Thursday, July 28, 2011

County Willing To Share Aerial Photography Technology

Originally posted at swtimes.com

Claiming Sebastian County’s new aerial imaging technology “needs to be shared,” County Assessor Becky Yandell did just that Thursday.

Yandell and County Judge David Hudson offered any of the area’s towns, counties or other entities interested in the service the county has procured from Pictometry Intelligent Images to use the service at no charge for the next three years.

Yandell made the offer at a meeting in downtown Fort Smith, called to demonstrate the technology, which is being installed in the assessor’s office.

Trent Evans, district manager for Pictometry in Arkansas and Oklahoma, confirmed the deal. He said the county’s contract with the company allows it distribution of the service under its own terms.

The focus of Pictometry’s service is its oblique imagery. In addition to providing aerial photos shot from directly over the county — ortho imaging — Pictometry provides views of the ground photographed at an angle of about 40 degrees. The technique gives a view above and to the side of the ground and objects below.

Evans demonstrated to the system and some of the images the company has assembled for Sebastian County, a database of photos collected in flyovers that occurred in March, before foliage could obstruct the ground view.

The system’s default view is facing north, but as Evans demonstrated, views of objects from every direction are available with the click of a computer mouse. Images assembled from 4-inch photographs are detailed enough to show windows and doors on buildings, sidewalks and fences on the ground.

In addition to aerial images, the system has an array of features, enabling the viewer to determine linear distances, the area or the height of objects shown. The system also indicates changes in surface elevations and provides global positioning system coordinates.

The county’s database assembled for the assessor also indicates parcel boundaries, names of owners, and assessment and tax information.

Evans said portions of the Pictometry system can be incorporated into the county’s existing GIS system, incorporating the layers of information from that system. He gave examples of how other communities are using the system in areas of law enforcement, firefighting and search and rescue, as well as promotion of tourism and economic development.

Yandell said her office saw Pictometry as an effective tool in helping it spot and identify new construction and development in the county that is not visible or accessible from roads, and which existing aerial photography does not clearly depict.

Periodic flyovers — the county is scheduled to do another in 2015, though more frequent ones can be arranged — can track changes that could impact property values.

The images also could help police study the layout of a crime scene as they are on their way, offering details of ingress and egress. Searchers with GPS devices can track their own location, and that of others. Fire departments can use the system to locate hydrants before they are on the scene.

Hudson said the county recognized other entities in the county might be interested in the technology, so a decision was made to offer its use on a free trial basis. He said if the system proves beneficial, users may elect to pool resources with the county, helping fund its continued use and expansion.

“The county decided to invest the money so everybody could get the benefit,” Hudson said.

Yandell said the county is paying Pictometry’s three annual payments of $30,000 for the service.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Olympus launches SP-810UZ, packs 36x wide-angle zoom in a compact camera

From engadget.com

Travelers often must choose between carrying a pair of powerful zoom lenses and tackling the weight of a full DSLR kit, or bringing along a point-and-shoot, in turn sacrificing image quality and versatility. The Olympus SP-810UZ sets out to eradicate that latter obstacle, pairing a 14-megapixel image sensor with a massive 24-864mm, f/2.9-5.7 optical zoom lens. The result is a 36x superzoom point-and-shoot camera, with 720p HD video, 3D image capture and a 3-inch LCD. Olympus hasn't hinted at a release date for the $330 cam, but you hit up the gallery below for a trio of glamour shots.

Go to engadget.com for related media

Samsung camera patent focuses on refocusing

from digitaltrends.com

A patent application (first spotted by Photography Bay) filed by Samsung has made the rounds today, and for good reason. The application shows that the manufacturer may be pursuing a camera that will conquer depth-of-field issues that accompany point-and-shoot digital cameras. Pocket cams generally put everything in the frame in focus, giving photographers a lack of control and creativity in their shots. There’s little-to-no ability to choose what’s in focus and what’s not.

According to the document, Samsung’s solution is to create a digital camera that actually has two cameras inside of it. Both cameras would take the image: One would use a lower resolution while the other deferred to a higher resolution. The camera’s processor would mold the images into one photo and would produce a picture with the desired subject in focus and the background blurred.

It’s very slightly reminiscent of the technology from Lytro that took the digital photo world by storm last month. Lytro introduced us to the idea of a sensor that could process more information about the light entering a device, and with this data the photographer could alter the focus of the shot after the fact.

While a prototype has yet to be released to the public and we have little more than an idea to go off, we do know that the future Lytro camera will be the average size of a point-and-shoot. We also know that–at least for the time being–Lytro has no desires to sell its unique technology to other camera companies.

But given the difficulty that comes with breaking into the consumer camera industry, we wonder if Lytro could be swayed. If this Samsung patent sees the light of day and makes it all the way to store shelves, the up-and-coming company might have a more difficult time going it alone. The technologies are different of course: Lytro is producing a plenoptic camera; Samsung’s idea focuses on a stereoscopic camera. Lytro’s refocuses pictures after the shot; Samsung’s potential camera would create an image with a blurred background internally. But the effects are somewhat similar, and the point-and-shoot crowd is largely dominated by entry-level consumers who may see the features that way and err toward a big name manufacturer like Samsung in favor of Lytro.

Regardless of whether or not these two companies introduce devices that end up competing with each other, we’re excited to see this type of technology making its way to pocket cams. Hopefully this is one patent that makes it past the drawing board.

Monday, June 27, 2011

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