pages tagged engineeringbloghttp://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/blogikiwiki2014-03-22T04:45:23Zduct tape engineering: crittercamhttp://blog.spang.cc/posts/crittercam/2014-03-22T04:45:23Z2014-03-22T04:45:23Z
<p>Check out this series of photos of
<a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Crittercam">crittercam</a>,
which I took at the Mystic Aquarium on memorial day. Crittercam is
basically a camera that gets strapped onto various animals to help marine
biologists study their behaviour.</p>
<h1>1986-2003</h1>
<p>The first few iterations are clearly ad-hoc constructions, held together
with duct tape, glue, and hand-attached metal.</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../images/crittercam/crittercam_oldest.jpg"><img src="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../posts/crittercam/600x-crittercam_oldest.jpg" width="600" height="338" alt="oldest crittercam" class="img" /></a></p>
<p>Gotta love the multilingual "REWARD!!" written on it in permanent
marker.</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../images/crittercam/crittercam_older.jpg"><img src="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../posts/crittercam/600x-crittercam_older.jpg" width="600" height="338" alt="older crittercam" class="img" /></a>
<a href="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../images/crittercam/crittercam_old.jpg"><img src="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../posts/crittercam/600x-crittercam_old.jpg" width="600" height="338" alt="old crittercam" class="img" /></a></p>
<p>As well as their phone number, in the case that some lost unit should
wash up on shore and someone stumble across it.</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../images/crittercam/crittercam_1994.jpg"><img src="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../posts/crittercam/600x-crittercam_1994.jpg" width="600" height="338" alt="1994 crittercam" class="img" /></a></p>
<p>In the later models you can see the influence of the advent of cheaper
methods for constructing less jury-rigged cases. These days you can
manufacture stuff in small quantities without sending it to a production
facility. The package has gotten smaller (okay, that has a lot to do
with the shrinking camera electronics and storage mediums), sleeker, and
less hand-made.</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../images/crittercam/crittercam_2003.jpg"><img src="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../posts/crittercam/600x-crittercam_2003.jpg" width="600" height="338" alt="2003 crittercam" class="img" /></a></p>
<p>I love seeing the evolution of technology! (Also seeing people using
ad-hoc methods to get stuff done.)</p>
<p><a href="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../images/crittercam/duct_tape_engineering.jpg"><img src="http://blog.spang.cc/tags/engineering/../../posts/crittercam/400x-duct_tape_engineering.jpg" width="400" height="300" alt="duct tape engineering" class="img" /></a></p>
<p>(Cred must be given to <a href="http://mako.cc/">Mako</a> for the aquarium
conversation that inspired this post.)</p>