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(dú)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(rèn)可證頒發(fā)者] of high-technology and consumer[消費(fèi)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(duì)準(zhǔn)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(shí)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(píng)估]， landscape photography， full spherical[球狀的] capture for simultaneous[同時(shí)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(jī)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(jī)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(shí)是一臺(tái)可投擲到空中捕捉全景照片的獨(dú)立裝置。介紹一下Squito吧，這一球狀可拋擲相機(jī)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(duì)若干不同領(lǐng)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(fèi)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(jī)科技相關(guān)的另一項(xiàng)專利。他在2010年申請(qǐng)獲批的第一項(xiàng)專利是“利用定位定向感測(cè)器在空中隨運(yùn)動(dòng)軌跡捕捉和處理影像的可拋擲球形相機(jī)”。

新專利在前者的基礎(chǔ)上增加了更多細(xì)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(jī)具備準(zhǔn)確多幀連拍功能。

（以往）只在大家幻想中的可拋擲相機(jī)如今被霍林格打造成一個(gè)網(wǎng)球大小的產(chǎn)品原型。它內(nèi)置有三部相機(jī)、一組慣性測(cè)量元件（IMU）、一個(gè)微控制器、一個(gè)影像處理器，隨著空中運(yùn)動(dòng)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(jì)算機(jī)、平板電腦或智能手機(jī)。

據(jù)霍林格介紹，Squito未來的可能用途包括專業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)、建筑、軍事偵察、搜救、先遣急救員現(xiàn)場(chǎng)評(píng)估、自然風(fēng)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(yīng)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(jī)，是由柏林科技大學(xué)一組研究生研發(fā)出來的自帶36臺(tái)微型相機(jī)的可操作原型。然而這款相機(jī)只能在球體上拋至最高點(diǎn)時(shí)拍攝一張全景照片，霍林格的Squito則可以在整個(gè)拋擲過程中連續(xù)拍攝。