Title

Pier Portal

Department - Author 1

Computer Engineering Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BS in Computer Engineering

Date

6-2012

Primary Advisor

John Ridgely; Bridget Benson

Abstract/Summary

This project constitutes the design, build, and test of a camera system that runs on a track along the length of a pier piling at the Cal Poly pier in Avila Beach. The goal of the camera system is to observe the abundant sea life active on the surface of the piling underwater and in the tidal zone. The camera system will stream live video to the internet, record HD video, and be controllable remotely. The track is mounted to the piling with brackets and extends from the sea floor to a few feet above the pier deck. The camera, all lighting systems, and motion control hardware is housed inside a clear acrylic tube. The tube is sealed on both ends and can be removed from the cart. The cart has rollers that connect to the I-beam. The rollers act as a guide for the cart and as suspension due to their flexible composition. A winch connected to the cable for the pod provides vertical movement along the track. The cable is passed over a sheave above the track before connecting to the cart. The camera and lighting system will move with three degrees of freedom inside the pod: pan, tilt, and focal length. The motion control will allow the user to view the entire vicinity around the camera pod and see the sea life on the piling from different angles and different heights.

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