Scientist Creates World's First Self-Powered Camera

An Indian-origin computer scientist Shree K. Nayar from Columbia University has invented the world's first fully self-powered video camera that can produce image each second, indefinitely.

The designed camera not only measures incident light but also converts the incident light into electric power.

"We are in the middle of a digital imaging revolution. A camera that can function as an untethered device forever -- without any external power supply -- would be incredibly useful," said Nayar, who heads the computer vision laboratory at the Columbia Engineering.

The key enabling device in a pixel is the photodiode which produces an electric current when exposed to light, Business Standard noted.

When the camera is not in use, it can be used to generate power for other devices, such as a watch or a phone.

Nayar says the image sensor could use a rechargeable battery and charge it via its harvesting capability.

"But we took an extreme approach to demonstrate that the sensor is indeed truly self-powered and used just a capacitor to store the harvested energy," he noted.

"We believe our results are a significant step forward in developing an entirely new generation of cameras that can function for a very long duration -- ideally, forever -- without being externally powered," the authors wrote.

Nayar, with the team will present its work at the international conference on computational photography at the Rice University in Houston April 24-26.