Solar-Powered Game Camera Support Systems

Game cameras provide an automated capability for monitoring wild animals, remote property, etc. Ideally, the camera can operate in all outdoor weather conditions and can operate for many seasons independent of user input.The current market for game cameras is based on simple motion sensors that take photographs whenever triggered.This method leads to a large percentage of images being completely unrelated to what the camera operator wants to photograph.These cameras are powered by batteries that limit operational lifetime and alternative triggering approaches.The problem for this senior capstone project was a solar system design that could power an image recognition system and provide long life.An external company defined the requirements for the image recognition system.The number of subsystems that interconnect to support this expanded functionality is challenging.The subsystems that make up this solar-powered camera system include a charging circuit, a heating circuit, a trigger circuit, a solar array, and batteries, Along with the challenges presented from designing the subsystems, there were a number of lessons learned as a result of the project.Of the lessons learned, the most notable were the challenge of getting parts for a prototype, the level of funding determines the products maximum potential quality, and there is a lack of education on industry practices.After all of the experience from building the subsystems for the camera and dealing with learning a number of lessons along the way, the senior design program allowed the growth of a team as engineers.