Thin, flexible 'sheet camera' could turn any surface into a camera

In the future, any surface could become a camera.

Researchers at Columbia University's Computer Vision Lab have developed a flexible "sheet camera" that can be attached to any surface, taking photos and videos from angles previously impossible.

For instance, the thin flexible sheet camera could be wrapped around a lamp post to record 360-degree videos, around the outside of a car to help drivers see blind spots, or even used as a regular camera that fits into a wallet.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

"If such cameras can be made at a low cost (ideally, like a roll of plastic sheet), they can be used to image the world in ways that would be difficult to achieve using one or more conventional cameras," the researchers say in a video about the tech (embedded above).

In the concept video, the researchers demonstrate bending a credit card-sized flexible sheet camera could control the field of view:

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The sheet camera is still in the prototyping phase and the resolution is pretty low, but it succeeds as a proof of concept. The next logical step is creating flexible sheet cameras that can take higher resolution images.

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