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Product Specifications🔗

The PlanktoScope OS includes all software which needs to run on the PlanktoScope's hardware to provide the overall functionality of a PlanktoScope. Product specifications for the PlanktoScope OS are listed below for ranges of software version numbers. To see software versions listed individually in chronological order, refer to the project release notes or the software changelog. To understand how to interpret software version numbers, refer to our description of the PlanktoScope OS's version numbering system.

v2024.0.0🔗

Specs for v2024.0.0 are the same as in v2023.9.0, except for the following sections:

  • Base operating system: the binary target architecture has changed from 32-bit to 64-bit.
  • System performance: on-board image processing speeds have improved (processing speeds have nearly doubled).

Functionalities🔗

Regular operation:

  • Image acquisition: stop-flow imaging (JPEG image output)
  • On-board image processing: detection and segmentation of objects (batch-processing only)
  • User interfacing: graphical interface accessible through web browser of a connected phone, tablet, or computer
  • Export of data for uploading to EcoTaxa

Advanced operations:

  • User interfacing: web browser interfaces for system administration, system monitoring, and troubleshooting
  • Automation: MQTT-based API
  • Application deployment: ability to add software as OCI containers using Docker, optionally via Forklift
  • System configuration: ability to reversibly add, remove, replace, or override OS configuration files via Forklift

Base operating system🔗

  • Distro: Raspberry Pi OS 11 (bullseye)
  • Binary target architecture: 64-bit (aarch64, also known as arm64)

Supported hardware🔗

Minimum for image acquisition (but not sufficient for on-board image processing):

  • PlanktoScope: hardware v2.1 with Raspberry Pi 4 Model B computer
  • Memory: 1 GB RAM
  • Storage: 8 GB capacity

Minimum for full functionality, including on-board image processing:

  • Memory: 4 GB RAM

Recommended:

  • PlanktoScope: hardware v2.5 or v2.6 with Raspberry Pi 4 Model B computer
  • Storage: 32 GB capacity

Forwards-incompatibilities:

  • Unable to run on the Raspberry Pi 5 computer.

Backwards-incompatibilities:

  • Might still work on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer or a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B computer with 1 GB of RAM, but compatibility is not tested.

System performance🔗

With minimum supported hardware for full functionality:

  • On-board image processing: a dataset of 400 raw images is processed in approximately 1 hour

v2023.9.0🔗

Functionalities🔗

Regular operation:

  • Image acquisition: stop-flow imaging (JPEG image output)
  • On-board image processing: detection and segmentation of objects (batch-processing only)
  • User interfacing: graphical interface accessible through web browser of a connected phone, tablet, or computer
  • Export of data for uploading to EcoTaxa

Advanced operations:

  • User interfacing: web browser interfaces for system administration, system monitoring, and troubleshooting
  • Automation: MQTT-based API
  • Application deployment: ability to add software as OCI containers using Docker, optionally via Forklift

Base operating system🔗

  • Distro: Raspberry Pi OS 11 (bullseye)
  • Binary target architecture: 32-bit only (armhf, also known as armv7)

Supported hardware🔗

Minimum for image acquisition (but not sufficient for on-board image processing):

  • PlanktoScope: hardware v2.1 with Raspberry Pi 4 Model B computer
  • Memory: 1 GB RAM
  • Storage: 8 GB capacity

Minimum for full functionality, including on-board image processing:

  • Memory: 4 GB RAM

Recommended:

  • PlanktoScope: hardware v2.5 or v2.6 with Raspberry Pi 4 Model B computer
  • Storage: 32 GB capacity

Forwards-incompatibilities:

  • Unable to run on the Raspberry Pi 5 computer.

Backwards-incompatibilities:

  • Might still work on a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer or a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B computer with 1 GB of RAM, but compatibility is not tested.

System performance🔗

With minimum supported hardware for full functionality:

  • On-board image processing: a dataset of 400 raw images is processed in approximately 1.5 to 2 hours

v2.3🔗

Functionalities🔗

Regular operation:

  • Image acquisition: stop-flow imaging (JPEG image output)
  • On-board image processing: detection and segmentation of objects (batch-processing only)
  • User interfacing: graphical interface accessible through web browser of a connected phone, tablet, or computer
  • Export of data for uploading to EcoTaxa

Advanced operations:

  • Automation: MQTT-based API

Base operating system🔗

  • Distro: Raspberry Pi OS 11 (bullseye)
  • Binary target architecture: 32-bit only (armhf, also known as armv7)

Supported hardware🔗

Minimum for image acquisition (but not sufficient for on-board image processing):

  • PlanktoScope: hardware v2.1 with Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ computer
  • Memory: 1 GB RAM
  • Storage: 8 GB capacity

Minimum for full functionality, including on-board image processing:

  • PlanktoScope: hardware v2.1 with Raspberry Pi 4 Model B computer
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM

Recommended for full functionality:

  • PlanktoScope: hardware v2.5 or v2.6
  • Storage: 32 GB capacity

Forwards-incompatibilities:

  • Unable to run on the Raspberry Pi 5 computer.
  • Incompatible with Adafruit Stepper Motor HATs (used in PlanktoScope hardware v2.1) manufactured after mid-2022.

System performance🔗

With minimum supported hardware for full functionality:

  • On-board image processing: a dataset of 400 raw images is processed in approximately 1.5 to 2 hours