FlexCam - camera for panoramic shots

A new device with a flexible display makes creating panoramic shots easier than ever.
FlexCam was developed at Kingston University of Canada (Canada) and combines a flexible OLED screen and three cameras to create panoramic photos.

A key feature of this unit is the ability to synchronize images from three cameras into one panoramic image in real time. Bending angle is measured by two sensors. Based on this information, the device builds an image on the screen.

The hardware component includes: an array of three cameras, two bend sensors, a flexible chassis made of leather and a flexible color OLED display 320x240.
In the prototype, an array of three Unibrain Fire-I DV cameraswas connected in series with the IEEE 1394b (Firewire) to a laptop. The Firewire specification supports end-to-end and address-based translation of video from each camera in the array. All cameras are on a flexible chassis made of leather. On the outside of this chassis, two bend sensors are connected to the Arduino. When bent, each camera captures an increasingly large unique part of the scene. All these parts are processed and connected in a single panorama in real time.

The device software was developed using Max / MSP / Jitter .
The main advantage of FlexCam is the ability to create panoramic shots without graphic editors or special applications requiring careful camera rotation.

However, judging by the video, so far the device cannot boast a large viewing angle, wide display or high resolution, which, of course, is sad.



The price of the device is not yet known.
More detailed documentation