Camera shoots and compresses image in one go

Researchers have designed a camera that can capture microwave images using a single-pixel sensor and produce ready-compressed data. The system, described last week in Science1, could be adapted for other wavelengths, such as those used in millimetre-wave scanners for airport security screening.Today's cameras take images as 'raw' arrays of pixels, which can take up many megabytes of storage, and then use data-compression algorithms such as JPEG to store the image in a smaller file.

"Why collect that data in the first place?" asks John Hunt, an engineer at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, and a co-author of the study. To design the new device, Hunt and his colleagues used an approach called compressive sensing.The trick is figuring out what data to acquire, says Richard Baraniuk, an electrical and computer engineer at Rice University in Houston, Texas. "The data-points that matter will be different in a picture of the Eiffel Tower and a picture of your mother," he says.

But it is not possible for a device to 'know' what is important before the data are recorded. Compressive sensing works by sampling at random — eliminating the need to sift through data — and it still produces enough information to generate a good image.For the latest study, the researchers turned to metamaterials — artificial structures patterned to interact with light in exotic ways. Whereas a conventional microwave radar system uses a moving dish antenna to collect microwaves reflecting off a moving object, the Duke system uses a stationary metamaterial aperture, a strip that guides microwaves to a single sensor.

Sony unveils waterproof, ultra-thin Android slate

Sony has announced a tablet companion for the flagship Xperia Z smartphone, with the high spec slate thiner than Apple's iPad Mini.Just like the Xperia Z phone that was unveiled at CES 2013 earlier this month, the Xperia Z tablet is claimed to be waterproof and dust proof.Announced in a Sony Mobile press release in Japan, the tablet has 10.1-inch HD display (1920 x 1200) with high brightness and high definition video WUXGA technology, along with Sony's Mobile Bravia Engine 2 for boosting the image content and contrasts.

Running Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, the Xperia Z tablet is powered by a 1.5Ghz quad-core processor and has an 8.1 million pixel camera on the rear equipped with CMOS sensor Exmor R for the first time in a Sony tablet.Sony says that the camera performs better in low-light conditions and automatically adjusts to the optimal settings.This all comes in a device that weighs 495g but is an incredible 6.9 millimetres thick, beating the iPad Mini's 7.2mm, believed to be the previous thinnest tablet on the commercial market.

The Xperia Z tablet supports Near Field Communications (NFC), enabling one-touch wireless streaming of photos and music, and also Long Term Evolution, or 4G internet, as well as WiFi.Chowchilla Tire Store Security Camera Catches Him.Sony says that it has fitted the slate with "S-Force Front Surround 3D", a new technology that gives the user 'virtual surround sound' from the speakers.

Chowchilla Tire Store Security Camera Catches Him

A not  so bright crook breaks into the cash drawer at a Chowchilla Tire Shop during business hours. But the thief made one major mistake. He looked directly into the surveillance camera.The manager of TF Tire and Service in Chowchilla Danny Tribble is hoping you can help him catch a crook.  Tuesday afternoon about 2:30 a man wearing a sport coat dropped by the tire shop office and began talking to an employee.  But Tribble says he was actually sizing up the place. 

The security camera caught him breaking into the cash drawer.  That's because when he changed the position of the camera he didn't go high enough.The tire store in Chowchilla has been hit three times in the last 2 and a half years.   Tribble says enough is enough.  They're offering a $500 reward hoping someone will come forward.

TF Tire and Service in Chowchilla is one of 12 tire stores in the chain that stretches across Central California.  Dave Schlaepfer says the company wants this guy caught. "As a business we take a stand very strongly against this and any type of theft we should go after and prosecute it." "Come back in with a tool and pried open my cash drawer."

HD Space Camera Will Provide Live Astronaut's View of Earth From ISS

While adding video makes this a great competitor for Google Earth, it's the relatively brief time delay for the streamed footage that is most impressive and stands to blow its predecessor out of the water (if it works).The bonus is it will eventually catch every city from multiple angles, meaning it can generate a 3D model somewhere down the line. Another bonus, users can search for their address to find out when the camera will next be capturing it (cue lots of flash mob PR stunts hitting a YouTube channel near you).

"The cameras record the imagery, then it basically gets stored on a hard drive on the International Space Station,Speed-camera take $1.5 million, and then at various points during the day the hard drive will send the data down to Earth," says Larson. "So depending on where you are and depending on the orbit and all kinds of things, the delay between when you get imaged and when the data gets sent down might be anywhere between half an hour up to a few hours. So it's not live but it's certainly just a bit of a tape delay."

Unlike comprehensive Google Earth, however, Urthecast is limited in picking up only what the ISS has in its view at any one time as it orbits the Earth (since it does this 16 times in one day, however, there will be plenty of opportunity for you to catch your favourite coordinates from the right angle). It means that, although there will be a constant stream of new data, some areas of the Earth won't get an update for, potentially, weeks.

Speed-camera take $1.5 million

Alleged speeders have paid more than $1.5 million in fees for tickets that the village's unmanned speed-camera system issued, and the village has reaped about $700,000 of that, says Mike Allen, a lawyer who is asking a Hamilton County judge to shut down the system.Allen argues the speed-camera operation is unconstitutional and "nothing more than a money grab."

The judge's ruling, expected late this month, could be the nation's first to address the specific constitutional challenge at issue in this case, Allen said. The decision also could play a role in other communities that use the cameras or are considering using them, he said.While the cameras have gone into use in some places with little fanfare, in Elmwood Place, "people are mad," Allen said.

The Elmwood cameras have adversely affected citizens in some unexpected ways, Allen said, citing sworn statements from his clients, including:Craig Coburn, who drives through Elmwood to do work for the charity, Habitat for Humanity, and received at least four tickets, each assessing him a $105 fee.The Rev. Chau Pham, who says attendance at his church, Our Lady of Lavang Vietnamese Catholic Church, has declined by one-third "as our church members were afraid to come to church."

Fujifilm updates camera lineup at CES

Fujifilm revealed its hotly anticipated 2013 camera lineup on Monday at CES. It's a comprehensive update with two new retro-inspired fixed-lens cameras as well as five new far-reaching superzoom cameras.Fujifilm also detailed five new superzoom cameras. Sitting atop the lineup is the HS50EXR, built around a new 16-megapixel sensor with a 42x optical zoom lens. Fuji boasts that the autofocus is the fastest in the superzoom class, and it sports a fast burst shooting capability.

The most notable additions are the Fujifilm X100s (MSRP $1299.95) and X20 (MSRP $599.95), updating the company's popular line of retro-inspired cameras for improved speed and usability. The X100s, available around March, follows up on the massive success of Fujifilm's X100, combining a new DSLR-sized 16.3-megapixel image sensor and a hybrid optical viewfinder reminiscent of old rangefinder film cameras. The X20's design follows the retro camera theme, replacing last year's X10 with a new 2/3-inch 12-megapixel image sensor and an optical finder with heads-up display.

Both the X100s and X20 feature Fujifilm's new EXR Processor II and a hybrid autofocus system, enabling lightning-fast autofocus speeds and fast startup times. Fujifilm claims both cameras can focus in less than one tenth of a second, among the fastest in the market. The two cameras also have new features to aid manual focusing, for those who truly want to be in touch with their photography roots.

Candid camera Chinese style

"This time is from 1985, when everyday Chinese accessed film photography, to 2006, when digital started taking over," he said. "It's really the birth of post-socialist China."The rapid spread of cheap automatics allowed ordinary people to capture the country's changing face.Zooming in on the Samsung Galaxy Camera. But while the collection spans hundreds of thousands of lives, the same themes appear again and again.

The portraits of women posing with their fridges emerged in the late 1980s, as people acquired more household goods. Later came shots with Ronald McDonald, as the Chinese discovered fast food. Photos of the Eiffel Tower followed as wealthier families began travelling abroad."In the western understanding of photography now we see a good picture as something that is shot discreetly, without the person being aware," said Sauvin.

But in these photographs "you have complicity between the photographer and the person being photographed. It's not a stolen photograph … It makes them very intriguing, very unpretentious. And they're just quite funny. All those are qualities pretty hard to find in photographs today."The artist was buying prints by contemporary Chinese photographers for the Archive of Modern Conflict in London when he decided he needed a change from the expense and ego of professional work and started seeking amateur images.