Indians Create Technology to Take 3D Pictures On Smartphones

The Light Field Camera technology, integrates features found in a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera into a Smartphone to get the 3D pictures

Technologies in Smartphones are emerging day by day.

We have Smartphones with 41 megapixel cameras, embedded projectors and phones which can play videos in 3D format. But being able to take 3 dimensional pictures with a Smartphone seemed impossible till these Indian researchers- Kshitij Marwah and Ramesh Raskar- both from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), came out with a new impressive technology.

According to Economic Times, their invention, called the Light Field Camera technology, integrates features found in a Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera into a Smartphone. Marwah, who is currently in Bangalore to introduce this technology to the R&D heads of the world’s biggest mobile phone-makers, says: “We have developed a new camera design called Light Field Camera technology that can be fitted inside a cellphone camera to capture the bundle of light rays coming from the scene, giving users the ability to capture single-shot 3D photos.”

The integration of DSLR technology allows users to produce 3D content to any platforms, including YouTube, just with their Smartphone. It also allows them to create more professional photos with added editing features such as post capture focusing.

While these researchers try to integrate the features of a professional camera into a Smartphone, Samsung, the South Korean electronics manufacturer had recently worked on the other direction by releasing a camera which works on the Android platform, featuring some abilities of Smartphones like wireless connectivity and instant sharing.

The Indian researchers’ technology is of great potential. “Since this light field based technology can capture a tremendous amount of visual information it can be used to detect gestural inputs to the mobile phone and in other applications such as tracking a user’s eyes. When the gaze drifts away, this camera can sense and enable functions such as dimming the screen of the mobile phone,” explains Marwah.

Marvah, who graduated from Delhi IIT is presently working as a researcher affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Ramesh Raskar, is an associate professor at MIT Media Lab and is also the leader of Camera Culture group of MIT. According to his MIT profile, Raskar holds more than 40 US patents.

While none of the ultra- latest Smartphones has the 3D capture feature, we can expect this technology to be commercialised soon, considering the tight competition and crave for innovation in the market.