The University of Reading's Department of Meteorology has deployed an AXIS 232D Dome Network Camera from the global leader in network video, Axis Communications, to support its meteorology degree students as they learn to predict weather patterns through studies of atmospheric sciences.
The University of Reading's Department of Meteorology is internationally recognised as a world leading centre of excellence for the teaching and research of the science of the atmosphere and oceans, including weather systems, climate change, remote sensing and atmospheric pollution. Its data and analysis is used by the UK Met Office, for example.
The Axis camera has been adapted and fixed in an inverted position pointing towards the sky and set to collect a sequence of images from a number of preset co-ordinates, several times per day, in order to gather a picture of the changing cloud and weather conditions to help students predict future weather conditions and climate change.
Image snapshots from the camera are stored on a university-owned file server. Milestone's XProtect software is also employed for video streaming and live analysis. The video stream can be sent directly into lecture rooms via the university's Local Area Network and then viewed on interactive white boards - as well as being shared by other educational establishments around the world via secure Internet connections.
Paul Stout, managing director, InCam explained: "The Axis true dome network camera has proved exactly the right product for this solution. InCam provided specialist installation and configuration - adapting a standard dome solution - by re-engineering the housing so that it can reside inverted and still offer the camera all-weather protection."
"We also provided a software script to enable the camera to move on a set course around user configurable preset co-ordinates so that viewers can gain a complete picture of the sky. Users can also monitor changes by scanning through recorded image streams on a PC workstation using Milestone's XProtect suite. The university also plans to implement a web application that stitches together individual snapshots to form a panorama for regular publishing on its web site."
Stephen Gill, facilities superintendent, Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading added: "Images provided by the Axis camera are very high quality and really add value to our studies of atmospheric conditions and resulting weather patterns. It is a great bonus to be able to bring specific sequences of images into a lecture and use these as the basis of learning."
Steve Gorski, managing director of Axis Communications UK Ltd, commented: "It is a wonderful endorsement for the AXIS 232D from The University of Reading's Department of Meteorology particularly as they are so well regarded in their field. This ‘met cam' application sends a signal to other centres of learning in the areas of atmospheric sciences and meteorology."
The AXIS 232D Dome Network Camera is a high performance dome camera, which is designed for professional security surveillance and remote monitoring applications. It delivers high quality, full frame rate Motion JPEG video with the capability to remotely control pan, tilt and zoom functions over an IP network such as a Local Area Network or the internet. It also supports simultaneous transmission of video in MPEG-4 mode.
The AXIS 232D provides high quality, colour video in light conditions down to 0.3 lux as well as light-sensitive black and white video in conditions as low as 0.005 lux. As such, the AXIS 232D is a true day and night camera that is designed particularly for outdoor use. The Axis outdoor housing, which has an IP-66-rated protection against dust and heavy rain, has been customised for use in this application.
