It is often said that the best camera is
the one that you have with you.
Traditional point-and-shoot cameras are being used less and
less, to the point
where global shipments were down 53% in the first five months
of 2013 and the
top three "cameras" on the popular photo sharing site, Flickr,
are all iPhones.
Recent advances in camera technology have not only increased
image quality, but
camera use-cases. Cameras are becoming "smart" devices that do
more than merely
take pictures. Now in the digital age, as computing technology
advances, so do
cameras. Firms are developing new sensors which allow cameras
to take better
pictures and be used in new and exciting ways. Miniaturization
has also allowed
cameras to take on new forms. These technological advances,
driven by research
and development, will help save lives, help people connect,
and be used in
important industry applications.
Figure 1 : Source IDC, The Wall Street Journal
Enacted in 1981, the federal Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit allows a credit of up to 13% of eligible spending for new and improved products and processes. Qualified research must meet the following four criteria:
Eligible costs include employee wages, cost
of supplies, cost of testing,
contract research expenses, and costs associated with
developing a patent. On
January 2, 2013, President Obama signed the bill extending the
R&D Tax
Credit for 2012 and 2013 tax years.
Advances in cameras have also allowed for
better quality control in
manufacturing situations. Cameras can analyze products on an
assembly line and
recognize and identify if there are defective products. These
optical
recognition systems can be programmed to inspect a product and
identify if a
label is misprinted, a weld is improper, or if a cereal box
does not contain a
prize. High-speed cameras are also used by engineers in
assembly lines to
identify problems. As cameras increase in speed and
resolution, assembly lines
can work faster and operate at higher efficiency. Costs
associated with the
implementation of these new sensors are qualifying research
and development
expenses, and could make the implementation of this new
technology more
feasible.
Shibuya Seiki and National Agricultural & Food Research
Organization of
Japan have introduced robotics into the farming sector with a
strawberry-picking robot. Spanning ten feet long, the device
is equipped with
3D stereo cameras and software that determine strawberry
ripeness based on
color. With 3D camera capabilities and a mechanical arm that
snips the berries
and collects them in its basket, the robot can pick a ripe
strawberry every
eight seconds. Because berries are more time consuming to
harvest than other
produce, this farming innovation saves farmers a great deal of
time and
labor.
Lytro, founded by Ren Ng, a light-field
photography researcher at Stanford
University, has brought a new type of camera technology to the
consumer market.
Lytro's camera which is based on Ng's research at Stanford ,
contains a light
field sensor which allows for the focusing of images after
they have already
been captured. Images can also be converted to a stereo image
which creates a
three dimensional effect. Light field photography captures the
available lights
in a scene through an array of micro-lenses. The Lytro cameras
are quite large,
five inches deep, and the resolution of the pictures are
currently low,
comparatively, and manufacturers, including Lytro, will look
to improve these
qualities through continued R&D. Another area of
improvement in the future
will be the resolution of the images that Lytro and other
light field sensors
create.
The 4k standard is now being implemented
and many devices capable of
capturing or displaying 4k are entering the market. 4k is
defined as content
that is ~4,000 pixels wide. Standards such as 4k are put in
place and used for
a significant time period and many technical studies are often
conducted when
designing these standards. This standard has ~4x as many
pixels as the now
dated 1080p standard, which results in a much sharper image.
Technology must be
developed not only to capture 4k images and video, but to
store and display the
content as well. 4k cameras produce an immense amount of data
which requires
new developments in technology to handle the increase. New
memory standards,
lenses, cooling systems, software and firmware, and other
systems to deal with
the increased load are being developed by companies such as
RED DIGITAL CINEMA.
On the display front, 4k capable displays are finding their
way to the
market.
Squito is a throwable camera in the shape
and size of a baseball, currently
in development. While there have been university efforts to
develop this sort
of throwable device , Squito has received multiple patents and
has been demoing
its technology. On its exterior, the unit has a protective
shell to secure the
electronics within. The unit contains multiple cameras which
take panoramic
images and gyroscopic-stabilized video while airborne. The
Squito device uses
software to patch together the images from different
perspective and points on
the sphere. Through this software, it can also track specific
targets. The
throwable camera contains thermal imaging and infrared
technology, which gives
it fire and search and rescue applications. The Squito is the
result of a
marriage between complex hardware and software.
GoPro sells a line of rugged cameras that
are meant to be mounted and used
to film extreme activity. The company's devices are waterproof
up to 60 meters
and shock-resistant. They can be head-mounted for sports,
operated underwater,
and even mounted to an aircraft to capture aerial footage. The
company's
premiere product, the HERO3: Black Edition shoots video in up
to a 4k
resolution all while being exposed to the elements. GoPro's
devices have built
in Wi-Fi capability which allows for Wi-Fi remotes and Wi-Fi
interfacing with
devices such as smartphones. GoPro has also engineered their
device's
microphones with wind-noise reduction which allows for better
sound recording
during extreme situations such as skydiving. Finally, GoPro
has engineered
countless docks to allow for different applications such as
head-mounting,
chest-mounting, vehicle-mounting, and surfboard mounting.
Overall, GoPro has
engineered a rugged camera, with the video and audio
technology to capture
quality footage in difficult scenarios, while keeping the
camera in place and
safe from water, shock, and dust.
In the mobile industry some companies are doubling down on the megapixel war while others are fighting back against it. In February of 2012, Nokia unveiled the Nokia 808 Pureview which featured an astounding 41 megapixel camera, more than most standalone cameras. The 808 Pureview was succeeded in July 2013 by the Nokia Lumia 1020 which also featured a 41 megapixel camera. The device also has optical image stabilization where the lens of the camera floats to keep images in focus even while the camera is moving (see Figure 2). HTC has fought back against the megapixel war by releasing its HTC One with a 4 megapixel camera. While the megapixel count is low, the number does not tell the whole story. HTC claims that when there are less pixels they can be made larger and therefore capture more light. This results in better pictures, especially in lowlight situations. HTC also uses optical image stabilization in their HTC one camera. The two different approaches taken by Nokia and HTC both continue to push the envelope forward on mobile camera technology.
Figure 2 : Optical Image Stabilization
Sony designed a camera product that solves the long-standing trade-off issues between camera phones versus digital cameras. Digital cameras take better photos than cell phones but are sub-par in transferring and transmitting those photos and cell phones are great at transmitting pictures but do not compare in picture quality. The QX100 is a 'half-a-camera', comprised of what looks like just the lens part of a digital camera. Sony's QX100 has a Zeiss glass zoom lens , large sensor, multiple glass components, manual controls, and image stabilization, abilities that cell phones just are not capable of.
By attaching this 'half-a-camera' to your
smartphone you are
able control the camera's functions with your phone screen.
The QX100
communicates via Wi-Fi to transfer pictures and videos
straight to your
smartphone, pairing higher picture quality with easy photo
transmission.
Duke University & University of Arizona
Electrical engineers from Duke University
and University of Arizona have
created a camera prototype with a resolution that is five
times better than
20/20 vision. By combining 98 microcameras into one device,
this technological
advancement has the potential to capture 50 gigapixels (50,000
megapixels) of
data. While the current prototype is about two square feet,
the next step will
be to miniaturize the device. Of the gigapixel camera,
University of Arizona
professor Michael Gehm says, "A shared objective lens gathers
light and
routes it to the microcameras that surround it, just like a
network computer
hands out pieces to the individual work stations."
The market for mere point and shrink cameras is shrinking. An increasing number of devices have cameras and on the consumer front, companies are adding extra hardware and software features to differentiate. On the commercial front, innovative companies are combining today's camera technology with computing and software technology and introducing devices that can save companies money and time in multiple industries and build consumer loyalty.
Charles R Goulding Attorney/CPA, is the President of R&D Tax Savers.
Andrea Albanese is a Manager with R&D Tax Savers.
Jonathan Saltzman is a Tax Analyst with R&D Tax Savers.
