DailyDirt: Seeing In The Dark

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Some animals, like cats, can see much better in the dark than us humans. (However, cats can't see in total darkness, they just need about a sixth of the light our eyes need to see.) Other animals, like bats, use echolocation to "see" without any light at all. Some people have figured out how to use echolocation, but until we start genetically engineering our eyeballs to be more like a cat's eye, we'll have to use special cameras and sensors to see in low light situations (barring the use of flashlights). Here are just a few examples of some night vision tech.

• Graphene-based light detectors can see the full infrared spectrum -- providing night vision without the traditional cooling equipment needed for infrared goggles. Prototype sensors are really small, so it might be possible to add them on contact lenses. [url]
• Night vision videos are usually fuzzy green-on-black images, but some new cameras can capture a bit of color in the darkness. This video compares video taken from a Canon FS-100 versus a Falcon Eye KC-2000 -- demonstrating how the Falcon Eye camera would perform much better for military and police operations. [url]
• Using an off-the-shelf photon detector and low intensity visible laser light, MIT researchers have been able to algorithmically generate high resolution 3D images in dimly lit environments. The technique produces monochromatic images, but further developments of new computational imaging techniques could improve this low light photography method. [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, algorithm, computational imaging techniques, graphene, infrared vision, low light, night vision, photography, photon detector, sensors

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