III: Medium: Collaborative Research: Frankencamera - an open-source Camera for Research and Teaching in Computational Photography

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Computational photography refers broadly to sensing strategies and algorithmic techniques that enhance or extend the capabilities of digital photography. Representative techniques include high dynamic range (HDR) imaging, flash-noflash imaging, panoramic stitching, and refocusable photography. Although interest in computational photography has steadily increased among graphics and vision researchers, progress has been hampered by the lack of a portable, programmable camera platform with enough image quality and computing power to be used outside the laboratory, i.e. for everyday photography. Similarly, courses in computational photography are offered in dozens of universities nationwide. However, none of these courses provide students with a camera on which they can implement the algorithms currently being published in the literature.To address these two problems, we are building an open-source camera platform (called Frankencamera) that is portable, self-powered, connected to the Internet, and accommodates SLR-quality lenses and sensors. We also describe a software architecture based on Linux, and an API with bindings for C++, that permits control and synchronization of camera functions at the microsecond time scale. Our API includes pre-capture functions like metering and focusing, an image post-processing pipeline, a user interface toolkit for the viewfinder, and support for current and future I/O devices. Our plan is to distribute this platform at minimal cost to researchers and university instructors nationwide, using the computational photography courses they already teach as a natural distribution vehicle. Instructors will apply to us to be part of this outreach program, and a standing committee will evaluate these applications. Our long-term goal is to spur creation of a community of photographer-programmers who write plug-ins and apps for cameras.