sensors

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

Eastman Kodak just sold its first CMOS image sensor for digital cameras. The customer? Eastman Kodak.

OK, that's being a little flippant. Kodak's camera division is separate from its sensor division, and the latter must compete with other suppliers for the camera business, so the deal is a significant achievement in the company's attempt to transform its sensor business.

Kodak will use its new KAC-05011 sensor in the new Easyshare C513, a $99 model with a 3X optical zoom lens and 2.4-inch LCD screen. It's due to ship this month, Kodak plans to announce Tuesday. … Read more

Canon plans to build a new factory south of Tokyo to build image sensors for its SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras and some video cameras, the company told The Wall Street Journal.

The company will invest 55 billion yen, or about $450 million, in the new factory, which is scheduled to open in July 2008, according to the report Wednesday. Its capacity will be about 3 million sensors per year.

The company will build the sensors using the complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) manufacturing process that's also used in the mainstream processor and memory chip market. Many digital cameras, including Canon'… Read more

Talk about the world turned upside-down. The last thing we thought we'd ever see is people clamoring to make their bathrooms more like public loos, but that's apparently what's happening in our increasingly fixture-fixated consumer market.

We knew the trend had become mainstream (no pun, honest) after witnessing the overwhelming popularity of Dyson's "Airblade" hand-drying machine. But that product is aimed at the business market--we think. The "EZ Touchless Infrared Sensor Faucet," however, is clearly destined for the household at $50, according to GadgetGrid.

And why not? It's at the perfect … Read more

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--Sophisticated motion sensors are part of an Intel project to help couch potatoes monitor their physical activity from the, um, couch.

Beverly Harrison, a senior research scientist at Intel, did a lot of jogging in place Wednesday at Research@Intel Day, the company's science fair of ongoing projects inside its labs. She was demonstrating how someday sensors could be used inside mobile devices to measure the frequency and intensity of a person's daily physical activity as part of a weight-loss program or to help someone rehabilitate an injury.

Sure, gyms these days have all kinds … Read more

In-Q-Tel, a private investment firm launched by the CIA to support U.S. intelligence agencies, has invested in image sensor maker Pixim, the company said Wednesday.

The investment was part of a $15 million funding round announced in March that also included Tallwood Venture Capital, Ridgewood Capital and the Mayfield Fund.

Pixim sells digital image sensors and associated software used in surveillance cameras. The technology is geared to work in particular with difficult lighting conditions. The company's Orca chips are used in more than 100 camera models available today.

"In-Q-Tel invested in Pixim because it offers government and … Read more

I love press releases for really geeky stuff like image sensors, especially the releases declaring amazing breakthroughs. They're fun because there's usually some really interesting development buried in it, but the people who write the releases have no idea what it is. Ditto for many of the Web sites that write about them. So you end up with some verbatim quotes that are so dense, an electron couldn't tunnel through them. This brings me to today's announcement from Panasonic, featuring a rugged, new image sensor designed to withstand the deterioration caused by weather, heat, and ultraviolet … Read more

We all have days when we just don't want to talk to anyone, especially those office pests who think nothing of barging into our private sanctuary without warning. (You know who you are.) That's where the "Memo Motion Sensor" is indispensible.

This handy little gadget can record a 10-second message and play it back to whomever enters the room, informing them of your whereabouts, instructions or anything else you'd otherwise leave on a Post-It note that might or might not be seen, according to Coolest-Gadgets. Even an inspirational message, if you're so inclined.

It'… Read more

As dust-busting has become an increasingly important factor in digital photography, competition has inevitably heated up in the resulting cottage industry. But this is the first cleaning device we've seen that comes with its own rocket.

The "FireFly" uses a "Giotto Rocket air blower bulb and advanced ionizing technology" to blow away tiny debris, quite literally, from a digital camera's sensor. The trick, according to Gadget Lab, is to use anti-static air that strips dust particles of their electrostatic charge.

Static superpowers aside, the FireFly still doesn't seem as sophisticated as the "… Read more