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Sharp Gets Into Tiny 3D Cameras

[nhorsley]

I saw this article today.....


Sharp develops high-def 3D camera module for cell phones
Martyn Williams, IDG News Service\Tokyo Bureau
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
(05-12) 03:06 PDT -- Sharp has developed a camera module that can capture high-definition 3D video and is small enough to be built into mobile devices like cell phones and digital cameras, is said Wednesday.
The module will be available in small quantities from July and should enter mass production this year. It Sharp finds buyers and keeps to the schedule, it could mean 3D-capable mobile gadgets featuring the module will hit store shelves late this year or early in 2011.
For video that provides the illusion of three dimensions, two images are required: one for the right eye and one for the left eye. It's the slight differences in the perspective of the two images that allows a video to appear to have depth to it.
The Sharp module has two lenses and, behind each lens, a CMOS image sensor. A chip to process video from each sensor is also embedded in the module. Sharp didn't provide detailed specifications for the module but it did release images that indicate it is about 4 centimeters wide, and measures about 1cm in the other dimensions.
It captures "720P" video, which is at a resolution of 1,280 pixels by 720 pixels. That's the lower of the two resolutions considered to be high-definition. The company didn't disclose the frame rate of the video but noted that mobile devices often don't require the 30 or 60-frame per second video found on dedicated camcorders.
Sharp, one of the world's largest manufacturers of flat-panel displays, recently unveiled a 3.4-inch touch-sensitive LCD panel for mobile devices that can show 3D images. The screen will enter mass production in the next six months and is aimed at the same type of devices as the 3D camera module.
Martyn Williams is in Tokyo and can be reached by e-mail at [e-mail] and on Twitter @martyn_williams
Copyright (c) 2010, IDG News Service. All rights reserved. IDG News Service is a trademark of International Data Group, Inc.
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