World's First Self-Powered Video Camera Unveiled

[mmadhankumar]

If you think cameras are ubiquitous now, wait until this catches on.

Researchers at Columbia University announced today that they have build the world’s first self-powered video camera. By leveraging the technology that powers both digital imaging and solar panels, they’ve made a prototype model that draws energy from the ambient light in a well-lit room.

Here’s the gist: Both digital cameras and solar panels use the same basic technology. The image sensor in a digital camera has millions of pixels, each of which functions as a photodiode, producing an electric current when exposed to light.

Solar panels also use photodiodes, converting light into electric power. The diode in the camera is used in photoconductive mode, while the diode in a solar panel is used in the photovoltaic mode. The Columbia team has developed a kind of pixel that can toggle between these two modes and can thus be used for both image capture and power harvesting.

As of now, the camera — with housing extruded from a 3-D printer, by the way — can only take low-resolution images at a rate of about one per second. But it can do so more or less indefinitely, using a simple design that only requires two transistors.

“We are in the middle of a digital imaging revolution,” writes lead researcher Shree K. Nayar in the press materials accompanying the announcement.

“I think we have just seen the tip of the iceberg. Digital imaging is expected to enable many emerging fields including wearable devices, sensor networks, smart environments, personalized medicine, and the Internet of Things. A camera that can function as an untethered device forever — without any external power supply — would be incredibly useful.”

You can see the schematics — plus some oddly disturbing video samples — on the Columbia project page.


World's First Self-Powered Video Camera Unveiled : Discovery News