| Pronouns | he/him |
| iNaturalist | https://www.inaturalist.org/people/kueda |
| Github | https://github.com/kueda/ |
| Website | https://kueda.net |
#Electronics / #Microcontroller question
I'm looking for an easy way to store some metadata (just a few bytes) with some electronic components.
The project involves #RaspberryPi computers operating a camera and lighting to attract and image night-flying insects.
The lighting includes two components: 1) a set of white high-power LEDs to provide illumination for the camera, and 2) a set of UV, white, green and blue high-power LEDs to attract the insects. I make up these components and attach them to the RPi with pluggable cables. See: https://amt.hobern.net/ to get the idea.
Based on power availability, portability and other considerations, the number and type of LEDs in each component may be different. The camera illumination may use 3 or 6 LEDs or substitute with a ring-light. The attractant may be 6 UV + 1 white + 1 green + 1 blue or 3 UV + 1 white + 1 green + 1 blue or just 3 UV. I want switching lighting components to be plug-and-play.
It's also important to record metadata on the configuration actually used for any session. Right now, it's the responsibility of the user to remember to update a configuration file if they change the lighting. This is error-prone.
I'd be interested in including something in each component that the RPi can read to determine the lights in use. Is there an easy and reasonably cost-effective way to do this? I can easily use cables with more pins. Is there a cheap solid-state component that I can include in each lighting unit and that I can simply flash with some short string or a few bytes and that I can read from the RPi side?
Or am I just wasting time on this thought exercise?
@Mikal take this with a grain of salt because I don't know what I'm talking about and I have no aptitude for this kind of thing, but here's an idea I've thought about for a while:
Throw a big party.
Like, iNat-a-con North America, with workshops on beetle ID and performances by nature-themed bands. Get Pattie Gonia and Steven Rinella to show up. Build organizing muscle in the name of something fun and joyous, and then stay in shape with more events. Keep it independent and user-organized. Then you're definitely organized enough to act at a meaningful scale.
Or, get involved with existing groups. The biggest independent iNat-related group I know of is the iNat Discord: https://discord.com/invite/uskv2yx. In the Bay Area we've also got https://www.bioblitz.club.
And, as discussed, try out alternatives, or think about what you'd want in an ideal alternative.
Ken-ichi
Zee
OpenStreetMap Ops Team
Donald Hobern