Cool Toys II

Cool Toys II How are you planning to spend the day? Jeffrey Warren, a Media Arts and Science grad student who works on Grassroots Mapping, and Oliver Yeh, one of the MIT students who in September launched a $150 camera balloon into near space, will be photographing the spreading oil slick in Louisiana with tethered aerial camera rigs they built using plastic garbage bags, a commercial point-and-shoot camera, and some helium. Each rig costs less than $100, and will help monitor the oil spills impact at a level of detail that exceeds what satellites can provide. Working with local activist groups and residents, he hopes to empower people to monitor the coast with balloon cameras for months or as long as it takes for the impacts of the oil spill to dissipate, he said. If we do it now, its a relatively low cost, and its a time commitment, but if we get out and begin mapping, well have that data at a later date when we wish we had it, perhaps, he said. He got this idea by working with a fellow MIT student who has been flying untethered balloons nearly to the edge of space, sending back photos over a cell phone partly just for the fun of it. Its the first time were working together as kind of a concerted effort. Were applying these tools not just as hobbyists or enthusiasts but applying them to a specific social and environmental goal, he said. This is one area where were able to make an impact. You can read the full story on CNN.