// ARCHITECTURE + VALIDATION PLAN
Defined build.
Unproven performance.
Heimdall’s end goal is accurate, farm-wide fox movement tracking: showing where a fox appeared, where it headed and how its path progressed between sensing points. The near-Nairne pilot is in development; no complete unit is assembled and field work has not begun. This page records what the first trials must prove before that goal can become a performance claim.
// FIVE-STEP OBSERVATION CASCADE
- 01
Wake
- 02
Gate
- 03
Identify
- 04
Hand off
- 05
Review
Motion wakes the system; thermal sensing gates camera use; RGB/IR captures reviewable evidence; long-range radio hands observations between sensing points; a human reviews the resulting time, place, direction, confidence and raw thumbnail. The first trial measures whether those handoffs can form a useful path. Heimdall does not dispatch.
// PHYSICAL BUILD SEQUENCE
Commodity first. Custom when earned.
The MVP uses verified off-the-shelf weatherproof enclosures, cable glands and mounting hardware. A custom housing and production tooling are not required to test the sensing cascade, radio path, power budget or field-placement hypothesis.
COTS enclosure
Assemble the minimum hardware needed to retire compatibility, weather and field risks before adding custom manufacturing complexity.
Print selectively
Demonstrated interest and iteration demand may justify an in-house printer for adapters, internal carriers, hoods, mounts and assembly jigs.
Choose production
Outdoor parts still need ingress, UV, heat, condensation and mechanical testing. Volume economics will determine printing, contract production or moulding.
// WHAT THE TRIAL MUST PROVE
Measurement gates
- Maximum reliable identification distance in real night, terrain and weather conditions
- Fox-versus-dog confusion rates using separate held-out field evidence
- Fence-post-height long-range radio performance and relay queue behaviour
- Power use, battery/solar autonomy and weather resilience