SMaL Camera Technologies Introduces Its Wide Dynamic Range Digital Video Camera Featuring Autobrite Technology

8 January 2001

SMaL Camera Technologies Introduces Its Wide Dynamic Range Digital Video Camera Featuring Autobrite Technology

    LAS VEGAS--Jan. 8, 2001-- SMaL Camera Technologies, Inc., a developer of low power CMOS imagers and intelligent cameras for a variety of markets, including low cost consumer cameras, handheld electronics, intelligent transportation systems, and surveillance, introduced today at the International Consumer Electronics Show 2001 in Las Vegas, Nevada its Wide Dynamic Range video camera tailored for the security and automotive industries.
    This video camera is built around SMaL's 1/3-inch Wide Dynamic Range CMOS imager. "The future of digital video cameras is wide dynamic range," said Ichiro Masaki, Ph.D., Vice President, Business Development, SMaL Camera Technologies, "because when it comes to safety, you absolutely need to see what you want to see. Our camera makes this possible - even in the least ideal of lighting conditions. Unlike any other video camera on the market, this particular camera ensures a perfect exposure by tailoring the integration time, intensity compression, and frame rate to suit the lighting environment. This is accomplished by SMaL's proprietary Autobrite(TM) technology that automatically adjusts the imager's dynamic range to provide quality images of scenes that are bright enough to saturate other standard imagers."
    Masaki added, "There are clear applications for our wide dynamic range cameras in both the security and automotive industries. Imagine a surveillance scenario with two intruders, one directly below the ceiling light and the other in a dark hallway. Our camera would automatically adjust to the non-ideal lighting conditions to capture both intruders clearly on video. Conventional cameras, which have limited dynamic range, would have a difficult time even showing you a clear image of one of the intruders. Our camera has similar advantages in the automotive industry. Take, for example, a scene with one car underneath the sun and another car in the shadow of an overpass. While our camera would capture both cars, a conventional camera would give you a bright image of the first car, and the second car would be lost in a pitch black space beneath the overpass, or vice versa."
    As another major benefit, the camera is in two parts - the camera head and a control box. The camera head is very small, thereby allowing it to be placed discreetly. It sends and receives data and is powered through a single cable connection to the control box, which can be placed at another location. The video camera's VGA imager (300,000+ pixels) requires very low power and has more than 640 horizontal TV lines of resolution. It also offers low fixed-pattern noise and variable frame rate up to 45 frames per second.
    For more information see us at CES 2001 booth #4346, visit http://www.smalcamera.com, or contact Romney Williams at 617.806.1986 or rwilliams@SMaLcamera.com.

    SMaL Camera Technologies produces low power CMOS imagers and intelligent cameras for a variety of markets, including low cost consumer cameras, low power cameras for mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and computers, and wide dynamic range video cameras for surveillance, automobiles, and traffic monitoring. SMaL's expertise is in silicon imager design, image processing, optics design, and their various integrations and applications. SMaL is committed to providing OEM manufacturers with state-of-the-art CMOS imagers, ASICs, image processing software, and reference designs, as well as completed camera units. SMaL Camera Technologies is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

    (c)2001, SMaL Camera Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.