Semi-Automatic MiniRhizotron Camera
VSI AC-19, Semiautomatic minirhizotron camera system. The system is designed to be operated in horizontally or flat-angled installed MR tubes as commonly installed in rhizolabs and other experimental installations holding large amounts of minirhizotron tubes. The dual view system (i.e. 2 cameras on opposite sides of the imaging unit) is wirelessly programmed with the MR tube number via a tablet computer and placed on a gear rack slightly protruding from the MR tubes. After initialization, the AC-19 camera module is independently and precisely taking photos at pre-set positions (set via a tablet computer) before returning to the home position. This allows an operator to run 2-3 camera modules efficiently in parallel - being only tasked with changing camera modules between tubes and setting the MR tube numbers via scanning RFID tags with the handheld. Images are saved in ultra-high resolution (2500 dpi) and with the ICAP naming scheme on one of two USB sticks (16 GB) per camera module and can thus be transferred anytime to a laptop etc. The battery of the camera module is chargeable and replaceable for virtually unlimited time of operation. The software allows to pre-set imaging positions in bulk or individually per tube, taking e.g. differently protruding MR tube length into account. The circular gear rack position can be manually changed with magnetic end caps (indexing heads) at the end of tubes (to image the complete inside of the MR tube). Gear racks can either remain in tubes (most convenient) or can be interchanged between tubes (to save set-up costs). Check out the MS-190 manual minirhizotron, or the fully automated AC-21 minirhizotron imager for different root imaging solutions in situ.
AC-19 - Semi-automatic MR camera for Horizontal MR tubes / Rhizolabs
Ac-19 Features
- Automatic imaging after insertion in tube / gear rack (all or pre-set positions)
- Dual cameras (opposite field of view) with ultra-high resolution (2500 dpi)
- Very fast imaging (<1 s) of two sites, no "white calibration" necessary, for efficient imaging campaigns
- Accurate depth positioning on gear rack, circular positions manually changeable
- Lithium-ion battery operated, batteries user changeable
- Designed for horizontal and slightly angled MR tubes; MR tube dimension compatible to MR scanner systems; MR tubes of up to 200 cm in length!
- Programming of imaging units with tablet computer and tube # recognition via RFID / Bluetooth; UI Option: image resizing and correction of non-linearity (due to MR tube curvature)
- Efficient operation. One operator can run several imaging heads in parallel for large MR facilities
| Specifications | AC-19 Minirhizotron Camera | OPEN |
In the box
- Dual-view camera module with Lithium-ion battery, 2 USB ports, RFID tag, focus factory preset to target MR tube dimensions
- 2 indexing gear racks, each 1.6 m long, with centering disk
- 20 indexing end caps for MR tubes (7 cm OD, 65 mm ID), for angle positioning
- Robust suitcase with operation unit (Touchscreen, Raspberry Pi) and chargers (fitting your power grid properties)
- VSI Software package for experimental set-up
Optional:
- Second camera module for parallel imaging in large facilities (parallel operation of 2-3 camera modules recommended per operator)
- additional Gear Racks for permanent placement, or different long MR tubes
- MR Tubes (70 mm OD, 64 mm ID), variable length with indexing end caps (rotational positioning)
European Rhizolabs / Phytotrons with MR tubes (Examples)
- Göttingen Rhizolab, Germany
- EMR Rhizolab, UK
- Jülich Minirhizotron Facility, Germany
- iDiv Ecotron, Germany
- Dasotron, Finland
- Rhizotrons at University of Copenhagen, Denmark
- Nijmegen Phytotron, Netherlands
For manual root and rhizosphere image capturing at any MR tube angle, consider the MS-190 minirhizotron camera system.
For vertical and slightly angled automated root and rhizosphere imaging in the field or greenhouse, consider the AC-21 MR root imaging system.