Meet the world’s first fully self-powered video camera, capable of recording creepy images of a person’s head and occasionally gaping mouth for eternity. Well, technically, until the parts wear down, but theoretically, this gadget can film forever thanks to an internal mechanism that keeps charged at all period.
Invented by researchers at Columbia University's Computer Vision Laboratory in the United States, the sample has been built upon one very simple concept: digital cameras and solar panels might have very different purposes - one measures light to create images, the other converts light to electricity - but they both use almost the same technology and components to accomplish this. Merge the two and what have you got? A continuous recording device that does not require any batteries or external power supply as long as it is near a firm stream of light.
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"A few dissimilar designs for image sensors that can harvest energy have been proposed in the past," lead researcher, Shree K. Nayar, said in a press release."However, our prototype is the first demonstration of a totally self-powered video camera."
The key to the new video camera is a semiconductor device called a photodiode, which allows it to switch between the two sensor functions - photoconductive for capturing images and photovoltaic for charging up the camera. The camera had to be initially powered-up via 2.74 V external power source, but after that, it’s all on its possess.
The key to the new video camera is a semiconductor device called a photodiode, which allows it to switch between the two sensor functions - photoconductive for capturing images and photovoltaic for charging up the camera. The camera had to be initially powered-up via 2.74 V external power source, but after that, it’s all on its possess.
Author : Mohammed Ashfaq Ahmed
Designation: Associate Blogger
Bio: A design oriented person who basically focus on the architectural phase rather than its actual implementation. He is a computer science engineer with expertise in UI framework.
Bio: A design oriented person who basically focus on the architectural phase rather than its actual implementation. He is a computer science engineer with expertise in UI framework.
