Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

$50 Aerial Digital Photography from a Balloon

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the spy-kids dept.

jizmonkey writes "This guy built a balloon to take digital aerial photographs from thousands of feet up. It cost less than $50 altogether, including the image sensor, controller, and balloon. The circuit is surprisingly straightforward: just a hacked Vivitar minicamera, a 555 timer chip driving a relay through a voltage regulator, and a one-meter party balloon like the ones you see at used car dealerships. It just so happens that the entire circuit, strapped to a piece of a pizza box and tied to a really long string, is light enough to be lifted by the balloon. What could low-cost aerial photography be used for? I'm sure some people have some ideas...."

5 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. Good thing it's so cheap by perimorph · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Good thing it's so cheap -- he'll have to study the photos very carefully if he wants to recover it when the helium finally leaks out!

  2. I'm sure the FAA won't be happy... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Anybody know the regulations that apply for balloons? I know the rules for gliders (I'm a glider pilot) but I have no clue about balloons.

  3. Not a free balloon by localroger · · Score: 4, Insightful
    No person may operate an unmanned free balloon

    This is an unmanned tethered balloon. Unless I'm missing an obscure bit of aeronautical jargon here, this regulation doesn't apply. And for good reason I'd gather, since a tethered balloon can be reeled in, but a free balloon (like most weather balloons) goes where it wants once you release it.

    --
    Brackets contain world's first nanosig, highly magnified:[.]
    1. Re:Not a free balloon by whorfin · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This was a 1 meter balloon, so isn't affected by these rules.

      These rules, as specified in the link, apply only to a balloon with a diameter of more than 6 feet or a gas capacity of more than 115 cubic feet.

      --
      Laugh while you can, monkey-boy!
  4. Re:Impilcations and alternatives... by Zakabog · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yeah and why even buy a camera to take photographs, you can just hire a photographer to take pictures of people doing other things you did once. Sure they might pictures that you don't want but who cares right?

    The reason you would do this is not to get just any pictures from the sky, it's to get YOUR pictures from the sky. Like a picture of your house, or your car, or your neighborhood (all of these with you standing in the picture (or out of it depending on how YOU feel) controlling where the balloon goes to take pictures. Not an archived photo of someone elses. And that's $50 A MONTH, not close to a one time fee of $50. And also these are your pictures to share with the world, I'm pretty sure I can't go around sharing keyhole's earthviewer pictures with all my friends.