Gigapixel camera

A 50 gigapixel camera five times better than 20/20 human vision

June 21, 2012

Traffic circle captured using AWARE-2 (credit: Duke University Imaging and Spectroscopy Program)

By synchronizing 98 tiny cameras in a single device, engineers from Duke University and the University of Arizona have created a prototype camera that could capture up to 50 gigapixels of data (50,000 megapixels) and images with unprecedented detail.

The AWARE-2 camera’s resolution is five times better than 20/20 human vision over a 120 degree horizontal field.

By comparison, most consumer cameras are capable of taking photographs with sizes ranging from 5  to 40 megapixels.

The researchers believe that within five years, as the electronic components of the cameras become miniaturized and more efficient, the next generation of gigapixel cameras should be available to the general public.

The camera was developed by a team led by David Brady, Michael J. Fitzpatrick Professor of Electric Engineering atDuke’s Pratt School of Engineering, along with scientists from the University of Arizona, the University of California – San Diego, and Distant Focus Corp./.../