Future digital cameras could become significantly smarter following the release of the iOne chip from Ambarella – a device that combines two high-powered processing cores and a third lower-power core to give Android a significant boost in the visual stakes.The iOne is an all-in-one chip which combines two 1GHz ARM Cortex-A9 processing cores with a third 533MHz ARM-11 core. The idea behind such a strange setup is for the two high-performance cores to offer enough grunt to run a smartphone or high-powered camera system, while the third can be dedicated to running audiovisual tasks thanks to an integrated digital signal processor, or DSP.
Fermi Wang, chief executive officer at Ambrella, explained that the new chip “enables next generation cameras to take a significant leap forward in user experiences and capabilities,” and will “fundamentally change the way consumers capture, create and share visual content. We are very excited about the possibilities.”
With support for high-definition 1080p capture at up to 60 frames per second and in full 3D, it’s easy to see what Wang is talking about. Cameras based around the iOne and powered by Google’s popular open source Android platform, originally developed for smartphones, could offer functionality that is simply non-existent in today’s video cameras and still cameras.
Imagine a future camera capable of recording full-HD 1080p 3D video at sixty frames per second, and featuring the ability to automatically upload the footage to YouTube as it’s being taken – allowing near broadcast-quality footage to be ‘broadcast’ to the Internet over the nearest available Wi-Fi or 3G data connection in a compact device.
The company claims that its current chip design scales to 32 megapixel still photography and 5 megapixel video capture at up to 30 frames per second, which is a staggering achievement for such a compact device.
Integral connectivity for SATA, Ethernet, USB 2.0, S/PDIF, transport stream, and analogue video output spell a future of extremely high-performance cameras with massive on-board storage – just the thing that’s needed for high-definition 3D footage. In-built support for electronic image stabilisation in CMOS sensors and HDMI output are also featured.
It’s not just cameras that could benefit from Ambrella’s latest creation: with an in-built 3D engine capable of running high definition user interfaces and full support for OpenGL ES 2.0, future cameraphones could find themselves powered by the iOne.
Sadly, while the chip is sampling to customers now, there’s no word as to when it will start to appear in products available on store shelves.
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