3D camera enters the picture

The "time-of-flight range 3D camera" from CSEM. CSEM

A Swiss company has developed the first 3D-camera capable of being mass-produced.

Experts say the camera is unique because not only is it small and relatively cheap to produce, but it has no moving parts and is able to cope with a range of distances.

“Such cameras will get smaller and more affordable and will eventually be as ubiquitous as today’s digital still and video cameras,” says Peter Seitz of CSEM’s Photonics division.

It is likely to be some years before 3D photos or films become a household item. But the camera – developed by the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM) – has plenty of potential for use in industry.

One of its applications is in the automotive industry, where it could improve the performance of airbags in vehicles.

Safer airbags

Today’s airbags use sensors to measure the weight of the person in the seat, and expand accordingly. However, they take no account of the size of the person – such as a child in a car seat – and can cause injuries by expanding too violently.

3D cameras in cars would instead measure the dimensions of the occupant and use this information to control the airbag, perhaps by opening it in stages, to cushion the impact in an accident.

Another application is in the field of security, where 3D cameras could finally make face recognition a reality, dispensing with the need for pincodes and other devices used for identification.

This application is likely to receive plenty of attention in the wake of increased fears about terrorism and the issue of access to sensitive areas and facilities.

The proper name for the camera is “time-of-flight range 3D camera”. The wordy title refers to the camera’s ability to measure how far away objects are using optics to calculate how long it takes light emitted from the camera to return.

Speed of light

This is possible because the speed of light varies depending on the medium through which it passes. In air containing lots of water vapour, or precipitation, it travels more slowly than through dry air, for example.

The cost of the camera was kept down by the use of so-called Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductors (CMOs) – low-power, low-heat semiconductors, widely used in PCs and battery powered devices.

Instead of using more complex semiconductor technology, the Swiss researchers modified CMOs to meet the design requirements of the camera by taking a charged coupled device (CCD), commonly used in digital and video cameras and layering it on to the CMOs.

by Valerie Thompson