$50 Aerial Digital Photography from a Balloon

Posted by ryuzaki0 on Friday July 25, 2003 @12:54PM 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...."

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Re:Not a free balloon by whorfin · 2003-07-25 15:09 · 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.

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