Stanford researchers want to give digital cameras better depth perception

Andrew Brodhead/Stanford University

If there was a way to cheaply add 3D sensing abilities via an accessory or an attachment to a CMOS sensor, then they could deploy this tech at scale in places where CMOS sensors are already being used. The fix comes in the form of a simple contraption that can be placed in front of a normal digital camera or even a smartphone camera.

Modulators can alter the amplitude, frequency, and intensity of light waves that pass through them. The Stanford team’s device consists of a modulator made of a wafer of lithium niobate coated with electrodes that’s sandwiched between two optical polarizers. The device measures distance by detecting variations in incoming light.In their testing, a digital camera paired with their prototype captured four-megapixel-resolution depth maps in an energy-efficient way.

Atalar imagines that this device could be helpful in virtual and augmented reality settings, and could improve onboard sensing on autonomous platforms like robots, drones, and rovers. For example, a robot working in a warehouse needs to be able to understand how far away objects and potential obstacles are in order to navigate around safely.

“These [autonomous platforms] depend on algorithms to make decisions—the performance depends on the base that’s coming in from the sensors,” Atalar says. “You want cheap sensors, but you also want sensors that have high fidelity in perceiving the environment.”

If they do it right, it would probably lead to equipment that can actually be 'enhanced' for clarity

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