Asimultaneous imaging and energy harvesting sensor is in the news. Samuel Moore
atIEEE Spectrum informed
readers that a team of four from University
of Michigan published
their paper describing what they achieved. They built a prototype sensor, and
what it does—-think of a future camera that just about watches you non-stop—is
described in the journal, IEEEE lectron Device Letters.
The
article is titled "Simultaneous Imaging and Energy Harvesting in CMOS
Image Sensor Pixels." The four authors are from University
of Michigan : Sung-Yun Park ,
Kyuseok Lee, Hyunsoo Song and Euisik Yoon. Their technology "puts the
equivalent of a solar cell under each pixel," said IEEE Spectrum.
The
potential is that tiny cameras, so tiny that they could sit almost anywhere,
could work on and on. They are on to the makings of a self-powered camera. Ultimately, said
Devin Coldewey in TechCrunch,
"the sensor could be essentially a nearly invisible camera that operates
forever with no need for a battery or even wireless power." In a
few sentences, IEEE Spectrum's
Samuel Moore relayed what the university engineers achieved, in this twinned
imaging and energy-harvesting sensor.
"Solar
cells convert light to electricity. Image sensors also
convert light to electricity. If you could do them both at the same time in the
same chip, you'd have the makings of a self-powered camera." He said their
image sensor can deliver 15 images per second "powered only by the
daylight falling on it."
Coldewey
in TechCrunch said, fully powered in sunlight, the captured
images at up to 15 frames per second were of reasonable quality.
Moore
reported that the resulting chip, "with its 5 micrometer-wide pixels, was
capable of the highest power harvesting density (998 picowatts per lux per
square millimeter) of any energy harvesting image sensor yet."
Nonetheless,
the researchers at this stage, were only concerned with getting a
proof-of-concept chip. They did not optimize the power consumption of the
sensor itself, said Park, in the IEEE
Spectrum report.
What
is needed to reach a stage where it could be called something like a spy
camera? Coldewey spelled out what it needs. He said requirements go beyond just
an imaging component. He said "a storage and transmission medium are
necessary for any camera to be useful. But microscopic versions of those are
also in development, so putting them together is just a matter of time and
effort." Moore ,
meanwhile, reported that "If the project continues, they'll work to
integrate everything needed for a self-powered wireless cameras."
This
would not be the first time that Euisik Yoon and Sung-Yun Park
have worked on image sensors. Moore
said that Yoon and Park developed "ultralow power technologies forimage sensors such
as circuits that automatically adapt the frame rate to the available
illumination and microwatt-scale feature detection systems."
No comments:
Post a Comment