Wednesday, January 31, 2007

and for the person who said single pixel cameras were impossible!

Made up of millions of photodetectors, the sensors in today's digital cameras don't come cheap, and they don't go easy on the juice either. At Rice University in Houston, Texas, developers are determined to make a single-pixel camera that will be able to capture high-quality images and turn wasteful million-pixel cameras into a thing of the past. Using a single photodetector would also simplify the process of swapping sensors, hinting at cameras that can switch into ultraviolet or infrared modes with ease.

Mirrors are used to build up the image. Light is taken in through one lens, bounced off a digital micromirror device, through a second lens and onto a single photodetector.

Currently still in the experimental stage, the single-pixel camera is about the size of a suitcase.

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