A wearable camera typically used to record the daring feats of skydivers or other thrill-seekers could also be a practical tool down on the ground, University of Alberta research shows.
By capturing hundreds of images in a short time in a greenhouse experiment, a GoPro was able to monitor the growth of tree seedlings as reliably as humans, according to the study.
"This shows that the GoPro may be a viable alternative to manual measurements, which could provide several benefits to low-tech greenhouses serving the forestry industry," says Sarun Khadka, who conducted the work to earn a master of science in forest biology and management from the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences.
Using the camera's time-lapse mode, Khadka monitored germination, growth and survival of lodgepole pine seedlings in a commercial tree nursery. The images were captured over six months, then analyzed using software.
The results showed that the germination count from the GoPro in week seven of the growing cycle closely matched the final seedling count recorded in week 24, "indicating the reliability of the image-based counts," Khadka notes.
Similarly, there was no significant difference recorded in height when 15-week-old seedlings were measured using the camera images, compared with manual measurements.
