AIB Camera: Field guide

Contents

1. Purpose of this guide
2. What AIB Camera is
3. What it does and does not do
4. Requirements and install
5. Permissions
6. Main screens
7. Camera
8. Stamp settings
9. Map
10. Gallery (Photos tab)
11. Capture log
12. EXIF metadata
13. Offline use and place
14. Sharing
15. Limits and responsibility
16. Field checklist
17. Contact

1. Purpose of this guide

This guide explains, in English, how AIB Camera works in the field: permissions, capture, stamping photos, gallery, capture log, and use without a network.

It is for anyone who uses the app. citizens, volunteers, or others. to document a wildfire (AIB) or similar situation. It describes the real behavior of version 1.2.0.

2. What AIB Camera is

AIB Camera is an independent, unofficial mobile app for field photography in wildfire response and similar situations. It is open to anyone: not limited to a specific organization or only to professional operators. It lets you:

• take photos with the rear camera;
• print on the JPEG (visual stamp) date, time, position, and. when available . place and other context;
• keep photos in an in-app gallery;
• share them with the system share sheet (WhatsApp, Telegram, Mail, …);
• keep a local capture log with an identifier for each shot.

Typical uses: document a fire, send the shot to whoever needs it, or read coordinates and other details to emergency responders (e.g. 112).

It is designed to stay usable even without network, GPS, or Photos library access: in an emergency it must always be possible to capture and share.

3. What it does and does not do

What it does

What it does not do

• Does not require an account, login, or cloud sync.
• Does not send photos, location, or the log to developer servers.
• Does not replace institutional archival procedures, reports, or command-and-control systems.
• Does not guarantee GPS accuracy or EXIF completeness: those depend on device, permission, signal, and app build.
• Does not offer a front camera or flash “auto” mode. UI language (Italian by default, or English) is switched in Settings.

4. Requirements and install

• iOS or Android phone with a rear camera.
• A physical device is recommended (not only a simulator or emulator).
• Orientation: portrait and landscape. In landscape the camera moves controls to the side rails (flash/aim/stamp on the left; shutter/zoom on the right).
• UI language: Italian (default) or English, selectable in Settings and stored on the device.
• Stamp timezone: always Europe/Rome, independent of the phone timezone.

Up-to-date availability and distribution: smnl.dev/aib-camera. For organized rollouts (many devices, dedicated builds), contact the developer (see § 17).

5. Permissions

Without GPS you can still shoot. The stamp keeps date/time and any custom text; geo lines show Coordinates unavailable / Place unavailable.

Without Photos library images stay in the in-app gallery, which is the source of truth.

Permissions can be reviewed from Settings and the phone’s system Settings.

6. Main screens

A floating glass tab bar (same on iOS and Android) with icons only:

1. Camera. capture and stamp preview
2. Map. effective point (Me or Aimed), the same Aim sheet as Camera, stamp-parity info, copy / share, and open in system Maps
3. Photos. in-app gallery
4. Settings. language (Italiano / English), permissions, version and install ID (tap to copy), capture log, links to this guide and the privacy policy. Stamp settings open from the icon at the top right of the camera.

Names stay available to VoiceOver / TalkBack via accessibility labels.

7. Camera

7.1 Viewfinder and letterbox bands

In portrait, the live preview has black bands above and below. Top: flash on the left, Aim next to flash, stamp configuration on the right. Bottom: shutter in the center, last-shot preview on the left, zoom on the right. In landscape, bands move to the sides: secondary controls on the left, shutter / preview / zoom on the right. Beyond 2× the tele button shows the live factor (3×, 4×, …).

7.2 Live stamp preview

The viewfinder shows the same block that will be burned into the JPEG:

• top: date/time, optional Aimed target (estimated) line, coordinates, meta (estimated distance / accuracy / altitude / heading), place. per Stamp settings toggles;
• bottom: custom text, if filled in.

Font, text size, and background opacity follow Stamp settings (top-right icon on the camera). The preview matches what will land on the photo (live and burned-in stamps scale from the short side of the frame). Heading stays aligned with what the camera is pointing at in landscape as well.

7.3 Controls

Only the rear camera is used.

7.4 Aimed target (distance + heading)

To use the coordinates of what you are pointing at (e.g. a hotspot 200 m away), not your position. Aim is app-level: the same sheet from Camera and Map.

1. Make sure GPS and compass are available.
2. Face the point of interest (the estimate uses compass heading).
3. Open Aim: on Camera (chrome or press-and-hold the viewfinder) or on Map (crosshair in the top-right). The same full-width sheet opens (dismiss with ✕ or tap outside).
4. Pick a preset (100 / 250 / 500 / 1000 m) or type meters, then Lock target.
5. Stamp and map show estimated coordinates and the label Aimed target (estimated).
6. Use Me ↔ Target on Camera or Map without losing the lock; Clear target (in the Aim sheet) removes it.

It is a ground estimate along the compass heading (no altimetry / DEM): useful in the field, not a GNSS fix on the target. Without GPS or heading, lock fails; capture remains available in Me mode.

7.5 Capture and background processing

After the shutter:

1. The raw JPEG is acquired immediately; the shutter stays available for more shots.
2. In a queue, one photo at a time, the app: applies the stamp, writes EXIF if possible, saves to the in-app gallery, updates the capture log, and tries to copy into the “AIB Camera” album.

You can shoot in sequence without waiting for the stamp to finish: the indicator on the left preview shows that processing is still running.

For the stamp the app prefers the position already available on the viewfinder (live GPS or locked aimed target), so the shutter is not blocked waiting for a more precise fix.

8. Stamp settings

Path: sliders icon on the camera. full-width, full-height bottom sheet (Stamp settings); dismiss with ✕ or tap outside.

8.1 Visible fields (toggles)

• Date and time
• Coordinates
• Place (label from reverse geocode or local cache)
• GPS accuracy
• Altitude
• Heading (compass)

8.2 Custom text

Up to 4 free lines (e.g. crew name or shift). Empty by default: no bottom block appears. Suggested in-app placeholder: Squadra Nord · Turno A.

8.3 Date format

8.4 Text size

Small / Medium (default) / Large.

8.5 Stamp background opacity

From 0% (text only; with shadow for readability) to 100%, in 25% steps. Default: 0%.

Changes apply immediately to the live preview and later shots. Photos already taken are not modified.

9. Map

The Map tab shows the same effective geo point used by the stamp:

• map with the system blue user puck (and heading cone when the compass is available) for Me; a red pin on the aimed target, with the blue puck still on your position;
• Aim icon top-right: opens the same sheet as Camera (lock, change distance, clear);
• if an aimed point is active, you can toggle Me ↔ Aimed here too, and drag the red pin on the map: on release the locked point and distance in meters update from your position;
• the same stamp info lines (date/time, coordinates, meta, place. per Stamp settings toggles);
• Copy puts the text on the clipboard; Share opens the system sheet with text + a maps link; Open in Maps opens Apple Maps / Google Maps.

Without GPS the tab stays usable: a hint appears and there is no marker. Map tiles need a network: iOS Apple Maps, Android Leaflet with OpenStreetMap (no Google Maps key). Copy and share of the text still work when coordinates are available.

10. Gallery (Photos tab)

• Photos are grouped by day (Europe/Rome timezone), with headers like Today / Yesterday.
• 5-column grid of square thumbnails.
• Tap a thumbnail to open the viewer: browse shots (swipe or the filmstrip below), then Share / Delete.
• Selection mode: Select button or long-press a thumbnail; then multi share or delete.

In-app gallery vs system album

11. Capture log

Access: Settings → Capture log.

• Each successful shot adds a row with: ID (UUID), date/time, coordinates when available (otherwise No GPS).
• The log is append-only (entries are not deleted from the app): rows stay on the device after gallery deletions.
• Tap a row to copy the ID and compare it with EXIF on a shared JPEG (ImageUniqueID / JSON comment), when EXIF was written.
• Export CSV (top): builds a local file with columns install_id, id, taken_at, latitude, longitude and opens the system share sheet (Mail, Files, AirDrop, …). No automatic upload.
• In Settings, tap Version or Install ID to copy the value to the clipboard.
• Install ID: UUID created on first launch. Same value as the install_id CSV column; reinstalling creates a new one.

The log is not sent to any server; CSV export leaves the device only if you choose a share app or service.

12. EXIF metadata

After stamping the app tries to write on the JPEG, among other fields:

• Software / Artist
• ImageUniqueID (capture UUID)
• capture date/time (Europe/Rome)
• GPS tags, if position is available
• ImageDescription and UserComment (JSON for machine use)

13. Offline use and place

• Capture, stamp, gallery, log, and share do not require a network.
• Network is only needed for reverse geocoding (coordinates → place label), if Place is enabled and there is connectivity.
• Recent labels stay in a local cache and can be reused offline nearby (about 2.5 km radius).

Without network or GPS, the stamp shows fallback text (Coordinates unavailable, Place unavailable) without blocking the shutter.

On older or constrained devices, the app degrades quietly: if Skia stamp fails the unstamped JPEG stays in the gallery; without native EXIF, photo + gallery + log remain; without Photos permission only the in-app gallery remains; fonts and haptics use system fallbacks. The shutter must not block for these details.

14. Sharing

From detail or gallery selection the system share sheet opens (Messages, Mail, WhatsApp, Files, etc.).

The shared file is the already stamped JPEG, with EXIF if it was written. From the Map tab you can instead share or copy location text (with a maps link) without sending a photo. After sending, handling and retention depend on the app or service chosen by the sharer (outside AIB Camera’s control).

15. Limits and responsibility

Anyone using the app should keep these points in mind:

1. Support tool, not a substitute for official documentation or archival procedures.
2. Position accuracy depends on the device, Location permission, and signal; the app does not correct or certify GPS. Aimed target is an estimate (GPS + compass + entered distance), not a fix on the target.
3. Date and time on the stamp always use Europe/Rome; check that the phone clock is set correctly.
4. “AIB Camera” album is a convenience copy: the reliable copy on the device is the in-app gallery.
5. Privacy: photos, settings, and log stay on the device; there is no developer-managed cloud sync. Sharing with third parties is the user’s choice.
6. Updates: this guide refers to app version 1.2.0; for later releases check for differences on smnl.dev/aib-camera.

16. Field checklist

1. Grant at least Camera permission; Location and Photos when useful.
2. Check Stamp settings (active fields, custom text, date format, size, opacity) before shooting.
3. Verify on the live preview what will land on the JPEG. 3b. If you need to document a distant point (e.g. a hotspot), use Aim (tap or press-and-hold the viewfinder) with an estimated distance and check the Aimed target (estimated) label before shooting.
4. In a capture sequence, do not wait for the processing indicator: you can keep photographing.
5. If you need the Photos library copy, confirm the AIB Camera album updates (Photos permission granted).
6. To trace a shot after deleting the photo, use the capture log and ID; to link CSVs across devices, compare Install ID in Settings with the install_id column.
7. Before sharing externally, ensure content and destination comply with applicable law.

17. Contact

Unofficial document · Reference app version 1.2.0 · Printable · © Stefano Monolo. smnl.dev