Some friends of mine have started a company that uses AI and machine learning to monitor infrastructure for their clients. Their company, Arrayen, have scored a contract that requires the monitoring of road infrastructure and so a new 360° camera was acquired for the job, similar to the one Google use for their Street View app.
The camera mount utilizes suction cups but the cups were too big to fit within the structural ribs on the vehicle’s roof. My friend Chung asked if I could help out coming up with a solution to get the camera mounted to the car.
Laying the final coat of paint on the mounting bracket.
So I brushed up on my stress analysis and multi-link machine design theories, and had my CAD software fired up for Chung’s arrival… After looking at the mount they already have and the car it was mounting to however, it became clear that the problem could be solved with a piece of steel strip with four holes in it.
The camera mount attached to the camera car, sans camera.
After a quick sizing up of the bolts we had to use, I found a scrap piece of steel and took to it with my drill and grinder. All we needed to buy was some countersunk screws that fit into the existing camera mount legs. Honestly the part that took the longest was waiting for the paint to dry!
It did feel good to come up with a solution for them so quickly and have it be so elegantly simple.
If you’re in the market for asset monitoring using AI and machine learning to detect anomalies in your expensive capital, check out Arrayen.
Gallery - AI Vehicle Camera Mount
