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ZCam

May 02, 2024

Not to be confused with Z CAM, an imaging technology brand popular for VR photography. For other uses, see Z Cam (disambiguation).

ZCam is a brand of time-of-flight camera products for video applications by Israeli developer 3DV Systems. The ZCam supplements full-color video camera imaging with real-time range imaging information, allowing for the capture of video in 3D.

The original ZCam,[fn 1] released in 2000,[4] was an ENG video camera add-on used for digital video compositing.[5][6] Before agreeing in March 2009[7] to sell its assets to Microsoft,[8] 3DV had planned to release a ranging video webcam (previously called the Z-Sense), also under the name ZCam.[fn 1] The ZCam webcam was one of several competing real-time range imaging camera products in development that target home game controller applications.[fn 2]

Technology edit

See also: time-of-flight camera

The ZCam's time-of-flight camera system features a near-infrared (NIR) pulse illumination component, as well as an image sensor with a fast gating mechanism. Based on the known speed of light, ZCam coordinates the timing of NIR pulse wave emissions from the illuminator with the gating of the image sensor, so that the signal reflected from within a desired depth range is captured exclusively. The amount of pulse signal collected for each pixel corresponds to where within the depth range the pulse was reflected from, and can thus be used to calculate the distance to a corresponding point on the captured subject.[11][12]

Due to the fast timing required for light-based time-of-flight, the ZCam uses custom hardware for illumination and gating. The illuminator is a series of NIR laser diodes around the lens barrel, switched by special high-speed driver circuits that produce pulses with a rise time and fall time of less than one nanosecond.[12] Previously using an image intensifier for gating the image sensor,[12] 3DV later developed a special solid-state image shutter, in the form of a gallium arsenide-based electro-optical chip that is mounted atop the image sensor.[13] The company was reportedly developing a gating solution based on less-expensive CMOS-process fabrication.[9]

The time-of-flight camera is optically matched with a corresponding video camera, allowing the RGB video and range imaging to integrated together. 3DV refers to the combination as "RGBD" (or RGB-D), in which "D" refers to a "depth" or "distance" channel.[12]

Webcam edit

Targeted primarily at the video game market, the ZCam webcam was designed to be used as a game controller like the EyeToy, using gesture recognition to interpret hand and body gestures for controlling the interface, but without many of the complications of a purely 2D-based computer vision approach.[14] Developing the device since 2005, 3DV completed the initial prototype in late 2006, and officially announced the product in late 2007.[15]

The ZCam webcam had a 60-degree field of view,[16] a frame rate of 60 Hz,[4] a 1.3 megapixel full color video resolution,[4] and an 8-bit[17] Quarter VGA[14] ranging resolution (320x240 pixels with 256 depth levels per pixel). Precision was fine as 1-2 centimeters, with a practical ranging limit of 0.5–2.5 meters distance.[16] The webcam connected via a USB 2.0 interface.[18] Demonstrations included a boxing game,[19] an airplane demo,[18] Windows Media Center hand-gesture control,[18] and a body-gesture Second Life interface.[20]

3DV stated that the webcam would be priced comparably to other peripherals in the gaming market such as the PlayStation Eye: less than US$100,[17] with a bundled US$69.99 price mentioned as a possibility.[14] The webcam was to include software development kits for camera control and gesture recognition.[16] 3DV originally projected the ZCam to be released before the end of 2008,[14] then later revised the projection to 2009.[21] In March 2009, the company agreed to sell its assets including the ZCam to a third party,[7] later confirmed to be Microsoft.[8][22] Following these reports, it was speculated that Microsoft would use the ZCam technology for a motion-sensing controller system for the Xbox 360 video game console or its successor. This speculation increased in the month leading up to Microsoft's announcement of the Kinect 3D depth-sensing device at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo, during which leaked information about that device prompted frequent comparisons with the ZCam.[23]

See also edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ a b The name has been formatted several different ways, including "ZCAM"[1] and "Zcam".[2] Although the "ZCam" styling had been used for the studio camera add-on,[3] the 3DV website currently refers to the original product as "Z-Cam", and the webcam product as "ZCam".[4]
  2. ^ Other companies developing competing cameras included Canesta and PrimeSense.[9][10]

References edit

  1. ^ . 3DV Systems. 1999-04-19. Archived from the original on 2005-02-11. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  2. ^ "JVC enters strategic alliances with cutting edge technology leaders". JVC. 2000-04-10. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  3. ^ . 3DV Systems. Archived from the original on 2006-11-02. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  4. ^ a b c d . 3DV Systems. Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  5. ^ "ZCAM 3D Camera". JVC Professional. JVC. 2003-09-24. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  6. ^ Richard Marks (2004-01-21). EyeToy: A New Interface for Interactive Entertainment (Windows Media v7). Stanford University. Event occurs at 58:24. Retrieved 2009-06-20.
  7. ^ a b "Elron Group company 3DV signs definitive asset sale agreement" (PDF). Elron Electronic Industries. 2009-03-29. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
  8. ^ a b Shelah, Shmulik (2009-06-22). . Globes. Tel Aviv: Globes Publisher Itonut. Archived from the original on 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2009-06-23. [Microsoft corporate vice president of Israel Research & Development Moshe Lichtman] said, for the first time officially, that "the R&D center helped Microsoft in buying the intellectual property of 3DV Systems, and in the wake of that dozens of the company's employees were recruited to work at the development center." Alt URL 2012-02-18 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ a b Takahashi, Dean (2009-05-29). "Peeling back another layer of detail on Microsoft's secret gesture-control system for games". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  10. ^ Johnson, R. Colin (2009-02-04). "3D sensor moves from car to CE". EE Times. TechInsights. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  11. ^ Katz, Sagi (2008-02-28). . Engineering TV. Penton Media. Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2009-03-12. Alt URL
  12. ^ a b c d Iddan, Gavriel J.; Yahav, Giora (2001-01-24). (PDF). Proceedings of SPIE. Vol. 4298. San Jose, CA: SPIE (published 2003-04-29). p. 48. doi:10.1117/12.424913. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  13. ^ Captain, Sean (2008-05-01). "Out of Control Gaming". PopSci.com. Popular Science. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  14. ^ a b c d Nutt, Christian (2008-01-17). "Q&A: 3DV's Barel On The Future Of Camera-Based Game Control". Gamasutra. Think Services. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  15. ^ . 3DV Systems. 2007-12-02. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-10. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  16. ^ a b c "ZCam Product Data Sheet" (JPEG). StudioGE. p. 2. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  17. ^ a b "3DV Announces ZCam Real Time 3D Camera for the PC". PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. 2008-01-08. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  18. ^ a b c Barel, Tomer (2008-02-07). "ZCam - CES 2008: Interview" (Flash Video). GameTrailers. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  19. ^ Flier, Rich (2008-02-28). . Engineering TV. Penton Media. Archived from the original on 2008-03-03. Retrieved 2009-03-12. Alt URL
  20. ^ Markoff, John (2008-04-11). "The Coming of the Holodeck". Bits Blog. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  21. ^ Takahashi, Dean (2008-07-10). "3DV fleshes out gesture-based gaming plans, hires North American chief". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  22. ^ Takahashi, Dean (2009-02-21). "Sources confirm Microsoft is buying 3DV Systems". VentureBeat. Retrieved 2009-02-23.
  23. ^ Thorsen, Tor (May 12, 2009). "Xbox 360 motion-sensing camera in development - WSJ". Gamespot. Retrieved 2009-05-13.

External links edit

May 02, 2024
zcam, confused, with, imaging, technology, brand, popular, photography, other, uses, disambiguation, brand, time, flight, camera, products, video, applications, israeli, developer, systems, supplements, full, color, video, camera, imaging, with, real, time, ra. Not to be confused with Z CAM an imaging technology brand popular for VR photography For other uses see Z Cam disambiguation ZCam is a brand of time of flight camera products for video applications by Israeli developer 3DV Systems The ZCam supplements full color video camera imaging with real time range imaging information allowing for the capture of video in 3D The original ZCam fn 1 released in 2000 4 was an ENG video camera add on used for digital video compositing 5 6 Before agreeing in March 2009 7 to sell its assets to Microsoft 8 3DV had planned to release a ranging video webcam previously called the Z Sense also under the name ZCam fn 1 The ZCam webcam was one of several competing real time range imaging camera products in development that target home game controller applications fn 2 Contents 1 Technology 2 Webcam 3 See also 4 Footnotes 5 References 6 External linksTechnology editSee also time of flight camera The ZCam s time of flight camera system features a near infrared NIR pulse illumination component as well as an image sensor with a fast gating mechanism Based on the known speed of light ZCam coordinates the timing of NIR pulse wave emissions from the illuminator with the gating of the image sensor so that the signal reflected from within a desired depth range is captured exclusively The amount of pulse signal collected for each pixel corresponds to where within the depth range the pulse was reflected from and can thus be used to calculate the distance to a corresponding point on the captured subject 11 12 Due to the fast timing required for light based time of flight the ZCam uses custom hardware for illumination and gating The illuminator is a series of NIR laser diodes around the lens barrel switched by special high speed driver circuits that produce pulses with a rise time and fall time of less than one nanosecond 12 Previously using an image intensifier for gating the image sensor 12 3DV later developed a special solid state image shutter in the form of a gallium arsenide based electro optical chip that is mounted atop the image sensor 13 The company was reportedly developing a gating solution based on less expensive CMOS process fabrication 9 The time of flight camera is optically matched with a corresponding video camera allowing the RGB video and range imaging to integrated together 3DV refers to the combination as RGBD or RGB D in which D refers to a depth or distance channel 12 Webcam editTargeted primarily at the video game market the ZCam webcam was designed to be used as a game controller like the EyeToy using gesture recognition to interpret hand and body gestures for controlling the interface but without many of the complications of a purely 2D based computer vision approach 14 Developing the device since 2005 3DV completed the initial prototype in late 2006 and officially announced the product in late 2007 15 The ZCam webcam had a 60 degree field of view 16 a frame rate of 60 Hz 4 a 1 3 megapixel full color video resolution 4 and an 8 bit 17 Quarter VGA 14 ranging resolution 320x240 pixels with 256 depth levels per pixel Precision was fine as 1 2 centimeters with a practical ranging limit of 0 5 2 5 meters distance 16 The webcam connected via a USB 2 0 interface 18 Demonstrations included a boxing game 19 an airplane demo 18 Windows Media Center hand gesture control 18 and a body gesture Second Life interface 20 3DV stated that the webcam would be priced comparably to other peripherals in the gaming market such as the PlayStation Eye less than US 100 17 with a bundled US 69 99 price mentioned as a possibility 14 The webcam was to include software development kits for camera control and gesture recognition 16 3DV originally projected the ZCam to be released before the end of 2008 14 then later revised the projection to 2009 21 In March 2009 the company agreed to sell its assets including the ZCam to a third party 7 later confirmed to be Microsoft 8 22 Following these reports it was speculated that Microsoft would use the ZCam technology for a motion sensing controller system for the Xbox 360 video game console or its successor This speculation increased in the month leading up to Microsoft s announcement of the Kinect 3D depth sensing device at the 2009 Electronic Entertainment Expo during which leaked information about that device prompted frequent comparisons with the ZCam 23 See also editTime of flight camera Canesta Kinect Omek Interactive PrimeSense SoftkineticFootnotes edit a b The name has been formatted several different ways including ZCAM 1 and Zcam 2 Although the ZCam styling had been used for the studio camera add on 3 the 3DV website currently refers to the original product as Z Cam and the webcam product as ZCam 4 Other companies developing competing cameras included Canesta and PrimeSense 9 10 References edit 3DV Systems Ltd Introduces ZCAM World s First Real Time 3D Studio Camera 3DV Systems 1999 04 19 Archived from the original on 2005 02 11 Retrieved 2009 02 19 JVC enters strategic alliances with cutting edge technology leaders JVC 2000 04 10 Retrieved 2009 02 19 Products 3DV Systems Archived from the original on 2006 11 02 Retrieved 2009 02 19 a b c d Product Evolution 3DV Systems Archived from the original on 2009 02 28 Retrieved 2009 02 19 ZCAM 3D Camera JVC Professional JVC 2003 09 24 Retrieved 2009 06 20 Richard Marks 2004 01 21 EyeToy A New Interface for Interactive Entertainment Windows Media v7 Stanford University Event occurs at 58 24 Retrieved 2009 06 20 a b Elron Group company 3DV signs definitive asset sale agreement PDF Elron Electronic Industries 2009 03 29 Retrieved 2009 03 30 a b Shelah Shmulik 2009 06 22 Microsoft confirms 3DV acquisition Globes Tel Aviv Globes Publisher Itonut Archived from the original on 2009 06 26 Retrieved 2009 06 23 Microsoft corporate vice president of Israel Research amp Development Moshe Lichtman said for the first time officially that the R amp D center helped Microsoft in buying the intellectual property of 3DV Systems and in the wake of that dozens of the company s employees were recruited to work at the development center Alt URL Archived 2012 02 18 at the Wayback Machine a b Takahashi Dean 2009 05 29 Peeling back another layer of detail on Microsoft s secret gesture control system for games VentureBeat Retrieved 2009 06 15 Johnson R Colin 2009 02 04 3D sensor moves from car to CE EE Times TechInsights Retrieved 2009 06 15 Katz Sagi 2008 02 28 Boxing with ZCam part 1 Engineering TV Penton Media Archived from the original on 2008 03 03 Retrieved 2009 03 12 Alt URL a b c d Iddan Gavriel J Yahav Giora 2001 01 24 3D imaging in the studio and elsewhere PDF Proceedings of SPIE Vol 4298 San Jose CA SPIE published 2003 04 29 p 48 doi 10 1117 12 424913 Archived from the original PDF on 2009 06 12 Retrieved 2009 02 19 Captain Sean 2008 05 01 Out of Control Gaming PopSci com Popular Science Retrieved 2009 06 15 a b c d Nutt Christian 2008 01 17 Q amp A 3DV s Barel On The Future Of Camera Based Game Control Gamasutra Think Services Retrieved 2009 02 19 3DV Systems announces ZCam low cost real time depth sensing camera 3DV Systems 2007 12 02 Archived from the original PDF on 2009 02 10 Retrieved 2009 02 19 a b c ZCam Product Data Sheet JPEG StudioGE p 2 Retrieved 2009 06 03 a b 3DV Announces ZCam Real Time 3D Camera for the PC PC Magazine Ziff Davis 2008 01 08 Retrieved 2009 02 19 a b c Barel Tomer 2008 02 07 ZCam CES 2008 Interview Flash Video GameTrailers Retrieved 2009 02 19 Flier Rich 2008 02 28 Boxing with ZCam part 2 Engineering TV Penton Media Archived from the original on 2008 03 03 Retrieved 2009 03 12 Alt URL Markoff John 2008 04 11 The Coming of the Holodeck Bits Blog The New York Times Company Retrieved 2009 02 19 Takahashi Dean 2008 07 10 3DV fleshes out gesture based gaming plans hires North American chief VentureBeat Retrieved 2008 12 02 Takahashi Dean 2009 02 21 Sources confirm Microsoft is buying 3DV Systems VentureBeat Retrieved 2009 02 23 Thorsen Tor May 12 2009 Xbox 360 motion sensing camera in development WSJ Gamespot Retrieved 2009 05 13 External links editArchived copies of official site at the Wayback Machine archive index Profile of the original ZCam at JVC Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title ZCam amp oldid 1210708312, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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