TOMBO: NineLenses to Take Shots of a Scene For One Three-Dimensional Picture

Sometimes, compounding the issue doesn't compound the problem.

That is the case with a new digital imaging technology being pursued at the University of Osaka. TOMBO (Thin Observation Module by Bound Optics) is a set of nine lenses that take shots of the same scene from different angles. Affiliated software then assimilates all the images into one comprehensive three-dimensional picture. If this sounds familiar to you scientific types, it's because that's the sort of visual acuity process that insects use on a daily basis. We humans have no such biologically advanced eyesight capabilities in our digital cameras yet, although the TOMBO process could change that fundamentally.


So far, the process yields a rather weak resolution of 1.1 megapixels. Further experimentation will surely bump up the mp number.

That's about the only downside that the University of Osaka researchers report at the moment. TOMBO itself is the size of a button on a shirt or blouse, so it's small enough already to fit into a cell phone—the ultimate destination of such technology, for the most part. Another anticipated use is in surveillance aircraft.

All in all, it's definitely a vision of the future.




Written by Dan Browning
Published in Digital Imaging