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Toshiba working on innovative refocusing camera module small enough to fit in a smartphone

Toshiba working on innovative refocusing camera module small enough to fit in a smartphone

Posted: 27 Dec 2012, 06:12, by Nick T.

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Toshiba working on innovative refocusing camera module small enough to fit in a smartphone

Don't you hate it when you take a photo with your smartphone only to look at it later and realize that it has come out blurry? Yeah, so do we, yet thankfully, out-of-focus images might be a thing of the past one day. Toshiba is said to be working on a new camera sensor that will allow photographs to be refocused after they have been taken. And no, that does not involve any use of black magic. Rather, what makes refocusing possible is the lens that the camera module is equipped with.

Toshiba's module is in the shape of a cube with a side measuring 10 millimeters, which means that it is small enough to fit in a smartphone or a tablet. The image sensor itself measures 5 by 7 millimeters, and the high-tech optical array consists of over 500,000 miniature lenses. Each lens captures a slightly different image, and the final photograph is a software composition made from all of them. This technology would also allow the camera to measure precisely the distance to an object that is being observed.

Toshiba's innovative camera sensor would allow users to adjust the focus of an image after it has been taken. In addition, photos that are in focus across all areas can be produced as well. If all goes well, the sensor should be available for sampling by the end of fiscal 2013. Which smartphone manufacturers might be interested in using it, is not yet known.

source: The Asashi Shimbun via The Verge


Examples of an image that has been refocused

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1. Nathan_ingx posted on 27 Dec 2012, 07:41 0 0

I don't think this will help on a moving object.

2. ananthonline posted on 27 Dec 2012, 07:45 1 2

This is called a light field camera and Lytro has had this tech out for a while now. Please do some research before posting a story with little to no information.

3. buccob posted on 27 Dec 2012, 08:17 2 0

The Lytro field camera is too big to even fit into a point and shoot camera...
So is like saying that the Nokia PureView camera was nothing new when it came out because huge megapixel camera's already existed.....

So Please do some research before commenting on a interesting article...

4. ananthonline posted on 27 Dec 2012, 08:24 0 0

I'm going to say this once - I am NOT invalidating the news reported in this article. I am saying that this news is incomplete. For example - check out the coverage of the same article on TechCrunch (can't post links but google for "Techcrunch Toshiba Building A Lytro-Style Camera Sensor For Smartphones And Tablets, Planned For 2013 Launch"), discussing tech, the proposed Lytro smartphone sensor and other relevant links. I'm just saying that the coverage is incomplete.

7. the_s2 posted on 27 Dec 2012, 09:30 0 0

Didn't lytro patent the tech?

5. shuaibhere posted on 27 Dec 2012, 09:09 0 0

I hope s5 has it..

6. shuaibhere posted on 27 Dec 2012, 09:09 0 0

I hope s5 has it..

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- OS: Android 4.2.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1900 MHz, Krait 300, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.0 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
Apple iPhone 5
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- OS: iOS
- Hardware: Dual core, 1300 MHz, Apple Swift, 1016 MB RAM
- Display: 4.0 inches, 640 x 1136 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900), CDMA (800 1700/2100 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS EV-DO Rev.A EV-DO Rev.B
Samsung GALAXY Note II
- Announced: 29 Aug 2012
- OS: Android 4.1.2 4.1.1
- Hardware: Quad core, 1600 MHz, ARM Cortex-A9, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.5 inches, 720 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 35 hours of Talk Time, 980 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 21.1 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
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- Hardware: Quad core, 1700 MHz, Krait 300, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
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- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900), CDMA (800 1900)
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- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 5.0 inches, 1080 x 1920 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 13.1 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 11 hours of Talk Time, 550 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
Google Nexus 4
- Announced: 29 Oct 2012
- OS: Android 4.2.2 4.2.1 4.2
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 15.3 hours of Talk Time, 390 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS
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- Announced: 28 Aug 2012
- OS: Android 4.1.2 4.0.4
- Hardware: Quad core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 2048 MB RAM
- Display: 4.7 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
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- Battery: 15 hours of Talk Time, 335 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE HSPA (unspecified) UMTS EDGE GPRS
Nokia Lumia 920
- Announced: 05 Sep 2012
- OS: Windows Phone 8
- Hardware: Dual core, 1500 MHz, Krait, 1024 MB RAM
- Display: 4.5 inches, 768 x 1280 pixels, Capacitive Touchscreen
- Camera 8.7 megapixels, 1920x1080 (1080p HD) video
- Battery: 17 hours of Talk Time, 400 hours of Stand-by
- Technology: GSM (850 900 1800 1900)
- Data: LTE Cat3 Downlink 100 Mbit/s LTE Cat3/4 Uplink 50 Mbit/s HSDPA+ (4G) 42.2 Mbit/s HSUPA 5.76 Mbit/s UMTS EDGE GPRS

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Toshiba working on innovative refocusing camera module small enough to fit in a smartphone

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7 Comments Follow Following

1. Nathan_ingx posted on 27 Dec 2012, 07:41 0 0

2. ananthonline posted on 27 Dec 2012, 07:45 1 2

3. buccob posted on 27 Dec 2012, 08:17 2 0

4. ananthonline posted on 27 Dec 2012, 08:24 0 0

7. the_s2 posted on 27 Dec 2012, 09:30 0 0

5. shuaibhere posted on 27 Dec 2012, 09:09 0 0

6. shuaibhere posted on 27 Dec 2012, 09:09 0 0

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