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NewtCam is an automated underwater camera system for monitoring freshwater wildlife without capturing or handling animals. Organisms move freely through a tunnel where their movement triggers the recording of images or videos. The aquatic unit consists of a camera and a dual lighting system enclosed in a rugged watertight housing with adjustable ballasts for deployment at different depths and imaging orientations. Visible light produces colour images and attracts many taxa, including invertebrates, while near-infrared light produces greyscale images and enables observation of light-averse species. A cable connects the aquatic unit to a battery and a computing unit based on a System on Module integrated into a custom printed circuit board. App4Cam is an open-source, user-friendly configuration application available on GitHub under the GPL v3 licence. 

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This image provides an overview of the diversity of species observed. The camera faces upwards, producing predominantly ventral images.
Example image: A dragonfly larva projecting its labium to capture its prey.

Technical details (hardware and software)

  • Computing unit: System on Module (Variscite) mounted on a custom PCB. 
  • Storage: SD card.
  • Camera: ELP USB camera, fixed focus
  • Lighting system: Visible and near infrared light, various independent scheduling options
  • Autonomy: a car battery (12V, 60 amps) powers the NewtCAM for up to one week. 
  • Power consumption: ~5W
  • User settings: App4CAM, an app accessible through the web browser of any mobile device connected to NewtCAM’s WIFI network.
  • Recording: pictures and/or videos, triggered by motion detection.
  • Processing off-site: crop and classification by taxa. 
  • Components price: ~600 € (without battery).

Web Page: https://researchportal.list.lu/projects/detail/camphibian
Software https://github.com/LIST-LUXEMBOURG/app4cam-backend – https://github.com/LIST-LUXEMBOURG/app4cam-frontend
Paper: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.70097  

Contact:
Xavier Mestdagh
xavier.mestdagh@list.lu

Developed at: Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Environmental Sensing and Modelling Unit (ENVISION), Biodiversity Monitoring and Assessment Group (BIODIV)