‘Electronic panning’ device opens viewing range

Sometimes it’s a pity this newsletter isn’t in video form, because one has to see it to understand the true niftiness of the new electronic panning camera invented at Bellcore, a U.S. telecommunications research facility based in Morristown, NJ.

The electronic panning camera was invented by Lanny Smoot, David Braun, Terry Nelson and Bill Nilson of Bellcore, and today provides a 60-degree field of view, compared to the standard television viewing angle of 25 to 30 degrees.

The viewing angle itself is significant because it is so much wider than standard, but obviously it wouldn’t be helpful by itself, since a TV screen’s aspect ratio is considerably narrower. But as part of the system, Bellcore has developed a touch screen that allows the viewer to physically “push” the picture in the horizontal plane to change his or her viewing angle.

So if a sports fan wanted to keep an eye on the basket, for example, instead of the players, he or she could simply “push” the picture over to the basket and wait for the action to reach that end of the court. In a video teleconference, the viewer could move the picture around to watch various co-workers’ responses to a suggestion.

What’s most interesting about the technology, however, is that the camera is actually stationary, thus it is viewer independent. Since the camera doesn’t move, it automatically records all 60 degrees at once. Thus the term “electronic” panning: the panning is not the mechanical process usually used by video cameras, so the entire picture is available for individual manipulation by hundreds or thousands or even millions of viewers at once, as long as they have the proper equipment. In other words, the viewer is not controlling the camera — the viewer simply controls what part of the picture he or she wants to see.

A touch screen is not the only interface device. A remote control to move the picture back and forth has been devised, and an interface also exists that allows a viewer to automatically track the movement of one particular object or person across the field of view.

In the future, 360 degrees. Michael Giovia of Bellcore says that working versions of the camera in Bellcore’s labs can actually provide a 180-degree viewing angle, and researchers see no reason why they can’t create a fully stationary camera that can actually record a 360-degree picture.

Though not many details are available, Giovia says the analog camera is really two cameras that use a patented digital technology to merge the images seamlessly. As Bellcore does research for telephone companies, Giovia says it’s likely that the technology will first be used to transmit video images over phone lines.

Co-inventor Smoot says there would be very little modification to the existing network required to deliver the electronic panning feature, especially on ISDN lines using ADSL, the asymmetrical digital subscriber line technology that many telcos are viewing as their first platform to deliver video to the home.

What’s next? Giovia says the system is analog right now, but could be digital in the future — which would help, if a digital HDTV standard is settled upon. “We’re fairly early in the process right now,” he says. “Some patents are pending on certain components in the system.”

He’s unwilling to speculate on what Bellcore might do with the technology, other than the obvious: “Maybe the patents will be licensed,” he says.

Denise Caruso