You’re looking at a video clip recorded on a prototype camera that powers itself without needing a battery or electric cord. This innovation might represent the early stages of something big, not just for snapping selfies or recording the latest funny thing your cat is doing, but more as an enabler of the ubiquitous sensing that will be at the heart of the Industrial Internet.
The Columbia University computer scientists and engineers who created it say they are aiming to build computer eyes that can last forever without a tether. Their breakthrough came in marrying the fundamentals of how a solar panel operates with the light-capturing function of video camera image sensors.
“Digital imaging is expected to enable many emerging fields including wearable devices, sensor networks, smart environments, personalized medicine, and the Internet of Things,” said computer scientist Shree Nayar, the head of the Columbia Vision Lab and inventor of the device. “A camera that can function as an untethered device forever—without any external power supply—would be incredibly useful.” Learn more and see pics below.
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