New York: University of Columbia has invented the world’s first self-powered video camera that runs without a battery. The key enabling device in a pixel is the photodiode, which produces an electric current when exposed to light.
The scientists led by Shree K. Nayar, T.C. Chang Professor of Computer Science at Columbia Engineering, designed a pixel that can not only measure incident light but also convert it into electric power.
With this level of activity, the prototype video camera can produce an image each second of a well-lit indoor scene.
Nayar realized that although digital cameras and solar panels have different purposes (one measures light while the other converts light to power), both are constructed from essentially the same components.
The photodiode in a camera pixel is used in the photoconductive mode, while in a solar cell it is used in the photovoltaic model.
