Skip to main content

Solar cell technology cameras

A new camera range from Stemmer Imaging uses a sensor, based on solar cell technology, to allow imaging from scenes which simultaneously contain both very light and very dark areas. The company says this makes them ideally suited to use in environments with a very high dynamic range, or where there are strong and unpredictable brightness fluctuations. The new FX4 HDR (High Dynamic Range) sensor produces a logarithmic signal output. This enables fine differences in brightness to be imaged even in very bright
February 2, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The image shows a 40W light bulb, image on the left with a conventional CCD sensor and on the right with the FX4 HDR sensor
A new camera range from 822 Stemmer Imaging uses a sensor, based on solar cell technology, to allow imaging from scenes which simultaneously contain both very light and very dark areas. The company says this makes them ideally suited to use in environments with a very high dynamic range, or where there are strong and unpredictable brightness fluctuations. The new FX4 HDR (High Dynamic Range) sensor produces a logarithmic signal output. This enables fine differences in brightness to be imaged even in very bright scenes, without saturation.

 The FX4 HDR sensor features a patented pixel structure that provides a truly logarithmic output with effective suppression of fixed noise and gives a dynamic range of 120 db. According to Stemmer, this equates to a 1,000 times greater brightness ratio (ratio of the highest brightness value to the lowest brightness value that can be imaged in a scene) compared to conventional linear CCD sensors, which typically have a dynamic range of 60 db.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Knowing when to slow down
    August 8, 2018
    Level 2 driver assistance vehicles have little problem reading fixed metal signs at the roadside - but it’s a different story with VMS in tunnels, finds Alan Dron. Following a series of hands-free driving tests in tunnels, an Australian road authority believes that car manufacturers have to up their game before vehicles have the required levels of competence to consistently perform ‘assisted driving’ tasks. The trials, in the state of Victoria late last year, tested the ability of several vehicles to stay
  • Want intelligent transit? Then share data
    March 2, 2022
    How will the US deploy intelligent transit networks that enable connected vehicles? Data sharing is crucial if urban mobility users are to benefit, explains Timothy Menard of Lyt
  • SCATS study shows significant savings
    December 16, 2013
    Australian study quantifies the benefits of SCATS to the motorists, the environment and the economy. Opportunity weekday cost savings potential of some AUD16 million (US$15.2 million) has emerged from rigorous analysis of a one-day study of Australia’s Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System (SCATS) in operation. This represents 27% of the total cost of a real alternative semi-adaptive traffic control. The estimated indicative annual weekday-based value is AUD3,900 million (US$3,705 million) or 0.9% of t
  • Grasshopper3 from Point Grey
    July 25, 2013
    Digital camera developer Point Grey has announced a new addition to the Grasshopper3 camera family, which features high quality, high resolution CCD sensors with a USB 3.0 interface. The new Grasshopper3 GS3-U3-60S6 camera models are based on colour and monochrome versions of the Sony ICX694, a 1-inch CCD featuring 4.54 micron square pixels and capable of sending 2736 x 2192 images at 13 FPS and maximum bit depth, which uses Sony's EXview HAD CCD II technology to improve quantum efficiency, reduce smear and