the images taken by the cameras.

 

Delivery Solution 

The solution provided at each site consists of a solar powered frame with an insulated equipment enclosure to house the batteries, solar charger and networking equipment. The camera is mounted on a pole that is secured to the frame. The frame is bolted onto the rock surface and additional stay wires are used to secure the site. The cameras were adjusted on site to cover the intended locations and the solution can be remotely monitored and some basic control functionality is also available. Uploaded images are stored using a cloud storage solution and made available through a web interface developed by Downer Automation.    

Outcome 

The solution is reliably uploading images at the required 10 min interval and these images are available on the Downer supported Web interface together with all the previous sites that was deployed for DOC. The cameras will provide valuable insights into the weather conditions in the area to DOC and some of the helicopter companies operating in the area.