DailyDirt: Algorithms + Cameras = Awesome

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Digital cameras are almost everywhere, and they're getting smaller and smarter. Whole new categories of cameras are being developed that don't need lenses or don't need large sensors. Instead, algorithms are being used to manipulate digitized light rays to create impressive images without traditional camera components. Here are just a few examples.

• Rambus is developing a super tiny camera that could be embedded in almost anything. The imaging from this lensless sensor is pretty low resolution, but it's good enough for many situations, and it could even record video. [url]
• Capturing 3D images with a single lens camera can be done without moving the camera. The trick is done by taking a picture of the same object but focused at different depths. The technique is called "light field moment imaging" and uses an algorithm to create the stereoscopic images. [url]
• Bell Labs is working on single pixel, lensless cameras. The technique used here is called "compressive sensing" and relies on a randomized array of apertures to collect multiple snapshots that can re-create a high-resolution image. The applications aren't exactly obvious, but perhaps astronomers or photographers of slow-moving subjects would be interested. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post via StumbleUpon.

Filed Under: 3d images, algorithms, camera gear, cameras, compressive sensing, lensless camera, light field moment imaging, photography, sensors, video recording
Companies: bell labs, rambus