Sensor Networks
My work on sensor networks began with an open source data logger that was deployed in the grounds of the Natural History Museum, London.
Some thoughts on sensor networks:
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Out of intense complexities… individuals and indices - balancing scope, scale and speed as the fundamental limits of what a network is capable of.
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Abstracting heterogeneity in sensor networks - how the solution to the challenges of fast-tech is slow-tech. Not trendy. Not exciting. Functional. Stable.
Technologies
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Raspberry Pi - tools for Raspberry Pi sensors.
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Arduino for biologists and environmental scientists - eBook in prep.
Urban Research Station
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NHM Urban Research Station - overview of the Urban Research Station at the Natural History Museum, London.
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Sensor network philosophy - how we thought about the design of a sensor network.
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Sensor network install - documentation of the sensor network installation at the Natural History Museum’s Urban Research Station.
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Useful tools for maintaining Raspberry Pi sensor networks - a list of tools and equipment that are useful for maintaining Raspberry Pi sensor networks.
Media
- The Nature of Tech - Amazon Web Services and the Natural History Museum (2025) - discussing the use of technology in biodiversity research.
Reports
Sensor implementation reports
Relevant blog posts
- Sheep - an unreported danger to sensor networks (2026-02-26)
- Architecture of ws-camerad (2026-02-22)
- Rotating a Pi Camera Feed 90° with ws-camerad (2026-02-21)
- Why Environmental Monitoring on Edge Devices Needs a Better Software Architecture (2026-02-18)
- Switching Pi NoIR Camera Profiles at Runtime — Without Restarting Anything (2026-02-17)
- Support for the DS1821 Thermometer on Raspberry Pi (2026-02-16)
- Sheep in the NHM Gardens (2026-02-11)
- Pond sensor install (2025-09-12)