In the future, we might be able to roam around a 3D virtual representation of our world, where everything you see was automatically generated from photographs taken at the real locations.

Vision researchers at the University of Washington and Cornell University have been working on turning photographs of things in the real world into 3-dimensional representations. This research could eventually turn snapshots into virtual buildings, neighborhoods, and possibly cities.

PhotoCity is a new online game created by researchers that aims to harness the power of crowdsourcing in order to obtain the photographs needed for reconstructing these locations. Here’s a short 1 minute introduction of how the game works:

In addition to playing with a 2 or 3 megapixel camera, they’ve also released an iPhone app:

We’re pretty darn excited to see how photography will play a role in the technologies we’ll be using in the future.

Thanks for the tip, @eugenephoto

P.S. If you haven’t seen the TED 2007 demo of Microsoft’s Sea Dragon and Photosynth technologies, you’re in for a treat.

SixthSense is a wearable gesture device being developed by PhD student Pranav Mistry at the MIT Media Lab that allows the wearer to interact with their environment, treating the real world as a computer display. The above video is of the demo that was given at TED that generated international attention. What we found interesting is how the device allows you to photograph with hand gestures (at 6m25s), and the ability to work with your images on any wall.

Perhaps in the near future we’ll be able to edit and send our photographs on a wall immediately after shooting them using a wearable projector.

Based on patents recently filed with the United States Patent Office, Canon seems to be working on technologies that could have a huge impact on how you photograph.

Since these are simply patent applications, there’s no guarantee the technology will find its way into cameras anytime soon. However, it’s interesting to see what the camera corps are working on and what we might expect sometime further down the road:

Viewfinder LCD

One of the developments is the introduction of a small LCD screen in the viewfinder, separate from the live, optical view. In the images from the patent application shown above, you can see the LCD view above the traditional optical view and information bar on the right.

This means you can keep your camera pressed to your face while shooting, reviewing prior images on the in-viewfinder LCD rather than the LCD on the back of the body. If you constantly pull the camera away from your face to review what you just shot, this feature might give you an extra boost in productivity.

Sensor-based Stabilization

Another interesting thing found by Photography Bay in the patent application for the in-viewfinder LCD is the mention of an in-camera image stabilization feature.

This is interesting to note due to the fact that Canon and Nikon have long advocated image stabilization and vibration reduction built into lenses rather than camera bodies, even while other DSLR-makers (i.e. Sony) have offered stabilization built into bodies via sensor shift technologies.

Will we see Canon and/or Nikon introducing sensor shift stabilization soon? This would be a big deal, since it would instantly improve the performance of non-IS/VR lenses.

Your Thoughts?

You can learn more by reading the patents yourself here: 20100003025 and 20100002109.

What do you think of these two features? Do you want them included in Canon/Nikon bodies, or would cameras be better off without them?

(via Photography Bay)

In early 2008 Sony unveiled a new technology called TransferJet that allows wireless data transfer. Now, Sony has begun incorporating the technology into its Memory Stick memory card format, enabling owners of Sony digital cameras to transfer data without needing any cables.

TransferJet is a technology that allows wireless data transfer at speeds that rival Wi-Fi, but only across a very short distance (3cm/1.25in). This means two TransferJet devices need to be essentially touching for transfer to work, but it also provides an element of security, since a thief would likely have to be able to steal your device physically before they could steal your data.

Some of you might be wondering what the difference is between TransferJet and Bluetooth. The main differences are transfer rate and range. Bluetooth transfers at up to 3 Mbit/s while TransferJet boasts 375 Mbit/s. The extremely limited range of TransferJet also solves many of the security issues that have plagued Bluetooth.

Sony loves to make their gadgets play well with one another, and you will begin seeing Vaio notebooks with TransferJet technology soon. Other computers may require special receivers to place your cameras on.

(via The Imaging Resource)

Camera phones may soon offer more megapixels than some DSLR cameras. Imaging company OmniVision announced today that they have developed a 14.6-megapixel image sensor that will fit in cell phones. These sensors are capable of both high-resolution still photography and 1080p high-definition video recording.

I wonder how long it will be before camera phone imaging quality rivals the quality of the best point-and-shoot cameras.

(via Photography Bay)

Two days ago, Sankei News in Japan reported that a Nagoya Institute of Technology team led by Professor Yojiro Ishino was certified by Guinness World Records as having built the “Camera With The Most Lenses”. The camera boasts a staggering 158 separate lenses.

The setup reminds me of the camera array used to shoot the “bullet time” scenes in The Matrix, except rather than having a large number of individual cameras, this setup has a single “camera” with a large number of lenses.

The record-breaking camera took six months to build, and is meant to capture the movement of a flame simultaneously from multiple directions. Each lens cost only 200 yen, which is about $2.26. Thus, the whole collection of lenses cost only about $360.

Kudos if anyone can send us photographs taken with this camera!

(via CrunchGear)

Update: Here’s an image taken with the camera, and some additional photographs of the camera itself. Kudos to Durf for finding this!

Google announced a pretty awesome new product today called Google Goggles that has the potential to completely change the way we think about search. It’s basically an application that will tell you all sorts of information based on photographs you take with your camera phone.

Snap a photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge, and the application will provide you with search results for the Golden Gate Bridge. Want to learn what others are saying about a particular book in the store? Simply snap a photograph of the cover and Google Goggles will tell you.

The application is most useful in situations where you know know the name of what you’re trying to search for. For example, if you’re staring at a painting that you love but don’t know the name of, Google Goggles can quickly tell you all about it:

This is a great glimpse into the exciting technologies that we’ll be enjoying in the coming years, and is definitely only the tip of the iceberg. There will probably come a day when this type of search is fast enough and powerful enough to be displayed instantly on the screen while using the video feature of camera phones. This concept is being pursued by numerous tech companies (likely Google as well), and is called augmented reality.

For Google’s explanation of Google Goggle’s, check out this video they have on the official page: