The world's smallest camera is born: thanks to its small size, it will help imaging diagnostics and more. Here are the features
The camera is among the most emblematic devices of our time: we cannot do without it, not only in everyday life, but also in other areas of society, such as the medical one. For example, diagnostic imaging has made great strides thanks in part to increasingly sophisticated technologies.
In this context, companies are striving to design cameras of ever smaller size without sacrificing image quality. The Guinness World Record has awarded the world's smallest camera, the size of a grain of sand. The sensor is called the OmniVision OV6948 and will be used primarily for medical purposes. It does not have a perfect resolution, if compared to that of the latest generation smartphones, but it will be able to take pictures in which the object is sharp and observable without problems, and above all the small size will allow it to be used for some clinical examinations that go into the cavities of the human body.
OmniVision OV6948: the characteristics of the smallest camera in the world
We are in front of a revolutionary project, although calling it a camera is misleading. Rather, it is a sensor as tiny as it is sophisticated. The OmniVision OV6948 is a tiny square that measures 0.575mm x 0.575mm x 0.232mm, just like a grain of sand. It can reproduce images with 40,000 pixels of resolution, with a square format of 200×200 pixels, also features a framerate of 30 fps and 120° angle of view.
These numbers will make lovers of high-resolution photographs smile, after all, smartphones today produce images from tens of megapixels. But you have to consider the scope of use: the resolution of the OmniVision OV6948 is more than enough to make sharp images that help detect health problems.
Smallest camera in the world: breakthrough for diagnostic imaging
The sensor will also be used inside endoscopes and disposable guide wires, which will avoid risks of infection and contamination. This will also eliminate the cost of sterilizing materials. In addition, it will allow dark areas to be explored because it features OmniBSI technology, a technology that allows images to be recorded even with low light present in human body cavities. This technology is similar to the Night Sight of the new Pixel 4 smartphones that also allows you to photograph the Milky Way in the night sky.
The photographic sensor will be used together with a tiny chip that will allow to process the image, and will have the following dimensions: 0.65mm x 0.65mm x 1.158mm. We are just at the beginning: who knows what the future holds, and how the medical professions will be able to take advantage of technological discoveries. We just have to wait.