Rice University in Houston, Texas has announced a breakthrough in imaging sensor technology where high-resolution images are captured on a single imaging diode–just one pixel. By the magic of high technology, this one pixel camera can produce a digital photo consisting of one million pixels.
It’s just a matter of efficient design, said the Rice researchers. Essentially, the one-pixel camera takes one-pixel snapshots at a time, in rapid succession. The one-megapixel photo is assembled by using some new mathematics and a silicon chip covered with hundreds of thousands of mirrors the size of a single bacterium.
As an added benefit, the single-pixel device may be able to capture a much wider range of wavelengths, including x-rays, infrared, and ultraviolet light, according to the engineers. Of course, it’s still a long way before it becomes a consumer product.
In the meantime, the Rice engineers hope to use the technology in scientific applications in the non-visible areas of the light spectrum, but may eventually make its way into consumer cameras.
[Via Adorama.com]