Microchip-sized digital camera to provide vision for US military’s insect-sized aircraft

LONDON - Scientists at the California Institute of Technology have developed a microchip-sized digital camera that can provide vision for the US military’s insect-sized aircraft.

The researchers say that the tiny camera is so light that it can be easily carried by the tiny surveillance drones.

They also say that the camera uses very little power, reports New Scientist magazine.

In today’s minicams, the image sensors and support circuitry are on separate microchips, and most of the power goes on communication between the chips.

Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena has squeezed all the components of a camera onto one low-power chip, according to a US patent filed last week.

The researchers say that the gadget can be radio-controlled via a secure frequency-hopping link from up to a kilometre away.

They attribute this invention to Pentagon and NASA funding. (ANI)