US inventor granted 2nd patent for throwable panoramic camera
Baku, July 10 (AZERTAC). Boston-based inventor Steve Hollinger has been granted a second US patent, No. 8,477,184, “Ball with camera and trajectory control for reconnaissance or recreation.” Hollinger`s patent, filed in 2012 with priority to US Patent 8,237,787 filed in 2010 (issued), describes a throwable ball-shaped camera that utilizes position and orientation sensors to capture and process images over the course of its airborne trajectory.
“Throwable camera innovations are accelerating with advancements in sensor and imaging microelectronics,” stated Hollinger. “And with the advent of low-cost, high-speed cameras for outdoor recreation, an affordable throwable camera is finally within reach.”
Hollinger`s patent describes a ball-shaped camera with position and orientation sensors determining the relationship between a spiraling or spinning aperture and a subject of image capture. Such a relationship allows, for example, images to be captured, re-oriented and stitched into a panorama. The technology further allows for the stabilization of video, making a camera capable of registering frames captured in sequence. Images and video are transmitted wirelessly to the user`s phone, tablet or desktop.
Consumer and industrial applications for ball camera technology include recreation, professional sports, architecture, reconnaissance, search-and-rescue, first responder scene assessment, landscape photography, projectile point-of-view, full spherical capture for simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), and 3D mapping applications.
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