Picoastal: A low-cost coastal video monitoring system

Abstract

This paper presents the code supporting a low-cost video camera system designed for monitoring nearshore environments (e.g., sandy beaches, rocky shores) based on the low-cost Raspberry Pi computer board and the python programming language. The product described here (picoastal) is able to perform all major tasks (e.g., video recording, statistical image calculation, and geo-referencing) that other commercial, more expensive systems provide at a fraction of the cost (under US$500). Picoastal is, therefore, targeted at coastal researchers and managers in search of a low-cost and open-source alternative to monitor their shores for threats such as coastal erosion and for general beach-goer safety.

Keywords

• Coastal monitoring
• Beaches
• Computer vision
• Image processing
• Raspberry Pi