sensor

The Army has turned to a Honolulu company for Doppler radar and advanced algorithm technology to be able to detect and monitor multiple subjects based on their heart rate, even through walls.

This means that soldiers will be able to detect someone hiding in a room before the door is kicked in, the company claims, and medics will be able to remotely perform triage and diagnoses or monitor casualties right through their flack jackets. It may also have homeland security and interrogation applications by allowing personnel to screen and identify individuals who may merit the third degree based on a … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--It looks like Nikon, having followed Canon into the market for high-end SLRs with full-frame image sensors, will continue the effort by offering lower-end models as well.

Nikon's $5,000 D3 camera, announced in August and due to go on sale in November, employs a sensor the size of a full frame of 35mm film. These FX-sized sensors offer higher sensitivity and a broader field of view than the smaller DX sensors Nikon has used in its SLRs until now. Nikon will develop new DX-based cameras, but the company will flesh out its FX line as well, said … Read more

Maybe it's got something to do with global warming, but personal weather stations seem to be a dime a dozen nowadays. So even though some may look better than others, it's difficult to get too excited over yet another model from Oregon Scientific, one of the more prolific makers of the devices.

Yet "Weather In Motion" really is noteworthy, though not necessarily for its meteorological qualities. What got our attention is its infrared motion-sensing technology, which Technabob says automatically adjusts the size of its numeric display depending on your distance from it--something that will be welcome … Read more

Micron plans to announce a new image sensor for cars Wednesday that can keep an eye on you as well as on the road.

The company's charmingly named MT9V023 sensors are geared for a long list of ways that increasingly electronic cars will use cameras in an attempt to improve safety and convenience. The company is selling samples of the 752x480-pixel, 60-frame-per-second sensor at $25 apiece and expects them to be used in cars to ship in late 2008.

Some U.S. vehicles have cameras to improve rear-view vision when backing up--the Hummer H2 uses a Micron sensor for … Read more

Vyro Games presented a way to de-stress by playing a game. Call it the ultimate in casual gaming.

A biosensor, or a little egg-shaped "personal input pod," connects to a mobile phone via Bluetooth and pits you versus the computer or someone else to see who can relax the quickest. Stick your finger in it and it tracks your heart rate. Vyro is pitching it as a health aid, citing stats including that there are 12.8 million work days taken off due to stress.

There are two games so far: in the first, the more you relax, … Read more

Update: I fixed a math error in the shutter description.

Nikon's D3 and D300 SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras, announced Wednesday, are complicated and expensive beasts, so few people outside a repair center or Canon's competitive intelligence unit are going to be cracking them open.

Happily, Nikon has provided a number of views into its new $5,000 D3 and $1,800 D300 cameras. Forthwith, a tour of what I find most notable.… Read more

Update: I added a tidbit about Nikon not manufacturing its own sensors.

Steve Hoffenberg, a camera analyst at Lyra Research, had a ready response to news that Nikon now has an SLR, the D3, whose sensor matches the full size of a frame of 35mm film: "I think it's about time."

Indeed, Canon has a five-year head start in the market and, unlike Nikon, has spread the technology down from professional-level models to the enthusiast category. But it's not simple to add full-frame sensors alongside the more common SLRs with smaller sensors.

One big reason is … Read more

Sony announced a 12.7-megapixel sensor Monday for SLR cameras, the IMX021 built with a CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) manufacturing process.

The company will sell the sensor to others as well as "promoting its use within Sony," so don't be surprised to see some 12.7-megapixel SLRs coming soon. Sony has promised an advanced amateur SLR this year and a professional model next year, and there are indications that Sony's advanced amateur model will arrive soon.

The sensor can produce up to 10.4 frames per second, a high rate indeed, assuming that camera makers … Read more

Even those of us at Crave who aren't huge gamers discovered long ago that we would lust after just about any design to come out of Razer's equipment labs. And though it's difficult to get us worked up over a mouse these days, but the company has managed to accomplish that too, once again.

Razer just outfitted its ambidextrous "Diamondback" gaming mouse with a 3G infrared sensor, a technology that was first embedded in its "DeathAdder" model. Available next month for $60, the 1800-dpi Diamondback will be available in "Frost Blue," &… Read more