Mobotix

The German company MOBOTIX AG is known as the leading pioneer in network camera technology and its decentralized concept has made high-resolution video systems cost efficient.

Unlike other systems, with the decentralized MOBOTIX concept, a high-speed computer and if necessary, digital long-term memory card (MicroSD Card) is built into every camera, providing several days of recording time. The PC and the video control centre now serve only for viewing and controlling the cameras, not for analysis or recording. This makes it unnecessary to purchase expensive video management software, as the most important and computer-intensive functions are already integrated in the MOBOTIX cameras.

Following are some reference sites with photographs.

 Vision contributes to a world first…

This is the first solar powered remotely controlled amateur observatory in the world. It was commissioned in March 2012.  Located in the Northern Flinders Ranges, due to the vast amount of cloudless nights and zero light pollution.  It is comprised of two domes, which house a 20" and a 4" telescope. These telescopes are fitted with highly sensitive digital cameras and have been configured for Astrophotography purposes only.  In other words, their main purpose is to take astral images of deep space celestial objects in our night skies, which involves taking very long exposures, up to 1 hour sometimes.  The long exposures allow the light of the faint objects to reach the CCD chip, it would otherwise not be possible to see these objects with the naked eye.

You can view some of the images taken using these telescopes here: http://www.pbase.com/wysinwyg/astro_images

The two telescopes are remotely controlled from Adelaide via broadband satellite. The power is obtained from a solar array and a large bank of batteries.  It is very important for us to have visual feedback from our observatories, things can always go wrong. The Mobotix cameras enable us to monitor the telescopes position as well as giving us a view as to what is happening inside the dome.  The domes have an umbilical cord which run along the ground of the observatory, it is important that these cords do not snag or twist around the main pier. The wide-angle lenses used in the Mobotix cameras give us an impressive field of view with great clarity.

Given the slow nature of satellite broadband these cameras have proven to be very effective, even on slow networks such as this one. Their light sensitivity is second to none and outclass any web cam or IP cam currently in the market place.  Their ability to work in low light is very important for us, when the telescopes are in operation we cannot turn on the lights to see what is going on as that would ruin the image. These cameras however even allow us to monitor the telescopes in very low light.

"We would like to thank the team at Vision Security Services for their support and the opportunity of allowing us to use their cameras on this project. They have proven to be an asset that we cannot do without!"

Mobotix Video Systems were also used on the following projects:

 Bianco Adelaide Headquarters
 Albion Hotel Adelaide
Miss Lou Riviera Yacht