A summary of progress and next steps

Over the last week or so I've made some pretty good progress on the time lapse camera. From a fully charged device, I can shoot a 327 frame video (see below), which lasts about 14 seconds.

After the break I'll summarize progress so far, as well as the next steps I plan on doing. My philosophy is to finish each section completely before moving onto a new task, limiting the complexity of potential bugs and problems.

Tasks Completed:

1. Wireless communication between XBee radios
2. Interface to a LinkSprite jpeg camera
3. Software to process the jpeg files and turn them into a time lapse movie
4. Built shift register hardware onto Arduino base-station
5. Put wireless module into a box.

Next Steps -- Procedural:

1. Implement a bug tracker
2. Implement a feature list/specification

Some bugs to fix:

1. IR LEDs are hidden inside box and wasting power. Should be disconnected.
2. Light sensor is hidden inside box and always detects night. Should be mounted to face of box.

Next features to implement:

1. Power saving mode
2. Independent base-station unit (LCD screen or LED feedback and pushbutton start)
3. Variable photo capture times
4. Variable photo sizes and resolution quality
5. Increase photo transfer buffer size to improve transfer speeds