The Elevator Pitch - What's needed - What's in it for you - Technical specs - Help us out

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If you read Norwegian, here's a link to an article about us on Teknisk Ukeblad (Norway's tech, engineering, and more weekly)

Every 20 minutes, a fireball streaks across the sky, dropping a meteorite larger than 100g somewhere on our planet. That's roughly 30,000 meteorite falls a year, of which, fewer than a dozen are ever recovered. Like the Norse god of the same name, Project Heimdal has the ability to see and ‘hear’ things that are happening a fantastic distance away. Heimdallr (the god) possessed foreknowledge and, in a sense, so too does Project Heimdal. The meteors that you image with your camera will typically be many tens to several hundred kilometres away. Even so, when the information from your camera is solved with data from other cameras, good estimates of meteorite impact points will generated. Possibly even before the meteorites have reached the ground…

So, the purpose of this project is to build tools that will significantly increase the rate of meteorite recoveries. Project Heimdal will deliver free software and inexpensive all-sky cameras (build your own or buy one) to allow anyone to record and analyse the data from bright fireball events. The power of the project, however, will be the ability to connect with a global database of cameras to help determine where the best place will be to look for fresh meteorites.

Not only do meteorites have great scientific value but they also have monetary value. Yes, people actually pay money for rocks from space. For some, meteorite hunting is more than just a hobby - it's a serious profession. Now, we're not going to claim that Project Heimdal will allow you to quit your day job, but we will say that it will allow you to contribute as a citizen scientist to the fun field of meteoritics. Of course, we also won't rule out the possibility that you could get lucky, but we'll leave that up to you.

For a number years, we've been tinkering with all-sky cameras which monitor the sky, day and night, watching for meteors and fireballs. We currently have a prototype that  has been tested for almost two years on a remote Spanish mountaintop. It has survived some pretty extreme conditions which makes us happy. The design works, but what is lacking is a good control and data reduction package for the hardware. This is where the funding comes in. If we meet our goal, we can create software which will acquire data from an all-sky camera, reduce the data, and communicate with a central server. The network will collate detections from nearby stations and, given enough data, will visualize and distribute the results to the users as they become available. In this way, interesting events can be followed up immediately. And, by giving everyone who is using the network the information that they need to start looking for meteorites, the chance of early recovery of fresh meteorites is increased greatly.

With this data, you can start to identify possible meteorite-dropping events and plan your next weekend out in the great wild with the kids. Because kids like hunting for meteorites just as much (if not more) than us adults. Show them a rock from space and you can engage them for a good 15 minutes. Tell them that they can actually go out and find one, and they'll run around happily for hours picking up rocks and other 'interesting' things that 'could' be meteorites. And if you've never seen a meteorite yourself, we're offering 2 meteorite perks from our Alaskan friend, Eric Twelker, at The Meteorite Market.

From the start, the system is being designed to be as cross-platform compatible as possible. For you, this means that you're free to choose the platform that you're most comfortable with. Whether it be Windows, OS X, or some variant of Linux you'll be able to access your camera and the network of observations.

In addition, the software will also be designed to be compatible with as many different types of camera hardware as possible. This means that you are free to design and build your camera as you see fit. Or, if you'd prefer to just plug-and-play, we're also developing a complete system we call iOnSky.

In high-level schematic, this is how the system will look...

We struggled with deciding how to best distribute Project Heimdal. Early on we discussed a closed, pay-for-license model as we need money to make the project happen. But then we began to question whether that was, in fact, the most sustainable model from a support and maintenance standpoint. In the end, we've decided to offer Project Heimdal in both free and network subscription versions. This will ensure that all network users will have the option to run the latest software, with the latest features.

What's in it for you? Well, take a look. Not only can you pre-order a complete camera system but you can also buy meteorite kits or an as-yet-to-be-designed t-shirt. Cool stuff for sure. But wait, that's not all! As the campaign progresses, and we approach our goal, we'll announce additional incentives and perks to spice things up a bit. And the spicier things get, the more exciting the incentives...

System Features*

• Compatible with most USB webcameras and CCTV cameras
• Designed for the Raspberry Pi
• Browser-based camera setup means that you can access your camera with any mobile device or PC
  
• Simple setup and calibration
  
• Stellar calibration to determine camera alignment at time of event **
  
• Manual or network time and location
• Record on motion detect with fireball/meteor discrimination
• Calculation of fireball/meteor path parameters
• Visualization of trajectory (with darkflight) on project website
  
• Able to communicate with central server
• Remote access to your cameras
• Receive latest solutions for meteorite search zones as soon as they are computed***
• Manual input of additional observations such as: wind, seismic, infrasound, and eyewitness reports***
• Visualization of trajectory (with darkflight) and fall ellipse using Google Earth***
  

* goal is to have these features in first release
** may not be in first release
*** extra features with network subscription

iOnSky Features

• Low-light CCD-based video camera housed in a weatherproof housing
• 1/3” Sony EXview HAD CCD II ICX673AKA chip
• 170^o wide fisheye lens
• USB video capture
  
• Optional 'Pro' model with 1/3" (or 1/2" as a special order) C-Mount camera, PiUPS and wide-field/fisheye lens (from Fujinon/Soyo/Rainbow - TBD)
  
• Optional Raspberry Pi camera controller (P-iONSky)

It is conceivable that not all donors are interested in operating a camera themselves. Perhaps they don't have a dark-sky site or don't give a “rat's bottom” about astronomy. For these people, we recommend donating a camera to a local astronomy club or the science department of a nearby school. If this is you, or you know of a deserving club or school, we'll try to hook you up. And, if you're a deserving school, contact us as well. We'd like to here from you!

The aim of this project is to develop an inexpensive all-sky camera system that could be built and deployed by just about anyone, anywhere around the world. With a central server managing, reducing, and distributing the data, we'll be able to bring the results to users soon after the events are detected. Unless you manage your own network of 3 or more cameras, this is currently not the case. If you're serious about tracking fireballs and finding potential meteorites on the ground, not only do you currently need to do a lot of ground work but you also need a certain amount of luck. This project can't remove the luck component but it can help ease the amount of work that needs to be done on the ground.

Now for the part that no one likes to read but everyone should know about before dropping their money on a project. Since this project tries to use off-the-shelf components where possible, there is very little risk of not being able to supply the cameras themselves. Should there suddenly be a global shortage of micro-mount fisheye lenses, then we might have a problem. In terms of software, we've done significant up-front analysis, experimentation, and estimation to mitigate the associated risks. There is always some risk associated with software development, but we've been testing libraries and code and feel confident that our stated goals are achievable.

The key risk to the project is generating a critical mass of network contributors and users. And this is the bit that we can't do without you. So, please, help us reach our goal and make this project a long-term success!

 Are you a developer? Maybe you have experience working with Raspberry Pi and would like to contribute to hardware development. Already an expert with fireball data reduction and you'd like to help algorithm development? Graphics or industrial design? Perfect! Send us a note and let us know what you could bring to the team!

As Project Heimdal progresses, we're identifying companies and organizations who we'd like to work with and who we think are doing great things. The relationships that we're setting up now, will ensure that we can deliver the best possible product that will meet or exceed our design specs. If your company or organization has something to offer that could help make this project a success, let us know.