by Dave Parrack

Its already possible to take aerial[航空的] shots using your smartphone， but doing so means throwing your expensive phone into the air and hoping youre a good catch. Whats really needed is a standalone[單獨的] device that can be launched[投擲] skywards[向天空地] to capture[拍攝] panoramic[全景的] views. Enter Squito， a prototype[原型] throwable camera ball capable of producing stabilized[穩(wěn)定的] 360-degree images and video that could prove useful in several different fields.

Squito is the work of Boston-based inventor Steve Hollinger， founder of S. H. Pierce & Co.， a manufacturer and licensor[認可證頒發(fā)者] of high-technology and consumer[消費者] products founded in 1989. Hollinger was recently awarded[授予] a second patent[專利權(quán)] related to throwable camera technology. His first was filed in 2010 and referred to “a throwable ball-shaped camera that utilizes[利用] position and orientation[定位] sensors[傳感器] to capture and process images over the course of its airborne trajectory[空中傳播軌跡].”

The new patent adds more detail to the first， with a description of how photos can be captured， re-oriented and stitched[縫合] into a panorama[全景照片]， and covering the stabilization[穩(wěn)定性] of video， making a camera capable of registering[對準的] frames[幀數(shù)] captured in sequence[順次].

The throwable camera imagined and now prototyped by Hollinger is the size of a tennis ball， and employs three cameras， an inertial[慣性的] measurement unit （IMU）， a microcontroller， and an image processor to pull off[完成，實現(xiàn)] its impressive feat[技藝] of capturing images along its airborne trajectories. All images and video are transmitted[傳輸] wirelessly[無線地] to the users computer， tablet， or smartphone.

According to Hollinger， possible future uses for the Squito include professional sports， architecture[建筑]， reconnaissance[偵察，搜索]， search-and-rescue， first responder scene assessment[評估]， landscape photography， full spherical[球狀的] capture for simultaneous[同時發(fā)生的] localization[定位] and mapping （SLAM）， and 3D mapping applications.

Weve seen a throwable ball camera previously[以前] on Gizmag注， with a team of graduates from the Technical University of Berlin having produced a working prototype that contained 36 tiny[微小的] cameras. While that would take one panoramic photograph at the top of the balls trajectory， Hollingers Squito is capable of taking photos continuously[連續(xù)地] throughout the throw.

用智能手機拍出空中照片已經(jīng)成為可能，但這樣做意味著你得把昂貴的電話機拋向空中而且必須眼明手快接得回來。我們真正需要的其實是一臺可投擲到空中捕捉全景照片的獨立裝置。介紹一下Squito吧，這一球狀可拋擲相機的產(chǎn)品原型能拍攝穩(wěn)定清晰的360度全景照片和視頻，對若干不同領域可能都頗有助益。

Squito由居住在（美國）波士頓的發(fā)明家史蒂夫·霍林格發(fā)明，他于1989年創(chuàng)立了S. H. Pierce & Co.公司，該公司是高科技消費產(chǎn)品的制造商及品牌授權(quán)商。最近，霍林格又獲得了與拋擲型相機科技相關(guān)的另一項專利。他在2010年申請獲批的第一項專利是“利用定位定向感測器在空中隨運動軌跡捕捉和處理影像的可拋擲球形相機”。

新專利在前者的基礎上增加了更多細節(jié)，描述了照片捕捉、轉(zhuǎn)向及拼接成全景照的方式，還包含了視頻穩(wěn)像技術(shù)，令相機具備準確多幀連拍功能。

（以往）只在大家幻想中的可拋擲相機如今被霍林格打造成一個網(wǎng)球大小的產(chǎn)品原型。它內(nèi)置有三部相機、一組慣性測量元件（IMU）、一個微控制器、一個影像處理器，隨著空中運動軌跡捕捉影像的絕技便是靠這些元件合作完成。所有照片和視頻可通過無線方式傳送至用戶的計算機、平板電腦或智能手機。

據(jù)霍林格介紹，Squito未來的可能用途包括專業(yè)運動、建筑、軍事偵察、搜救、先遣急救員現(xiàn)場評估、自然風景攝影、全方位影像捕捉作同步定位地圖繪制（SLAM）以及三維地圖應用程序。

我們之前曾在Gizmag網(wǎng)站看到過一款可拋擲球體相機，是由柏林科技大學一組研究生研發(fā)出來的自帶36臺微型相機的可操作原型。然而這款相機只能在球體上拋至最高點時拍攝一張全景照片，霍林格的Squito則可以在整個拋擲過程中連續(xù)拍攝。