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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 22:38 |
Boeing launches compact, energy-efficient 3D imaging camera
By Darren Quick
Say cheese to Boeing's compact 3D imaging camera set for deployment on unmanned aerial and ground vehicles
Just as consumer cameras continue the shrink, so too are cameras designed for military and other commercial applications. The latest is a compact 3D imaging camera launched by Boeing that is designed to be deployed on a wide range of platforms, including unmanned aerial and ground vehicles. The cube-shaped camera is one-third the size and uses one-tenth the power of most comparable cameras.
The diminutive camera packs a lot of capability into its small frame. To create a 3D image, the camera fires a short pulse of laser light, then measures the pulse's flight time to determine how far away is each part of the camera's field of view. Its potential uses include mapping terrain, tracking targets and "seeing" through foliage. The camera is equipped with advanced sensors that have been developed by MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and transferred to Boeing under a teaming arrangement.
"The camera combines cutting-edge sensor technology with Boeing's advanced pointing and tracking solutions and real-time processing to provide our customers with highly integrated 3D imaging payloads for ground, airborne or space-based applications," said Joseph Paranto, Growth lead for Directed Energy Systems in Albuquerque.
Boeing is currently integrating the camera into compact 3D imaging payloads on unmanned aerial vehicles and will be testing that capability this spring. The team will also add 3D video capability to the camera soon to complement its existing still-image capability.
Boeing Directed Energy Systems and wholly-owned Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab have jointly developed the camera and successfully tested it over the past two years by attaching it to mobile ground platforms and a Boeing AH-6 Little Bird helicopter.
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 22:35 |
the cameraman that can go anywhere
By Rick Martin
Gitzo's Athena: the cameraman that can go anywhere
I suppose 'camerawomen' would be more appropriate, given that Athena is a woman's name. But what's in a name? Regardless of what you call it Gitzo's fully electronic, remote-controlled head was one of the sweetest gadgets on display at CP+ 2010 Focus on Imaging exhibition in Yohohama this past weekend.
Given that it can be controlled wirelessly from a distance, the Athena GH5130RC allows you to put a camera in places that might be inaccessible or dangerous for a human.
Gitzo presented this monster device as a possible solution for nature photographers, as it's movements are ultra quiet and won't scare away your subject. Event photographers might mount the Athena in hard-to-reach areas such as the top of a basketball backboard, a dangerous corner on a race track, or even at the top of a stage at a rock concert. The user still has complete control of the camera's position via dedicated software on a nearby computer (Mac OS or Windows).
The Athena can point in almost any direction, panning vertically, horizontally, or rolling over on a swivel, thus giving the user an enormous amount of camera control. Photographers will be pleased to see a live viewing option, as well as the capability to input saved camera positions.
There's no specific date set for release just yet, but as it's just been announced Gitzo should have some more information available on their website very soon.
http://www.gitzo.jp/
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Wednesday, 17 March 2010 22:30 |
Epson Toyocom develops tiny 6-axis sensor for motion tracking
By Alan Brandon
The Epson Toyocom AH-6100LR is a six-axis quartz MEMS motion sensor
Epson Toyocom Corporation has produced what it claims is the world’s smallest 6-axis motion sensor. The use of motion sensors is growing dramatically, with the components found in all sorts of devices including cell phones, digital cameras, and of course game controllers such as the Nintendo Wii Remote or the Sony PlayStation Move. Epson Toyocom's AH-6100LR combines two different sensors in a single small package, incorporating both a 3-axis accelerometer and a 3-axis gyro-sensor.
The sensor is a QMEMS device, meaning it is a quartz crystal based MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems). Quartz crystals are known for their excellent frequency stability and precision, and Epson Toyocom says these characteristics give its sensors their accuracy and sensitivity.
Epson Toyocom also manufactures a line of highly accurate gyro-sensors that are used in applications such as camera shake correction (image stabilization) and navigation systems. The AH-6100LR incorporates this technology for high-integrity motion tracing and motion tracking use. Tracking a hand, person, or other object requires a sensor with a wide dynamic range of control to detect a wide range of motion at both low and high speeds. Epson Toyocom says the AH-6100LR’s wide dynamic range of 81 to 83dB (200Hz output bandwidth) enables highly precise control through accurate tracing, and helps improve motion recognition.
With motion sensors showing up in everything from the Chumby to the iPhone, the market for these devices is definitely growing, and the demand for improved capabilities is increasing as well. Whereas the Wii controller contains a 3-axis accelerometer (the ADXL330 from Analog Devices), the new PlayStation Move motion controller includes also includes a 3-axis accelerometer plus a 3-axis gyroscope as well as a terrestrial magnetic field sensor (compass).
The AH-6100LR 6-axis sensor measures just 0.4 x 0.3 x 0.15in. (10 x 8 x 3.8mm), uses only 6.1mA of power, and is shock resistant to 5000g. Pricing information is not yet available. Samples are available now, with commercial production scheduled for May 2010.
For more information visit epsontoyocom.co.jp
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Tuesday, 16 March 2010 20:09 |
4D heart imaging could have far-reaching effects for patients
By Tannith Cattermole
4D images show blood flow, direction and velocity and are markedly different in healthy volunteers when compared to patients with heart problems (Image: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health)
Heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S, and congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect around the world. About five million people in the U.S. have heart failure, and it kills 300,000 people a year. Current lengthy MRI heart imaging technology has led to long waiting lists but remarkable new imaging technology can not only show the heart in 3D showing blood flow, direction, and velocity but can also show them relating to a fourth dimension - time. The procedure is fast, and requires no invasive procedures, no contrast agent or general anesthesia and could have significant consequences for patients at risk of cardiac problems.
Until now physicians have measured blood velocity with MRIs that require a patient to be completely still for up to 90 minutes in order to capture the 20 to 30 slices needed to scan the entire heart. Ultrasound is also sometimes used but other anatomy can make it difficult to see some areas of the heart. Furthermore the images from both are typically 2D, though sometimes 3D.
With the new technology the MRI scan takes only ten minutes, and while wriggly children might need to be sedated patients don't need to be absolutely still for long periods. From a short procedure scientists can produce remarkable images to measure how fast blood is flowing through various places in the heart and the major arteries around it. Blood flowing through the heart is seen as a bundle of long filaments color-coded to indicate the speed of the flow at various locations in the heart. Blue threads represent a relaxed heart with relatively slow flow such as when sleeping or at rest, while green threads indicate blood flowing faster during contraction. Red and yellow threads show abnormally fast blood flow in patients with heart problems.
In addition to this, direction of blood is depicted and the effect of any obstructions or deviations on blood flow. Scientists hope that the new technology could be adapted to analyze blood vessel walls as well by identifying weak areas or areas under increased stress that could lead to aneurysms or build-up of damaging plaque. This would have far-reaching effects for any patients with heart defects or at risk of cardiac problems.
The new imaging technology, developed by researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) is known as Phase Contrast Vastly undersampled Isotropic Projection Reconstruction (PC VIPR). Dr. Oliver Wieben, a School of Medicine and Public Health medical physicist who has been working on the technology for several years, and Dr. Christopher Francois, a radiologist at the medical school who specializes in heart imaging have demonstrated their technology on hundreds of volunteers and patients, and the images have created a stir among amazed physicians and peers.
"In designing this, we threw out all the old rules of radiology and came up with a new way to acquire data that allows us to do the imaging much faster while still getting excellent quality," Wieben says. "We're also developing new ways to display the complex flow data on a 2-D monitor."
"This is a new paradigm in cardiac imaging," says Francois. "It will allow physicians to see things they haven't seen before in all their complexity."
This new development could soon have significant implications for those people born with heart defects or at risk of heart problems if it is available in hospitals in only three or four years from now.
Other similar research into 4D brain imaging has been positive but is still in study phase.
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Monday, 15 March 2010 17:47 |
Disney to shut ImageMovers Digital studio
Robert Zemeckis' Bay Area studio has 450 employees and will close by January. It produces the motion-capture animation technology that was used in 2009's 'A Christmas Carol.'
By Claudia Eller
In a cost-saving move, Walt Disney Studios is shutting down Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers Digital studio in Marin County, which employs 450 people. Those employees will be phased out over the course of the year until the facility closes by January.
The director and producer's San Rafael-based studio, which Disney has been bankrolling, produces motion-capture animation technology that was used in Zemeckis' 2009 big-budget holiday movie "A Christmas Carol."
"Given today's economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences, and IMD no longer fits into our business model," Disney Studios President Alan Bergman said.
Disney Studios has been aggressively cutting costs by consolidating operations, slashing overhead and reining in production and marketing budgets.
"A Christmas Carol" cost the studio hundreds of millions of dollars to make and promote. The motion-capture technology Zemeckis used appeared outdated in the wake of James Cameron's "Avatar," which employed a more advanced technique. The movie generated $324 million in ticket sales worldwide.
ImageMovers is completing production on "Mars Needs Moms," which Disney plans to release in March 2011. Zemeckis is also developing a 3-D adaptation of the 1968 animated Beatles film "Yellow Submarine."
Disney said the studio was "hoping to create a long-term production deal" with Zemeckis and his IMD partners, Jack Rapke and Steve Starkey, which would include the development of "Yellow Submarine."
Disney has been in partnership with Zemeckis for the last four years. The studio and filmmaker have had an association since 1988 when Zemeckis directed the groundbreaking hit "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?"
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