Pixel-perfect pictures

Screen grabs from video streams would be as clear as a high-resolution photograph with a new technology from Oxford University researchers.

The technology, dubbed Fast Pixel Shutter Imaging (FPSI), would allow cameras to capture high-speed video and high-resolution still images simultaneously on the same detector without additional memory requirements.

Gil Bub, leader of the technology’s development team and a bio- technology researcher at Oxford, said this has never been done before because high-resolution images impose bandwidth constraints that result in increased noise (interference) with acquisition speed. Low-noise cameras typically read out frames slowly to reduce noise. High-speed, low-noise imaging is typically carried out with low-resolution detectors, so re- searchers use a second camera to capture spatial detail.

Oxford solved this problem by selectively controlling the exposure time of different parts of the image sensor using fast optical switches. This allows the embedding of high-frequency content in images that can be decoded to create a movie.