VLSI Vision Ltd, the Edinburgh company with the single-chip video camera (CI No 2,481), has packaged it up as a credit-card-sized device that can capture and incorporate still images directly into a portable computer, the Financial Times reported. The camera costs UKP600 with cable and software. The camera can take black and white snapshots or sequences of stills and incorporate them into documents on the computer screen, and full motion video will be possible with the appropriate software. It sees the thing being used by insurance company damage assessors that might want to add photographs to their written reports, and by connecting the camera to a cellular telephone system, the camera could make video conferences possible between a main office and staff working in the field, the company suggested. The camera has also been used by golfers to analyse their swing, and the company is working on adding sound.
