Stereoscopic Computer Vision - Open Source Solution

Stereoscopic Computer Vision - Open Source Solution

Author ColGlobe | 30.10.2008 | Category Computers, Robotics, cameras

A plug in camera module and open source software and you've got stereo-vision!

Have you been considering building your own robot? Me neither. But Stanford University has a key device for doing it.. a plug in device to give stereovision to robotic contraptions.  The concept is really quite simple,, build a basic hardware configuration, and then create customizable software instead of building the vision system in an hard-wired mode.

So the controls reside in a PC, and all that’s left is to tie the coding to the device, which turns stereoscopic vision into little more than a conventional I/O routine. And to keep the idea going strong, the University has released the basic code as Open Source, which allows anyone to make the changes necessary to bend the stero vision hardware to their own needs.

Surveyor Corporation has even stepped in to make the hardware part of the combination, building a stereoscopic vision module that plugs into the robot, and is accessed wirelessly by the programmer/controller.

The Samsung Pixon - A Camera That Acts Like a Smartphone

Author JoeDigital | 03.10.2008 | Category Telecommunications, cameras

Alongside Omnia, Samsung instinct and all the other product releases that Samsung has promised (and delivered) this year is the Samsung Pixon: a new model jam packed with features, highlighting its strong camera-like character.

Samsung's Pixon has an 8 Megapixel digital camera built in

Pixon’s focus feature is its camera, with the designers primarily targeting this product to users who love taking pictures and want to take things a step further. It boasts a resolution of 8 mega pixels, face and smile recognition, auto focus and image stabilizers and more. It’s pretty big for a regular phone because it’s really intended to look like a camera.

Carrying the model number M8800, Pixon also has almost all the expected features of a new Samsung model such as Bluetooth, GPS, LCD screen and memory expansions.

Users who are interested in getting a phone that can take pictures as well as a conventional camera can get the Samsung Pixel for $800 this coming November.

Matsushita Digital Camera, the Lumix DMC-G1

Author ColGlobe | 25.09.2008 | Category Japanese Technology, cameras

Matsushita introduces a whole new kind of digital camera

On October 31, Matsushita will release the LUMIX DMC-G1, a new kind of digital camera.  This model will use the LED viewfinder, and completely do away with old fashioned optical viewfinders.  It is built to conform to the “micro four thirds system”, a digital camera standard used by Matsushita, Olympus, and other camera manufacturers.  The DMC G1 is not likely to win awards for an easy model name, but it’s interchangeable lens system is certain to have some very creative uses, and provides a greater degree of control to professional and amateur photographers alike.

Honeywell MAV Joins Police Force

Author ColGlobe | 17.09.2008 | Category Innovation, Technology, cameras

A Honeywell MAV may be patroling neighborhoods soon

Now being tested in Dade County, Florida, this MAV (Micro Air Vehicle) is slated to pin on a badge and help law enforcement fo their job more safely.  Weighing only 16 pounds, the MAV is designed to be carried to a deployment site in a backpack, and then be remotely controlled within the target area.  And it doesn’t just do fly-bys, either.  This eye in the sky can hover in a single location, which is sure to be an attractive prospect for SWAT and other highly volatile situations.

Originally designed as battlefield tools, the Honeywell MAV is ideally suited for aerial surveillence, or air pursuit over a relatively short distance.   For hostage situations, it could be used to peer into windows, or gain a new perspective view of a situation.  It can remain in the air for nearly an hour between fuelings.

Miami was chosen as one of the first test sites.  It will be tested over the Everglades, and once it has gained approval from the FAA, and passed its 6 month trial, it may be moving into town to help make it safer to be a polic officer. A couple of test flight videos are available.

Nikon’s flagship P6000 point-and-shoot

Author JoeDigital | 27.08.2008 | Category Consumer Electronics, cameras

Nikon P6000: digital SLR control in a compact design

MELVILLE, NY (Aug. 7, 2008) - Nikon Inc. today introduced its newest flagship COOLPIX compact camera, the COOLPIX P6000. Featuring 13.5 megapixels, a new, built-in global positioning system (GPS) unit, my Picturetown connectivity and the power of Nikon’s exclusive EXPEEDTM image processing concept, the P6000 offers the perfect photographic tool for the photo and camera enthusiasts seeking the creative control of a D-SLR in the compact body of a COOLPIX camera.

Depending on your point of view, the only thing that’s exciting or really weird is that instead of the now-common USB port, the Nikon P6000 has an RJ45 Ethernet jack.  But with GPS tagging to label every image with exactly where it was taken, we suppose it’s okay to overlook a minor blast backward to the past.  It’s extremely easy to use, being a truly point and shoot camera, and the controls are intuitive, making it ideal for amateur photography that aspires to professionalism.  And 13.5 megapixels provides all the resolution your are likely to need, for at least another few years.

Sanyo Xacti Waterproof Camcorder

Author ColGlobe | 09.08.2008 | Category Japanese Gadgets, cameras

 Sanyo has just announced the release of Xacti, a comcorder that is perfect for fun in and out of the water.  It is rated waterproof at a depth of up to 1.6m, and features a 5 me4gapixel camera with additional 5x video zoom.  Recording life for the batteries is about 30 minutes, and you can record as much as 5 hours of video on a single disk, at 30 fps.

Another major plus it how fast it can be ready to shoot.  It boasts a bootable use time of 1.8 seconds, which will catch all but the most short-lived of picturesque events.  For snorkeling and other water fun, the Xacti is both extremely lightweight, and has a sleek and attractive design. Read the full review.

Scientists Develop Camera Shaped Similar to an Eye

Author JoeDigital | 08.08.2008 | Category Technology, cameras

Based on one of the most amazing inventions of nature, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University have developed an electronic-eye camera.   This is the first time that a camera has been used with a curved surface, and it promises to revolutionize the way digital photography is accomplished.  In addition to providing smaller lenses with increased resolution, the device could also be developed for such uses as bionic eyes.

Traditional camera lenses use a flat surface, and tend to provide a sharper focus at the center of the image than at the extreme edges.  The new invention allows pixel recognition to be placed on a curved surface which makes it possible to keep the entire image in sharp focus.  The possibilities for such devices in the medical field alone are nearly endless, not to mention the military and non-technical uses that could be made of it.

DelFly Micro - Dragonfly Sized Ornithopter

Author ColGlobe | 30.07.2008 | Category Robotics, Science, Technology, cameras

This could be one of the coolest flying machines to come along since flying machines have been coming along.  It’s an ornithopter, which means that it flies the way a a bird would fly, with flapping wings.  What makes it especially interesting is that it is tiny, measuring only 10cm from wingtip to wingtip, and it weighs a whopping 3 grams.  It is remote controlled, and contains a miniature camera, and holds the title of the smallest flying machine with a camera in the world.  Mimicing flight has been a challenge for humanity for as long as we’ve been self-aware, and realized that we couldn’t do it it ourselves.  Greek mythology is credited with the first story of human flight, and inventors have taken stabs at flying machines doazens of times over the centuries, even such notable names as Leonardo DaVinci.  But no one has ever built a machine this small that could fly under it’s own power.

This one has quite a few traits in common with insects.  The Delfly Micro’s wings that actually resemble those of a dragonfly, which is credited with being one of the first flying animals to ever exist.   In fact, it has quite a few similarities to insects, including antennae and filmy wings.  It can fly forward at a rate of 15m/s, is able to compensate for light winds, and has the amazing ability to fly backward at the smail’s pace of .5m/s

As a scientific device, the DelFly promises to be a boon for areodynamics, and has already required the sciences of mechanics, areodynamics, and phototechnology to cooperate.  Plans are to use it for research in flight and micromechanics, but we can only wait to see how long it takes government powers to snatch it up and hide it away from the public eye.