Retina Display - Demystified

             Apple ipod touch is looking amazing because of Retina display. This makes images and movies pop off the screen. Text in pdf,  email and web pages is crisp at any size. This is because Retina display pixel density is very high and our eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels. The pixel size is mere 78 micrometer. Normal screen will be 72 pixels per inch but Retina display has 326 pixel per inch. This otherwise called as dots per inch (dpi) in printing technology. Pixels per  inch (PPI) and dot per inch (DPI) are analogous but not same. Apple has included LED backlighting and an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts to the ambient brightness.

Good quality magazines will have 1200 DPI.  That is why always images in magazine will be very stunning.

Please check the live demo in the following website. That will help to realize yourself.
http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/features/retina-display.html

Thermal Imaging guided pain therapy

        Human skin temperature can be imaged by thermal or infra-red cameras. When there is a blood flow under the skin, then that area will be warmer. In the thermal image it will be shown in red colour. If there is no blood flow it will result in a cool place. In the thermal image it will be shown in blue colour. 

         Human Cells and nerves are sensitive to light. Light can act as stimulant. Studies have demonstrated that certain colors tend to activate or inhibit nerves. Some colors can be used as  anti inflammatory agents. Visible and infrared light are approved by Food and Drug Administratin(FDA), USA to treat chronic pain by increasing local blood  flow. Laser and LED based light therapy research is limited to the anti inflammatory wavelengths (colors).

          A innovative company PhotoMed, goes beyond this research limitation. They use entire visible spectrum for treating people with ailments. They change the wavelength during the therapy.

Thermal imaging is used by PhotoMed, for objective feedback.

for more information :
PhotoMed Technologies, Inc.
California, USA.
www.photomedtech.com

Toshiba’s ultra-compact HD camera

       
 The world’s smallest 3CCD camera IK-HD1  offers clearest, sharpest picture with true colour. It's unique prism block technology gives impeccably sharp detail. It weighs only 65 grams and this tiny 1.6” camera head goes anywhere from the control room to the operating room, on a helmet or on the production line.

Features

• 1080i output
• 1920 x 1080 output pixels
• Digital HD-SDI (SMPTE 292M); Analog RGB or Y/Pb/Pr
• RS 232C serial interface

Applications

• Scientific imaging /diagnostics
• reality TV
• Homeland security
• Industrial video / inspection

visit www.cameras.toshiba.com

GLOSSARY

• HD - High Definition
• i -  interlaced
• SMPTE -  Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers
• SMPTE 292M -  It is a  serial digital interface standard for universal interchange of uncompressed High Definition Television between various types of video equipment. The total bit rate is 1.5 Gb/s

RISAT - 1, It can spy also do other wonders

Courtesy : The Hindu

optical Satellite - It works like a ordinary camera. They wont work in night. It's view is obstructed by clouds. Radar Satellite -  Send radio waves and pick up the signals that bounce back.

Real time flood mapping is done using Canada's RADARSAT. Crop monitoring helps to have accurate estimate of acreage and yield of agriculture lands. It is one of the main uses of Remote Sensing.

Optical Satellite can be used for crop monitoring. In India small field size and different crops grown in same area makes optical satellite results unreliable. Even more soil, moisture plant size play a vital role in the outcome of optical satellite data. RADARSAT satellite's data is used for rice and jute crop inventory in India. But cost of data is very high.With India's own Radar Satellite RISAT-1 cost of data will come down heavily.

Radar Satellite can be used in

• Glacier Studies
• Forestry
• Oil Spill
• Wind and water current information (Ocenography)
• Military use - spying 

RISAT orbital height 536 km, width 400km (It is technically called as Swathe)

• MRS - Medium Resolution 25m per pixel
• CRS - Course Resolution 50m per pixel
• FRS - Fine Resolution 3m to 12m 
• Spotlight mode - 1m resolution

Source: It can spy and also do a hundred humdrum things, OP-ED, p13, The Hindu 26th April 2012

Camera Hacking -Canon Hack Development Kit

VitalyB(online name of a programmer) reverse engineered the firmware of Canon's point-and-shoot cameras. He with other programmers developed Canon Hack development Kit in C.
Using this one can do wonders.
only two interesting anectodes will be given here.

• Mr David Scheider scripted his Canon Powershot A630 into a camera trap. Conventional camera traps have infrared motion detector connected with camera. When a wildlife crosses the camera field of view, motion will be detected and camera will shoot the animal and a wildlife photograph is created. Mr David has devised his camera trap without the need of infrared motion detector.
• Mr. David has mounted his camera into a radio-controlled model plane and taken stunning aerial photograph for every two seconds.

for further info: http://www.chdk.wikia.com

Source: IEEE Spectrum Dec 2010 pages 16 and 17