Meyer CIG 2018

COESP Course Improvement Grant Award 2018

Using Raspberry Pi computers to conduct high-throughput, time-lapsed imaging of plant growth

Chris Meyer, MCB

Project Summary:

Raspberry Pi computers are inexpensive but powerful devices that are now being used for data collection in scientific research projects. This inspired Dr. Chris Meyer to test how Pis can be tailored to photograph actively growing Arabidopsis plants. Users can remotely control the Pi and its camera, and download photos at any time. Thousands of images are compiled to create time-lapsed growth videos or plant health can be assessed with infrared photos. Dr. Meyer intends to synchronize multiple Pis and develop protocols for undergraduates to use these Pis to observe plant growth and development.