InteliSpark client, Circle Optics, wins nearly $1 million for a SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) project from the National Science Foundation. This project builds upon phase I success for “Fast Panoramic Image Capture for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.”
UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), sometimes called drones, are an incredibly useful and cost-saving technology that utilizes cameras to capture different types of imagery. By avoiding the deployment of humans in the field, UAVs have the potential to minimize danger, health risks, and labor inefficiencies. Yet, the wider adoption of UAVs across a variety of industries requires a superior camera that can overcome current limitations in image processing. In panoramic photography, parallax errors or perspective errors may arise when multiple photographs are stitched or blended to form a composite image. These challenges lead to expensive and time-sensitive post-production for content creators and producers attempting to integrate many shots for panoramic images.
Circle Optics has been developing a cutting-edge, lightweight, 360-degree panoramic camera that will overcome the problems of parallax error and perspective errors. In other words, what you see through the camera lens is exactly what you get in the photograph. This innovative camera produces real-time high-fidelity images of remote areas otherwise inaccessible which in turn, will reduce labor costs. These benefits may enable the wider adoption of UAVs across industries such as real estate, agriculture, construction, energy, entertainment, oil & gas, and journalism.