On-farm surveillance specialist Luda.Farm has developed a new internet-based camera system that works without a hard-wired connection.

The FarmCam Flex kit can be used for security purposes or for monitoring livestock at sites previously unreachable without stringing ethernet cable hundreds of metres.

See also: What to look for when buying and fitting a tractor dashcam

It works via a pair of antennas, with the first plugged into the farmhouse or office router.

This pings the signal up to 1,500m (provided there is a clear line of sight) to the second, mounted in a prominent position on the building that will house the cameras.

Here, it is plugged into one of four ports on a small Flex Hub box. The other three slots are dedicated to the cameras, each of which is connected via a single lead that transmits both the internet connection and power.

Buyers requiring more coverage can rig up a second hub that is linked to the first by a standard ethernet cable.

This means it does not need to take a feed directly from the antenna, freeing up all four ports for cameras.

Each of the 5MP weather- and dust-proof units has a wide field of view (80deg horizontal, 42deg vertical), a built-in microphone and an infrared light with a range of 30m.

© Luda.Farm

Motion detection

Live footage can be viewed by the FarmCam 2.0 app on a smartphone, tablet or computer, and there is a recording facility that stores footage on a pre-installed 64GB SD card.

This automatically fires into action whenever any movement is detected, at which point owners will receive a smartphone notification.

This will also detail the nature of the disturbance, with clever software able to differentiate between people, vehicles and livestock.

The Flex Starter Kit, which includes two antennas, a Flex Hub and three cameras, costs €549 (£477). A second Hub is €239 (£208) and extra cameras are €169 (£147) apiece.

The company also intends to use the system to provide a wi-fi hotspot for smartphones, which it will roll out early next year.

However, it is worth noting that the first batch of FarmCam Flex systems will not be compatible with a UK power socket.