How to video record inside an incubator

[morrisey3]

Hi everyone,

I'm a student lab assistant assisting on an experiment and we're stuck on a particular problem which I thought maybe the collective wisdom of the great people here might be able to solve. 

We are doing an experiment where we are growing crickets inside a Thermoline Incubator with diurnal lighting. It would be really helpful if we can video record them inside the incubator throughout their life cycle from birth to adulthood. The incubator has a solid door so we can't point a camera into the incubator from the outside and the incubator is set to 32 degrees celsius / 90 degrees fahrenheit on the inside.

We're contemplating putting a camera in the incubator anyways and see what type of issues it would face at that temperature. The cord would hang out the door squashed by the seal of the incubator.

I don't think this is the most ideal scenario and was wondering if anyone had any other ideas? Thank you

[DrP]

10 minutes ago, morrisey3 said:

We are doing an experiment where we are growing crickets inside a Thermoline Incubator with diurnal lighting. It would be really helpful if we can video record them inside the incubator throughout their life cycle from birth to adulthood. The incubator has a solid door so we can't point a camera into the incubator from the outside and the incubator is set to 32 degrees celsius / 90 degrees fahrenheit on the inside.

We're contemplating putting a camera in the incubator anyways and see what type of issues it would face at that temperature. The cord would hang out the door squashed by the seal of the incubator.

How about a fibre optic lens? The camera can stay outside and the very thin fibre optic cable can go through the seal of the door (thinner than a power cable so easier) and be taped to whatever position you want it to be in. ?  You can get these optic cable for cameras on the internet pretty easy.  

[koti]

I presume the timescale of the experiment is days? Maybe a GoPro with additional power supply or harvest the power from inside of the incubator. 32C is no problem for any camera, a GoPro would give you great quality but you can get one of the cheaper cameras from China. You need extreme wide angle lens or even a „fish eye” lens. 

[morrisey3]

Thank you Dr P. I will look into the fibre optic lens idea. 

Yes Koti, the experiment is over a week. I know GoPro have horrible battery life but worth considering. Thanks

[koti]

57 minutes ago, morrisey3 said:

I know GoPro have horrible battery life but worth considering. Thanks

As long there is lighting inside the incubator there is power inside which you can use for powering the GoPro, should be a fairly easy modification.

Edited July 17, 2018 by koti

[Sensei]

14 hours ago, morrisey3 said:

I don't think this is the most ideal scenario and was wondering if anyone had any other ideas?

You can try using up-side-down aquarium instead of your incubator, with some kind of thermostat, which will keep steady temperature inside. And fan from old computer for airflow.

This way you will be able to see what is happening (and eventually recording) from outside.

 

 

Yet another possibility is Arduino WiFi Camera

https://www.google.com/search?q=arduino+camera+wifi

Cost $3-$4. Together with Arduino module $25 or so.

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/arduino-camera

(but it has worser parameters than GoPro, as it's just VGA resolution, but you could write custom program controlling it)

 

(e.g. program uploading photos to FTP server, and observe it from home on your smartphone any time you want it)

 

[morrisey3]

Hahaha Koti being a broke ass student, I'm not sure I want to try modifying an $8000 lab incubator. 

 

Sensei, great recommendations. Will definitely look into as well. Thank you

[POTATOPERITTO]

Hello, @morrisey3, I'm a medical student who is also using an incubator like yours, not for growing crickets rather we are studying Fungi, and we are working with a culture medium. So, to observe the growth, we were also thinking of putting a camera but we don't have any idea what kind. I Did some research that somehow led my way here haha.  Your post has been 6 years now, I would like to ask what you did. A little insight will do. 

Hoping to get a response from you.