Important notes about the Dual Camera System
- The Dual Camera System is unique because it requires the DLS2 to function. The DLS2 is used for networking the two cameras together.
- The Dual Camera network will fail if a properly formatted SD card is not installed in each camera.
- The QR mode for automatically capturing Calibrated Reflectance Panels is disabled in the Dual Camera System.
Power Requirements
The Dual Camera system requires the same input voltage as a single RedEdge-MX, 5.0 - 15.8 VDC. However, the two cameras operating simultaneously will draw twice the amperage. Therefore, it is recommended to use a power supply capable of supporting at least 4.2 amps and 20W peak.
Do I need to connect to both cameras via WiFi?
No. The Main (red) camera will control most of the settings for the Auxiliary (blue) camera as well. A few settings are camera-specific, so you still have the ability to access the Auxiliary camera's settings via WiFi as well.
How to update firmware
Because the Dual Camera System setup only has a single WiFi dongle, in the Red camera, there are special considerations when updating the firmware. Typically the firmware can be updated via theweb UI, but since you won't have access to the Blue camera over WiFi, only the Red camera would be updated. Both cameras need to be updated at the same time.
With this in mind, it is easy to update the firmware on the Dual Camera System. Simply download the "rededgem.bin" file, and place it on the SD cards for each camera while the camera system is powered off. Turn both cameras on at the same time by pressing the button on the front of each camera. You will notice the DLS2 status light will blink various colors. Do not remove power or unplug anything until you see the typical DLS2 GPS status lights: 3 red blinks for no GPS, 2 yellow blinks for poor GPS, and 1 green blink for good GPS.
Once the update is complete, please hold down each of the buttons on the cameras for 5 seconds until all lights turn off. At this point, you should remove the "rededgem.bin" file from each SD card so that the cameras don't update again the next time they are powered.
How can I trigger the cameras using an external device such as a Pixhawk or Emlid Reach?
The details of this answer can vary depending on your specific integration. But in general, you can simply send a trigger signal to the trigger input of the Main (red) camera. The Main camera will then take care of simultaenously triggering the Auxiliary (blue) camera as well. There is no need to send parallel signals to each camera! For more information about this topic please see:
How to integrate Emlid Reach RTK with MicaSense Sensors
Guide for MicaSense Sensors and PixHawk
If you have specific integration questions please contact us directly!
Can I use the RedEdge-MX Blue with my RedEdge-M? How about other sensors?
RedEdge-MX Blue can be used with RedEdge-M and RedEdge-MX. It is not compatible with Altum or older RedEdge models. Please note that if you are using the RedEdge-M, you must have a DLS2. This comes standard with the upgrade kit, or you can purchase separately.
Note that only the RedEdge-M Upgrade Kit comes with a DLS2. For more information see our Dual Camera product page.
Can I use SD cards larger than 32GB?
Yes! For more information on using SD cards with higher capacity, see: SD Cards for RedEdge-M/MX
How do I take a panel capture?
It is essentially the same process as with any other MicaSense camera. You have a couple different options:
- Physical button on the Main (red) camera. Simply align the camera about 1m above the panel, and click the button once.
- Software button in the camera's web interface
Both of these methods will trigger a capture for BOTH cameras, so you will have a panel image for all 10 bands.
Please note that the "streaming" mode and QR capture modes will be disabled in the Dual Camera system due to the limitations of this particular integration.
Please also see: How to use the Calibrated Reflectance Panel (CRP)
What are the differences in the camera web interface?
There are only a few main differences:
- The Status page will show the available storage space for both cameras
- The Live View page will still enable you to take a capture, however the streaming and QR modes are disabled. This is by design due to limitations of your multi-camera integration.
- The Live View page will not show a preview of all 10-bands once a capture has been made. It will only show a preview of the Main camera, although both cameras will have triggered simultaneously.
- The Advanced Configuration page will show a list of all devices connected, including the DLS2 and the blue camera. Please verify that these other devices are marked as "auxiliary" devices.
- Some settings in the Advanced Configuration will be camera specific. For example, manual exposure settings, RAW format, and band omission.
I only see 5 bands in the capture preview, where are the others?
This is normal. The main (red) camera will show a preview of the 5 bands. Both cameras will contain captures once a preview confirms that a capture was successful.
Can I use my older DLS-1 instead of DLS2?
Dual Camera is only compatible with DLS2. There is no possible integration with the original DLS-1.
Can I still connect via Ethernet?
Yes, both cameras still have a dedicated COMM port to connect via Ethernet. If you are interested in creating an Ethernet adapter cable, see: How to create an ethernet adapter cable for RedEdge-M/MX
Using the HTTP API
The usual inputs and outputs of MicaSense products are available with the Dual Camera System, but there are some considerations to keep in mind. Any trigger signal sent to the Red camera (via HTTP API, Serial API, or external trigger) will also create a simultaneous capture on the Blue camera. However, if you want to transfer data in near real-time from both cameras, you will need two Ethernet cables.
Additionally, you will need to access the web UI using WiFi on each camera to change the Ethernet IP address on one of the cameras, as, by default, they both have the same IP address. You will need a different IP address on each camera to get the data from them simultaneously. If you need to change the IP address on the Advanced Settings of the Blue camera, simply power down both cameras, remove the WiFi dongle from the Red camera, and insert it in the Blue camera. Turn on the camera system, and change the IP address as needed.
Keep in mind that the WiFi dongle is not "hot swappable", so whenever it is removed, you will need to restart the camera for the WiFi network to start broadcasting again.
Example Dual Camera System Python code
Using the HTTP API, you can easily retrieve files from both cameras soon after capture is triggered.
import requests
import json
import time
# these are the custom Ethernet IPs you chose in each camera's web UI
redip = 'http://10.1.0.83'
blueip = 'http://10.1.0.84'
def capture():
command = requests.get(redip + '/capture')
#this will get the unique capture id string
captureid = command.json()['id']
# in this example we wait 3 seconds to make sure the capture is fulfilled
# in a production code you can use another method to get the data faster
time.sleep(3)
print('Capture ID: ' + captureid)
theredcapture = requests.get(redip + '/capture/' + captureid).json()
print('Red capture: ')
# print location on red camera's SD card of capture files
redstoragepath = theredcapture['raw_storage_path']
print(redstoragepath)
print('Blue capture: ')
# use captureid from red camera's /capture output to
# get location of images from the same capture on blue camera
thebluecapture = requests.get(blueip + '/capture/' + captureid).json()
bluestoragepath = thebluecapture['raw_storage_path']
print(bluestoragepath)
capture()
Output:
Capture ID: zivbz5KSN21Hm93JwLRw
Red capture:
{'1': '/files/SYNC0021SET/000/IMG_0009_1.tif',
'2': '/files/SYNC0021SET/000/IMG_0009_2.tif',
'3': '/files/SYNC0021SET/000/IMG_0009_3.tif',
'4': '/files/SYNC0021SET/000/IMG_0009_4.tif',
'5': '/files/SYNC0021SET/000/IMG_0009_5.tif'}
Blue capture:
{'1': '/files/SYNC0021SET/000/IMG_0009_6.tif',
'2': '/files/SYNC0021SET/000/IMG_0009_7.tif',
'3': '/files/SYNC0021SET/000/IMG_0009_8.tif',
'4': '/files/SYNC0021SET/000/IMG_0009_9.tif',
'5': '/files/SYNC0021SET/000/IMG_0009_10.tif'}
At this point, you can write more code to download the images to your computer.
I don't have a DJI drone. Is there a Dual Cam mounting kit for non-DJI platforms?
Yes, we can provide a mounting kit for custom integrations. Please contact our Sales team directly about this by clicking here.
How do I process 10-band data?
It depends on what photogrammetry software you are using. The two most common are Pix4Dmapper and Agisoft Metashape. Below you can see our processing guides for each:
Why were the bands for the RedEdge MX Blue sensor chosen? Are there 10-band specific agricultural indices?
The bands were chosen to complement the existing Red Edge MX solution to allow for advanced analytics and research by essentially doubling the spectral resolution and allowing multiple bands to be available at core wavelengths vital for advanced remote sensing applications.
This makes it ideal for monitoring specific plant/vegetation canopies (as we have three red edge bands), water based remote sensing (coastal aerosol band) and for the development of machine learning \ AI based workflows.
Depending on the crop/vegetation or land type you are monitoring having 10 spectral bands gives a greater flexibility for advanced monitoring and analytics. For example, the 705-10 red edge band is superior for identifying chlorosis and detecting leaf roll or blotch.
You can then use these new bands to generate a large range of indices or composites for analysis and classification. You have the ability to generate a number of variant NDRE/ NDVI indices as well as a wide range of other indices (PRI, Anthocyanin Reflectance Index , MCARI).
The spectral range of the dual camera system is also directly comparable to existing satellite solutions such as Landsat 8 and sentinel 2 but with the added benefit of having extremely high spatial resolution
10 ways to use 10-band data (YouTube)
File structure
Normally, MicaSense cameras will create a new folder when booting up, starting with "0000SET". However, once the camera firmware detects that multiple cameras are connected together, they will both have a "SYNC0000SET" folder instead. This will contain the captures from the respective cameras.
The Main (red) camera will contain bands 1 through 5, while the Auxiliary (blue) camera will have bands 6 through 10 in their respective SD cards.
Typically, each time a MicaSense sensor is powered on, a new "SET" folder is created. If you had an empty storage device and powered the camera on, a "0000SET" folder would be created. If the camera is rebooted, a "0001SET" folder is created, and so on. Inside each of these folders are encrypted log files (ending with ".dat") that you can send to MicaSense for troubleshooting if you have problems with your flight. Once captures are taken, they are stored in the flight's SET folder inside subfolders named "000", "001", and so on. Each one of these subfolders holds 200 captures.
These same "SET" folders are created with the Dual Camera System. However, they will only contain some log files. The actual image files will be in each SD card's "SYNC0000SET" folder. Inside each of these "SYNC" folders, you will find log files and the "000" type subfolders. Note that the Red camera SYNC folder will have logs ending with "0," and the Blue camera will have logs ending with "1". This will allow you to easily merge the SYNC folders from both cameras into a single directory on your computer without any file conflicts. It is possible to merge the SYNC folders such that you end up with subfolders with all 10 band files from both cameras.
My question isn't listed here. How do I contact support?
Please contact support by submitting a request (recommended) or by emailing support@micasense.com
| Rev 01 | Initial release | June 2020 |
| Rev 02 | Added external trigger section and made some readability improvements | June 2021 |