Adafruit‘s “Internet of Things Camera” is a neat mashup of existing Arduino components into a versatile remote monitoring camera. The key here is in the word remote – a capability that’s granted by the inclusion of a first-generation Eye-Fi card, which is an SD card with built in Wi-Fi, that can upload images to your computer or other device, or better yet to a variety of photo-sharing websites such as Flickr.
Gizmag regulars will be aware of the term Internet of Things, but in case this is a new one on you, it’s a term that basically describes the notion of objects – potentially all objects – having some sort of uniquely identifiable online presence and, in more recent years, the ability to report data. This might be data that it’s designed to collect (as is obviously the case with this camera), or merely information about its own wellbeing – like a vending machine asking to be restocked.
It’s this ability to report online, to Flickr, yes, but also to Twitter, or via email if they’re preferable, that ensures Adafruit’s camera lives up to its name. And crucially, no coding is required to get online functionality up and kicking – it’s simply a case of entering your log-in information into the accompanying Eye-Fi application. That said, there’s a bit of syntax to learn depending on the specific information you’re asking the camera to report.
I should emphasize at this point that the camera doesn’t come assembled. In fact it doesn’t even come as a kit. You’d need to buy each of the required components and assemble them yourself, though Adafruit gives a lot of guidance as to how this is done. The main components are an Ardunio Uno microcontroller, TTL Serial JPEG Camera (or a weatherproof variant, if required), Adafruit’s Data Logging Shield for Arduino, an Eye-Fi wireless SD card, and some sort of power supply.
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