World First

What surfer doesn't care about the weather? Who hasn't predicted the arrival of a new swell? Do all of it here!

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Donweather
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World First

Post by Donweather » Thu Feb 25, 2010 8:41 pm

Anyone got any comment on this technology?

http://www.coastalwatch.com/news/articl ... %20Surfers.

Is it for real and how accurate will it be. BTW, don't wave buoys do just exactly this?

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el rancho
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Re: World First

Post by el rancho » Fri Feb 26, 2010 2:45 pm

yes but wave buoys are raw data

i suppose CW will have to translate it for all the mouthbreathers

oh and the articel said they have software that will 'look' at the video webcast and calculate swell size and period.
so no raw data to make the observations from. hmm
see here: http://demo.coastalwatch.com/

i suppose it's little more fine tuned than simply looking at the tweed river buoy, but shouldn't you know how a break will be behaving based on a wave buoy and BOM wind observations we already have?

there's no science dammit!

alakaboo
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Re: World First

Post by alakaboo » Wed Mar 17, 2010 9:16 am

as far as i understand, it works by measuring the wave height from a vidcap in pixels, then using the distance from the camera and some trig they work out the height.
can't see how it would work at all well unless it was perfectly perpendicular, so swell direction will be pretty critical. i'd want it to be a pretty low mounted cam too.
so, i'd say it is precisely inaccurate, on the whole
wouldn't use it for a bar crossing....

assuming it is 'actual' rather than 'surfer' feet?

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