ACEP at Work: VDOS Project Update

Project Description: The Video Debris Observation System (VDOS) consists of the design, construction and testing of a remote video observation system for detecting river debris to protect hydrokinetic turbines.

Progress Update:
5/19/2014

Long term testing of the system’s wireless network for data transfer between the onshore and offshore units has been completed. With the successful testing of the wireless capabilities and the successful testing of the rest of the system, in lab testing is now complete and the system is ready to be packaged for the field. The offshore system has been packaged in an all-weather enclosure. Located inside the enclosure is the power supply, web relay, and router. The camera and wireless router are connected to the enclosures’ power supply and communication network but are located outside of the housing. These two devices will be pole mounted onto AHERC’s river barge at a location ideal for the camera to observe debris and for the wireless router to transfer data uninterrupted.

The next step will be to package the onshore system.

6/9/2014

The onshore system is in the process of being packaged for deployment. An industrial job box is being modified into two compartments to house the camera electronics and the remote power supply. The top section of the box has been compartmentalized for the electronics with one side for the network attached storage server and the other side for the communication equipment. The bottom section of the job box is for the power supply which will consist of a battery bank, generator, and power inverters. Additionally power will be supplied by a solar panel when available.

Once the job box is complete it will be powered up and the full system will be tested with the offshore devices as a final check before deployment.

Project Lead: Marc Mueller-Stoffels, mmuellerstoffels@alaska.edu
Project Engineer: Nicholas Konefal
Project Funding: Alaska Energy Authority

Nicholas Konefal displays the offshore VDOS components that are installed in a weatherproof housing.  Photo courtesy MFrey, ACEP/UAF.