Sony shows off self-charging digital camera

Sony’s in-house “odo” team, based in California and with some help from Japan, was put together to design devices that tap into the “creativity, curiosity, and energy” of children in developing nations and that are capable of operating in extreme temperatures without the need for power supplies. Their latest imagining is a self-charging digital camera.

The camera resembles a white, plastic pizza cutter, and it is charged by rolling the wheel at the top on any surface. 15 seconds of rolling should generate enough power to take one picture – not a bad tradeoff considering that the thing never needs to be plugged in.

Conveniently, the hole in the middle of the “pizza cutter” can also be used as a viewfinder. The actual camera itself is housed in the handle. Obviously there’s no display on the camera as it would use too much power, so the only way to see your pictures is to connect to a computer via USB.

This gadget is the first working prototype created by the odo team. However, there are no plans to put it into mass production.

Eventually, when cheap laptops like the XO notebook from the OPLC (One Laptop Per Child) project start making their way to these countries we could potentially see a camera like this accompany them. It would be great to give developing nations the technology to stay up to par with the rest of the world. Imagine photos taken by children in Africa, for example. We could be in for some interesting perspectives.

Be Sociable, Share!

•