I-Ball 360-Degree Camera Fired From Grenade Launcher

UK based Dreampact is developing a grenade-launcher-deployed 360-degree camera intended to give the armed forces a better idea of what territory they're entering.  Dubbed I-Ball, the compact camera has two fish-eye lenses that transmit images back wirelessly to a remote operator.  As well as being fired from a grenade-launcher, the I-Ball can be tossed or rolled into rooms.

The idea came from an entry in the UK Ministry of Defence's 2007 "Competition of Ideas".  It relies on a Field Programmable Gate Array to strip out the spin and tumble and display a steady real-time picture.  Although only in early prototype stage right now, both Dreampact and the armed forces are confident that the system will find real-world applications wen ready.

While intended for dangerous situations, the Gate Array technology is likely to find other outlets in situations where wobbly video is unacceptable.  This could include camcorder stabilization and other consumer areas.

[via The Raw Feed]