2010 Create the Future Design Contest Safety and Security Category Winner

(Winner of an HP Workstation)

Digital Window Distributed Imaging Camera

Ellen Cargill, Peter Jones, and Dennis Purcell
Boston, MA

Scallop Imaging’s seven-megapixel Digital Window D7-180 video surveillance camera streams and records in full-color high resolution throughout a 180° field of view. The standalone device acts as a potential alternative to a set of several traditional cameras, which have a smaller field of view and often use slower pan/tilt/zoom mechanisms to pinpoint a target.

The imaging task of the Digital Window Distributed Imaging Camera is distributed among five powerful microsensors, synchronizing and assembling their output in the camera head. Processing over 100 megapixels per second, Digital Window synthesizes the image data into one 15-fps high-definition window that combines the full field of view, including up to four separate and repositionable zoom perspectives. In addition, the camera records the full-resolution, seven-megapixel image stream at one fps in the background for storage and later review.

“There are many applications for Distributed Imaging, from homeland security, to aviation, to wide-area monitoring, to super resolution. We are honored to have won our category. It is very gratifying to be recognized by the technical community.”
– Ellen Cargill, Inventor

Digital Window includes Power over Ethernet and H.264 video compression. The camera, which also has a built-in Web server, can be accessed remotely using a Web browser interface (on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux PCs).

For more information, visit www.techbriefs.com/ctf_camera. Contact the inventor at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Click here to view the Transportation Category Winner.

Honorable Mentions

Wireless Networkable Flame Sensor
Thomas Teall
Beavercreek, OH

Currently available flame detectors are large, heavy, power hungry, and slow to respond. A new Wireless Fire Detector system, enabled by an innovative Flame Sensor Module (FSM), is smaller, lightweight, and low power. It can accurately detect flames within 2mS for rapid fire suppression. While “watching” for flames, the FSM draws less than 1mWatt of power, making it a candidate for vibration and other forms of energy harvesting power sources, and for extended operations on a single primary cell. Potential applications include petroleum and chemical processing plants, operational aircraft dry bays, and shipping cargo containers. Development was partially funded through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

For more information, visit www.techbriefs.com/ctf_flamesensor.

Long-Range Fire Detection and Response
Darell Engelhaupt
Madison, AL

Early detection of open-area fires is typically performed by manned observatories, random reporting, space, and aerial surveillance. An improved optical flame detector uses available digital transponders that code multiple detectors and daisy-chain the information, providing fast detection and location of fires without a Global Positioning System (GPS). The technology utilizes a cylindrical Geiger Mueller ultraviolet C (UVC) detector mounted axially in a non-imaging, electroplated, or plastic spherical collector. This collector is constructed using a nickel phosphorus coating to reflect UVC short-wavelength light obtained from decay in flaming materials, including wood.

For more information, visit www.techbriefs.com/ctf_firedetect.