Applying video sensor networks to nearshore environment monitoring

Environmental monitoring is an important emerging application area for pervasive computing. We describe shore-based sensing using standard video cameras and measurement techniques for important variables such as wave and ocean current conditions. We apply networked sensors for monitoring environmentally sensitive beaches and nearshore coastal oceans. We give some steps to improve the Argus video sensor network's functionality to quantify the time-space characteristics of the imaged world. We also discuss future system architectures, on the basis of the experience with a sensor network that have already deployed.