The never-ending selfie: Scientists reveal the world's first self-powered camera
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Our addiction to selfies may be about to get worse.
Scientists have unveiled the world's first self-powered camera that generates electricity using ambient light in a well-lit room.
The resolution is low — it can produce one image per second— but it can, according to its designers, record video and images forever.
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A video camera based on a self-powered image sensor can run indefinitely without an external power supply
The research team, led by Professor Shree Nayar at Columbia Engineering, said the camera works by not only measuring light but also convert that light into electric power.
It took its inspiration from solar panels. While digital cameras and solar panels have different purposes both are constructed from essentially the same components.
At the heart of any digital camera is an image sensor, a chip with millions of pixels.
The key enabling device in a pixel is the photodiode, which produces an electric current when exposed to light.
This mechanism allows each pixel to measure the intensity of light falling on it.
The same photodiode is also used in solar panels to convert light to electric power.
The photodiode in a camera pixel is used in the photoconductive mode, while in a solar cell it is used in the photovoltaic model.
Using off-the-shelf components, the team managed to create an image sensor with 30x40 pixels.
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In their prototype camera, which is housed in a 3D printed body, each pixel's photodiode is always operated in the photovoltaic mode.
The pixel design is simple, and uses just two transistors.
During each image capture cycle, the pixels are used first to record and read out the image and then to harvest energy and charge the sensor's power supply.
The image sensor continuously toggles between image capture and power harvesting modes.
When the camera is not used to capture images, it can be used to generate power for other devices, such as a phone or a watch.
Professor Nayar notes that the image sensor could use a rechargeable battery and charge it via its harvesting capability.
'But we took an extreme approach to demonstrate that the sensor is indeed truly self-powered and used just a capacitor to store the harvested energy.'
'We believe our results are a significant step forward in developing an entirely new generation of cameras that can function for a very long duration - ideally, forever - without being externally powered.'
Pictured is an image sensor that can capture images and harvest energy, enabling it to run indefinitely without a battery. The image sensor continuously toggles between image capture and power harvesting modes
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