Alliance-funded research leads to development of new, cost-effective technology that will improve data accessibility

After being tested, cameras that cost about $900 less than those currently used will be installed on each of the 18 lysimeters at the Ontario Crops Research Centre in Elora.

Dr. Claudia Wagner-Riddle, a researcher in the School of Environmental Sciences, is leading the study that spurred the development of the new technology. Her team is studying the use of diversified crop rotations to reduce carbon emissions and help combat climate change. Dr. Shannon Brown, a post-doctoral researcher working with Wagner-Riddle, came up with the idea of using a less expensive model camera model to take the time-lapse photos the team uses to analyze the crop's carbon exchange. 

The new model costs about $100 to build, compared to about US$1,000 for the standard cameras.

Wagner-Riddle says cheaper cameras used along with instructions posted on GitHub (an open-source repository for computer programmers) will help improve accessibility of data collection in agriculture and other sectors worldwide.

The project is funded by Food from Thought, Fertilizer Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) through the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance.

Read the article on the Food from Thought website: Picture This: Technology Developed to Bolster Climate Change Studies